Sweet and Sour

Chapter Seven: Don't Leave Me

Harry stood at the window, leaning against the wall and watching the waves crash against the shore as Remus went around the cottage, packing some last minute clothes into a bag.

"Do we have to go?" Harry asked as he turned around to face Remus, playing with his bandages on his arms.

"Yes. I promise I'll be there with you throughout the whole thing and I won't let them force you to do anything you don't want to do. But we need to go, Harry. They know you're alive; they won't stop now until they find you. Best to ride out and meet them head on and all that," Remus answered, stopping his packing for a moment.

"You don't want to go either, do you? Then why are we going?" Harry asked, settling himself in a chair. "Make up an excuse; tell them something happened and you can't come."

"Do you want them to come here then? That would be much worse, I assure you. Come on, put on a cloak."

Harry sighed as he stood up and slowly limped over to where Remus was standing with the cloak. Letting Remus fasten the cloak around his shoulders and draw the hood up, he was grateful for the arm that wrapped around his waist for support. Three days had passed since their initial conversation but Harry was still weak. The medi-wizard had said that it would be quite some time until Harry was fully healed. Remus hinted that Pomfrey could take better care of him at Hogwarts, and that it shouldn't take too long to get him better under her motherly care. Harry could walk around a little by now, but his face and head were still partially bandaged, as were his arms.

Remus gave Harry a concerned look as he pulled on his own cloak and picked up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he offered an arm to Harry. "Ready?"

Harry nodded as Remus slipped his arm around him for support and they slowly made their way to the taxi out front. Remus had assured him that they would take the trip easily. The taxi would take them to London, where they would take the train to Hogsmeade where a carriage was set to meet them and take them to Hogwarts. Harry settled in Remus' arms in the taxi and found himself drifting off to sleep thanks to the Dreamless Draught that Remus had given him earlier.

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Harry awoke groggily to someone shaking him gently. He opened his eyes against the dim light to see Remus standing above him.

"We're here, Harry," his adopted godfather softly spoke. Harry managed a small smile as he looked around, recognizing the Hogwarts carriage.

"Do they know it's me?" he asked softly, hoping no one else heard him.

"No, I told them I was bringing one of my students along who I thought could benefit from Pomfrey's care."

A sigh of relief escaped Harry as Remus helped him sit up, drawing Harry's hood up before he wrapped an arm around his waist and helped ease him out of the carriage.

"Gently, there we go, easy does it."

Harry was vaguely aware of Lupin's voice calming and reassuring him and he leaned into his former professor for support as his eyes fluttered closed.

"Professor Lupin!"

"Hermione! What a pleasant surprise. Please, do call me Remus. I stopped being your professor years ago," Remus said, trying to cover up the surprise in his voice and hoping that Hermione's presence wouldn't upset Harry too much. "I didn't know we were going to have a welcoming committee."

"Profess-, er, Remus," Hermione said as she gave Remus an awkward hug since he was still supporting Harry with one arm and carrying their bag in the other. "You know Minerva would hardly do any less. And it's so good to have you here. It just feels better, like things are looking up."

Harry stiffened and leaned into Lupin for support, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep up his strength much longer and that if Hermione spoke to him, he'd probably lose all semblance of control. Thoughts came unbidden to his mind. Memories of their first year right before he had gone to face Voldemort.
You're a great wizard, Harry.

"Is this the student of yours, Remus? He doesn't look too well. Should I get a stretcher for him?" Hermione asked with genuine concern.

"That's quite alright, Hermione," Remus answered as Harry breathed a small sigh of relief. "I'll just go in and get him settled. I take it my instructions were followed?"

"Of course, Remus. We have two adjoining rooms for you right off the infirmary. Will that do?"

"That will do quite well. Thank you."

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just things have been so strange here. Draco left without notice and we were all so worried that something happened to him when he showed up worse for the wear in the middle of the welcoming feast. He seemed so distraught. He told us that he'd seen Harry, and you could just see the pain in his face when he recounted what happened..."

She's grown up, Harry thought to himself. Then again, she was always the most level headed and mature of the three of us. His thoughts floated lazily as he felt Lupin's grip on him increase and the conversation around him drift away.

********************

"Remus, what in Merlin's name happened to this boy?" Poppy asked, the worry in her tone quite evident.

"He was a prisoner during the war. I don't know too much about that time because his own recollections are dim, but I do know he was tortured extensively - magically, physically, psychologically. And then last week Dobby found him beat up on the shore near my house. He had told me he was going sailing, he had an affinity for Muggle sports as well and apparently there was a storm. The ship was destroyed and we found him like this. As far as I could tell, there was severe trauma to the head and most of his body. He got pretty beat up against the rocks," Remus answered as he stood at the foot of Harry's bed. Harry had lost consciousness shortly after they'd entered the castle, so they had summoned a stretcher for him. Pomfrey was now assessing the extent of his adoptive godson's injuries as he absentmindedly twisted the gold ring he still wore on his finger from his marriage to Sirius.

Werewolves mate for life, Siri. There's no going back.

Remus, you don't get it. I can't imagine a life without you.

He gazed sadly at Harry, watching as Poppy gingerly undid the dressings covering Harry's face and gasped.

"Remus..."

"You'll be able to heal him, won't you? At least the injuries from this most recent adventure of his? I did what I could, and called in a medi-wizard to stabilize his condition. I was going to take him to St. Mungo's, but when I got the letter to come here, I thought this would just be simpler. Plus, I don't want him out of my sight."

"Of course, Remus, I understand," Poppy said as she delicately touched Harry's face and head, assessing his injuries. "He's very lucky to have such a devoted tutor. It's obvious that his head hit the rocks quite a bit. Has he had any problems with his memory?"

Remus studied Harry's battered face which was still badly cut up. "There was a little at first, although I reckon he was unconscious for the majority of it."

Poppy nodded. "There seems to be quite a bit of head trauma. I'm surprised he's recovered so well. As for his face, I can heal the cuts and bruises easily, although some of them are a bit deep. There seems to be layers of scarring underneath, which I won't be able to do anything about."

"Most of them are from the years he spent as a prisoner."

"That would explain it," Poppy said as applied some ointment to the wounds on Harry's face. "That should help heal them quicker. I don't want to use too many spells on his head, so it'll take a little longer."

She wrapped Harry's head with clean gauze as Remus watched sadly. Her concern was evident, and Remus knew that it would increase tenfold when she found out her patient's true identity. He had promised Harry he wouldn't say anything and he would stick to that promise; it was Harry's right after all. He looked up as Poppy fixed Harry's dislocated shoulder and broken arm before moving down to examine the wounds on his arms. Remus held his breath as she undid the bandages.

"Remus, is this what I..."

"I'm afraid so, Poppy. I'm not quite sure when it happened..." he said, admitting only to himself that his statement was a lie. "If you could keep them wrapped up until they heal completely, I'd appreciate that. He's very self-conscious about them and I'd prefer that there were as few questions asked. Patient confidentiality and everything..."

Poppy sighed as she wrapped them in clean gauze and moved on to Harry's ribs and torso in silence. It was another fifteen minutes before Poppy turned to Remus with a heavy expression. "That's all I can do for now, Remus."

"Thank you."

"Remus," she said sighing. "His injuries are severe; I'm surprised he even regained consciousness. The scars are even worse. I think he'll recover from the physical injuries, but if he's already cut himself..."

"I understand, Poppy. That's one of the reasons I wanted him in an adjoining room. I've been worried about him," he said pausing. "Could you leave a Dreamless Draught? He's had nightmares and it would be most helpful."

"Certainly. I'll leave some of the healing ointments and a pain-killing potion as well. For now, I think he'll sleep for awhile - hopefully through the night. Remus..." she paused, trying to find the right words. "HeÂ's going to need a lot of help, but right now, thereÂ's nothing you can do. Why don't you just go down to the feast?"

Remus sighed. He knew Poppy was right and he couldn't let anyone know just how much Harry meant to him just yet. Taking one last look at Harry, who seemed to be resting peacefully, he turned to Madame Pomfrey. "Thank you again, Poppy. You're probably right. I'll just change my robes and head down there."

Poppy smiled as she headed back to the infirmary, leaving Remus to change. He took a final look at Harry and brushed the black hair out of the boy's eyes before heading out to the hallway, unaware that someone had been standing at the doorway.

"Remus."

He looked up at the sound of his name to see Draco standing there.

"Draco. How have you been? Let me take a wild guess - Minerva sent you up here since I hadn't come down to the feast yet."

Draco smirked. "You know her too well. How's your patient doing?"

Remus cast a quick glance into the room before closing the door and turning once more towards Draco. "Not as well as he could be. He's had a rough accident, but Poppy's doing all she can."

Draco nodded as the two of them started walking towards the Great Hall. "Minerva said he was a student of yours. I wasn't aware that you were still teaching."

"Tutoring, mostly," Remus answered, partially surprised at Draco's mannerisms, but then it had been at least five years since he'd seen him. He'd stayed active for a few years after the war, but then it had become too much without Sirius and Harry, so he had left for the country. "James is a student of mine - a friend of the family, so to speak. I've been in contact with him for a few years, so we're close-"

Draco smirked, "Close, eh? Just how close?"

Remus spun. "Gods, Draco. Is sex all you think about? Not in that way. Never."

Remus sighed. He would never have that chance again. Being a werewolf meant he mated for life. And his mate was dead. There was no mating again, just the heartache whenever he thought of his lover. And now his mate's godson was close to losing it. He sighed heavily before remembering that Draco was still walking with him. "And you, Draco, settled down, yet?"

"No," he said with a hint of sadness. "There was the thing with me and Ginny for awhile, but it didn't work out. I've dated a bit since then.... but nothing too serious. You know how it goes. Well, we're here."

Remus nodded as Draco pushed open the doors to the Great Hall. It felt so strange to be back here. And they had all changed so much. He remembered teaching these children for the first time in their third year and now as he looked up at the head table, he saw adults and accomplished professors. Ron was sitting next to Hermione, their eldest child, Rose, sitting next to Hermione. He smiled as he remembered the numerous discussions of what to name her. Had it been a boy, the choice was Harry, but since it was a girl, they had trouble deciding. Lily had been a choice, but Hermione said she didn't feel quite comfortable with it. So they had named her Rose, in honor of Lily but without stealing the name, even though Fred and George had put up quite a fuss. They'd wanted to name the child Winifred W. Weasley so that she would have the same initials as the twins' booming business, WWW. Hermione had adamantly refused to give the child the same initials of the joke shop and Ron had retaliated by dying the twins' hair blue. His gaze flitted across the table. They were all there. All the key players who had survived the war were seated in the Great Hall. He saw that his seat was that of the normal DADA professor, next to Snape. Draco took a seat next to him. He glanced at Minerva and Hermione, positive that they had something to do with sitting him between two former Slytherins. He sighed. At least the banquet was a nice affair, he could relax slightly. The hard parts would start tomorrow when the discussions about Harry began.

It was nearing two o'clock in the morning when Remus excused himself from the banquet, grateful that Severus had refrained from making a single comment about the Marauders. He headed up through the hallways towards the hospital wing. A meeting was scheduled for tomorrow at noon, giving everyone plenty of time to sleep in.

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Draco swept through the hallways in a manner vaguely reminiscent of his former head of house. He thanked the gods for the empty hallways as he made his way up towards the hospital wing. Stopping at a statue of a rearing lion, he tapped the lion's tail with his wand and watched as a set of double doors appeared in the wall and opened up. Glancing around Remus' quarters, he didn't see the former professor anywhere in sight and was about to settle in an armchair to wait when movement from amidst the comforters on the giant bed caught his attention. Quickly crossing the room, he looked down to see a dark haired boy tossing about violently, as if caught in the throws of a nightmare. Gently, he tried shaking the boy, trying to wake him up. When this had little effect, he pulled out his wand and whispered, "Finite Incantatum."

He flinched slightly as whimpers and screams met his ears and he shook the boy harder.

"Wake up. It's just a dream. Wake up."

Nothing could have prepared him for the shock that awaited him when the boy in his grasp opened his eyes. Realization dawned on Draco as he stared into those fathomless green eyes.

"Harry...?" he asked weakly, swallowing to try to overcome the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. No, this bandaged and injured man in front of him couldn't be his former school enemy. He was too pale, too frail, and too weak. The Harry Potter he knew was stronger than this. Harry Potter had been begging for money in Knockturn Alley just a few weeks ago, he reminded himself. Draco lost himself in the frightened green eyes and knew.

Watch their eyes. Eyes are the window to the soul.

That your idea of a pep talk, Potter?

No, just the last words to me from a great hero.

Those were the last words spoken between them before they headed into the final battle, afraid yet confident, children fighting in a war where the lines between good and evil had blurred.

"Draco..."

Draco jolted out of his thoughts to look at the boy, no, the man whose shoulders he was clutching. He ran a hand through Harry's messy hair.

"Sssh..." he said softly as he tried to calm the Boy-Who-Lived. "It's me. I'm not going to hurt you. Just calm down, relax..."

"It's hard for him to do that."

Draco glanced up to see Remus standing a few feet away, carrying his wand and a bottle of some sort of potion.

"I came to get you for the staff meeting and..." Draco began.

"It's alright," Remus said as he placed the potion down on the nightstand. "I see you took down the silencing spells."

"Does he always put them up?"

"Yes," Remus said sighing. "Ha- er, James insists on them because of the nightmares. Says it's a precaution. I have a small countermeasure though, a little observation charm that lets me know if things get bad."

"Ingenious, professor," Draco smugly replied as his eyes scanned Harry's body.

"What happened?" he asked as his eyes looked up to the werewolf, not missing the look of fear that passed over Harry's face.

Remus sighed as he glanced between Draco and Harry, waiting for Harry's small nod before speaking. "He was tortured and imprisoned during the war. The rest, well, Dobby found him washed up on the beach near my house."

Draco nodded as silence enveloped the room.

"Brilliant idea," he said finally and the other two faces turned towards him curiously. "Calling him by his father's name. Easy to remember and close enough to the truth."

"Draco..." Lupin spoke finally after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence had passed between them.

"I came to fetch you for the meetings. We're going to be discussing Harry and... I had wanted to tell you what I saw in Knockturn Alley that day. But now, knowing that Harry's here... what should I tell them?"

"I... I can't... Malfoy, please, don't..." Harry said as he looked up at Malfoy, his eyes pleading with the blonde.

"No more Draco?" Draco asked as he smirked at Harry.

"Please..." Harry begged weakly, his green eyes meeting Draco's silver ones in a desperate attempt to persuade the other man.

"Harry... you don't know what it's like, knowing you're alive. You don't know what it was like when they declared you dead finally. It-"

"You broke your promise, Malfoy. I thought Malfoys never went back on their word," Harry said, slightly glaring at Draco.

"I had to, I went searching..."

"I know," Harry replied curtly, interrupting the blonde's explanation. "What part of give up did you not understand?"

"How could I, Harry? I never once believed in that Boy-Who-Lived crap, but there is one thing I believed in - you, Harry. When I would tease you, when Snape would take points, whenever something happened, one thing never changed - your eyes. They had this passion, this determination, this glare, like when you spotted the snitch and nothing, not even Voldemort himself, could stop you. And when I saw you in Knockturn Alley, I... that fire was gone... And I had to know why. What happened to kill that fire?"

Draco watched patiently as Harry lay there, apparently thinking this over before finally speaking, his voice devoid of all emotion. "Are you finished?"

"Yes," Draco said reluctantly as he sighed and resisted the urge to push the hair out of Harry's eyes.

"Good," Harry snapped tersely. "Then leave. Both of you. Please."

Draco stood up reluctantly after exchanging a glance with Remus, who nodded. Going to the door, he waited for Remus to join him.

"Take care of yourself, Harry," Remus said as he made sure that all the necessary potions were on the nightstand. "And remember, if you need me, you know how to reach me. The House Elves will bring you some food, and please, do try to eat a little."

"I'll try. Now go. And have fun discussing me."

Remus forced a weak smile before going to join Draco. As they exited the chambers, Draco turned to his old professor. "Remus, what really happened?"

He watched as the werewolf took off his glasses and wiped them before finally answering. "We found self-inflicted wounds. How he ended up in the ocean, I can only guess. He told me that he was severely tortured. He still hasn't told me the exact details though."

"Does anyone else know?" Draco asked as they walked down the hallways.

"No one. And it's to stay that way until Ha- until James says otherwise. Is that clear?" Remus asked in a slightly stern tone, meeting Draco's eyes.

"Perfectly," Draco answered as they headed towards the staff meeting room, aware of the somber yet anxious mood that hung over them. How to discuss what he saw in Knockturn Alley and the search for Harry when he knew that the Boy-Who-Lived was right here in Hogwarts. He glanced over at Remus to see the werewolf's blank face and sighed as the entered the staff lounge, preparing himself for what was sure to be an emotional meeting.