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"That's how he got the gash on his cheek? Adrian, I mean." Lily asked, touching the now completely healed and smooth part of her elder son's face tenderly.
"No, I think he had that when he walked in." Ron said. The Whomping Willow then, Harry guessed. Severus took the lead then and explained in a few short sentences from how they had found Hermione and how they had come to Ron and Adrian's rescue to Remus's transformation and James's pursuit of Adrian.
"I followed them once I managed to get away from Lupin but they were already far ahead; the moment I got to there I saw Adrian fainted by the lake and just managed to witness Potter casting his patronus. The one he had conjured had just dispersed but before I managed to do anything he casted one more spell and fainted too. I… don't know exactly why that was but that last patronus seemed brighter and chased the Dementors away." Dumbledore nodded as if he understood something more than the rest, a hidden meaning behind an incident Harry correctly presumed was fabricated.
"You'd be surprised, Severus, at what a man protecting his child would do if he thought they were both about to die; limits seize to exist at that point, even in magic. Perhaps especially in magic." Lilly looked at her husband affectionately as Severus mused that while yes, what the Headmaster said was the truth -he had felt that every time Harry had been in trouble- maybe he shouldn't try to explain events based on experiences he'd never had. It was harsh, he figured, but at that point he didn't really care; the Headmaster wasn't one of his favourite people in the world at the moment. Harry just noted he'd have to ask Severus for the true story later on.
He got his chance a few hours before dawn when his brother finally woke up and Dumbledore began questioning him after they made certain he was alright; the Weasleys had left a little over three in the morning when Ron had fallen asleep and, as such, when Adrian began talking and Harry was allowed -more than ordered by an agitated school nurse- to leave the room, while Severus excused himself and followed him. They didn't need to talk to understand Harry wasn't going to his common room just yet.
"So, Prongs fought off a hundred Demetors with a single patronus while passing out?" Harry asked a few minutes later, after the door to Severus's office had been shut and locked.
"Could've happened! I'll have you know that one, James apparently knows how to cast a patronus and two, it's absolutely possible to fight off that number of Dementors with a single patronus." Severus stated evenly. "On other news, my patronus isn't a doe anymore; everything's been turning into wolves lately." Harry regarded the older man carefully for a second, before bursting into laughter.
"Of course. Did you notice how people always conveniently pass out when needed?" The teen asked, wiping a few tears from his face.
"It's fortunate that they do or we'd have to knock them out ourselves." Harry nodded, before staring into the flames in the fireplace. The silence was comfortable between them, but Severus could sense something was troubling Harry. "What are you thinking about?"
"What if I made the wrong choice, Dad?" Harry asked, looking at the surprised potions master next to him.
"Wrong choice? How?" Harry looked deep in thought; when he spoke again, it was mostly to himself.
"What if I had come out and said I'm the Boy Who Lived? Would my brother be on a hospital bed right now?" Severus wasn't as taken aback at his question as he had thought he'd be.
"Harry, that's an impossible question to answer." Large green eyes turned to him expectantly. "Not only I can't know how things would have turned out if you had, I can't even tell you what would happen if you told them now. Harry, you might have told them, but would that have changed your character? Your brother's?"
"I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"Because," Severus explained "I believe your brother would have ended it up in that bed tonight one way or another." The boy looked at him confused before Severus continued. "Adrian mightn't have told you of what he was planning tonight, but you would have told him were your roles switched. He would probably be in the same situation as Ron right now." Harry nodded at the truth of that statement; he would have told his brother, at least he wanted to believe he would. "And don't forget," Severus continued "that if not for the training you went through, you might not have been able to deal with the situations you have as efficiently; look at Adrian. He's talented enough but, with whatever training he has undergone, he has only proven capable enough to handle a pretty much powerless traitor; I'm not saying that to belittle his abilities. Just the type of training he has received; Adrian is alive and you're alive today because of that choice you made. Never doubt that." Harry nodded once.
"It's just hard sometimes, not doubting myself." Severus chuckled darkly.
"It would be unnatural not to doubt yourself. Even Dumbledore does. Rarely and then dismisses the thought but still…" The flippant air in which the last statement was made brought up unwilling laughter that just wouldn't stop once it began.
"Thanks, Dad. I needed that." Severus nodded and then added softly.
"Besides," the potions master added far more subdued "Voldemort will return one day; we know that now for certain." His fists tightened at the thought. "And when he does come back, he won't stay under the illusion that it was your brother who stopped him for long. One close look and he'll know." He turned to Harry who had returned to watching the flames. "When that happens, Adrian will need all the protection he can have."
"The weakest link, right?" Harry asked, his voice deeper than ever. More mature than he should be, Severus mused gravely. He moved and clasped his shoulder in support.
"But he will have you. And you'll have me." Harry turned and smiled at the potions master.
"And we'll be ready, won't we?" Severus nodded.
"As ready as we can be."
HI GUYS IF YOU WANT READ 200 + CHAPTERS THEN VISIT
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