Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

A Pirate's Tail	By : SamHill Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 3182 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Not in any lifetime does Harry Potter (and his universe) belong to me. They are the sole property of J.K. Rowling, et al. I make no money and I mean not copyright infringement.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
A/N: See Chapter One for all disclaimers and warnings

Chapter Eleven:

“Severus! Oh thank heavens. We were afraid the storm would keep you home.”

Severus Snape, the owner of the village apothecary closest to Hogwarts, stepped into the entrance hall of the castle and sneered at his welcome. “Lupin. I see the owner of the castle is allowing his pets to wander free.” His comment was stretched to include Sirius, who lurked in the shadows.

“Now see here, you greasy haired-”

“Sirius, please! Severus, Harry fell ill yesterday and we aren’t certain why. Madam Pomfrey had to return home to check on her father and Hannah is busy.”

“And so you thought you would have me check on the brat? I am here only to deliver your monthly batch of pain medication; I am not a nursemaid.”

“Please, Severus, this war depends on his leadership.”

“Ah yes, the survival of hundreds rests upon the shoulders of a young man barely twenty and six. Forgive me if I do not care. I was exiled by the Prince Regent and have thence made my home here. What happens in England matters little to me now, or did you forget? My mother was a Scot; I was welcomed back to her native land with opened arms.” It was only half a lie.

Sirius stepped forward then, his face twisted with anger. “Now see here, you disgusting piece of-”

“Severus!” Hermione arrived on the scene out of breath, one hand pressed to the small bulge at her middle. Snape didn’t miss the indication of the action.

“So you and the Weasley boy have decided to produce a spawn. No doubt he will grow to be as useless as his father. Or perhaps she will be busybody like her mother?” The words were deliberately cold, but Hermione only brushed them aside with a genuine smile.

“I’ve missed your charm, Severus Snape. You’ve been gone too long from the castle.” The smile was quickly replaced by a worried frown. “If you have time to spare, Harry was in an accident. Bellatrix Lestrange got him twice and I think one of the wounds has become infected. It smells horrible.”

“Idiot woman, you have no business being in a sickroom in your condition,” the once-renowned alchemist snarled. “Take me to his room immediately and then have that worthless husband of yours draw you a bath.” He muttered on about the stupidity of youth, but stopped when he entered the second largest bedroom of the castle.

He had been prepared to see Harry Potter, bane of his existence, lying in the bed. What he hadn’t been expecting to see was his godson and the heir to the Malfoy family sitting in the chair beside the bed.

“Draco?”

The blond’s head snapped up and mercury eyes widened with disbelief. “Godfather? What in the world are you doing here?”

“I own an apothecary just outside the castle’s walls. What are you doing in here?”

“I was kidnapped. Twice!”

Snape looked ready to ask more questions, but remembered his true reason for coming to the bedroom. “We shall speak later, but for now I must attend to Potter.” He waved his godson to the side and stepped in close to the bed so that he could undo the bandages on Harry’s chest and side. Wrinkling his nose, he confirmed Hermione’s fears.

“It is a nasty infection. I won’t ask how something like this escaped your notice; this castle is a mad house even when not full to bursting with fools. The stench alone should have alerted someone to the severity of the situation, however.” He poked at the festering wound and studied the pus that leaked out. “I shall have to cut into it to clean it out.”

“Are you certain you should be doing that?” Remus asked worriedly.

Snape shot him a disparaging look. “I will have you know that even before I was an alchemist, I was a surgeon. It is because of those two practices that I run such a successful shop. However, if you find my experience to be questionable, by all means, call for that pathetic excuse of a doctor you keep on retainer. What’s his name? Gilderoy Lockhart?”

Hermione looked horrified at the suggestion. “Of course not! Please, you see to Harry while I chase these two back to their quarters.” She shot the men in question a look that boded ill for their peace of mind and shooed them out. Only Draco remained and he fell into place beside the man he had once desperately wanted to be like.

“Fetch me some boiling water to-”

The door opened and Ginny stepped in, followed by the twins. Without a word, the boys allowed themselves to be directed to the hearth where they carefully hung the heavy pot of water. It was already steaming and Snape nodded his thanks to the young woman. The trio left without a sound and he turned back to his patient.

“I will need to cauterize the wound once it has been cleaned out. That will be the worst of what we will do tonight. First, fill the wooden bowl beside the bed with water so that we may begin soaking the bandages. You will need to add the entire contents of-”

“The vial labeled ‘Witch Hazel?’ Yes, I do remember your lessons, Godfather.”

“Good. There is a small, blue glass packed with a paste. That is of the arnica plant. You will need to pack that into the wound before dressing it.” As he spoke, he reached for his blade and after cleaning it with a rag, sliced into the oozing wound.

The smell of putrefied flesh filled the room and Draco felt his throat close. An image of his mother’s body – decaying from being trapped within a windowless room for three days – floated up from the recess of his mind to plague him with the familiar fear that accompanied him. Suddenly, the candles burning weren’t bright enough and the air was thick and stifling.

“Where is your head at boy?” Severus roared, startling him badly. Draco snapped back to reality to realize that he had spilled half the contents of vial onto the stone floor.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry. I-”

“Idiot, if you can’t make yourself useful then get the hell out of the way.” Snarling furiously, Snape pushed Draco aside and reached into his traveling case. Withdrawing a second bottle, this one much larger, he threw the Witch Hazel into the bowl of steaming water before dropping in two lengths of unrolled bandages.

“Of all the idiotic, self-centered things you could do, you had to go and throw yourself in front of Bellatrix Lestrange’s gun. If that’s not bad enough, you then let that grotesque, wooden-legged mongrel you call godfather leave you in filthy bandages, all because he’s afraid of bruising your pride. Oh no, you couldn’t possibly take responsibility for your own body; you had to leave your life in the utterly incapable hands of a man who very likely wouldn’t know his cock from his gun if his life depended on it, the drunken heathen.”

He continued to make degrading comments under his breath as he worked, unmindful of his audience. Breathing back under control, Draco fell into his old role as assistant once more, handing over the required medicines even before they were requested. As the sun rose over the horizon, it brought with it once more the certainty that Harry would live to pillage the Prince Regent’s Navy ships another day.

Draco collapsed in the over-stuffed chair by the window, his gaze locked on Harry’s still-pale features while Snape moved about the room tidying up and collecting his things. It wasn’t until Snape moved to cover the bare chest with the blanket that Harry stirred, his eyes coming open slowly, as though his lids had been pinned closed by the ferryman’s toll.

“Whozzat?” the drowsy pirate mumbled.

“Potter. I see that if I had hoped your intelligence would not be negatively affected by your ineffectual brush with death, I was greatly mistaken.”

Harry’s brow furrowed. “Are ye sayin’ I’m stupid, or are ye sayin’ ye hoped I’d die?”

“Both, though perhaps my sincerity in the latter is greatly lacking. While I will admit that I have found little reason to put myself in the midst of this war you’ve raged with the Prince Regent, I will not lie and say that I don’t care what the outcome is. Regardless of your questionable parentage, I have no wish to see you spitted on the sword of one of Voldemort’s buffoons. Therefore, I shall continue to endeavor to repair the damage you willing bring to your body.”

Harry sighed, the last vestiges of his opium-induced sleep falling away. “Couldn’t you just say, ‘I’m glad you’re not dead; please don’t be so rash anymore?’”

Snape drew himself up and glared down his hawkish nose. “I will not degrade myself by speaking so commonly.”

Harry sent him a wan smile. “And that’s what I like best about you, Sev’rus.”

Before Snape could retort, Remus burst into the room. “Harry! You’re awake!”

“He is not out of the woods yet, Lupin and your howling will only drive him back into a state of-”

“HARRY!” The twins appeared, their voices ringing loudly in the quickly shrinking room. Harry winced and Snape was spurned into action.

“All of you OUT!” The words halted the rest of Harry’s friends before they could cross the threshold into the room, the fierce look on his face sending a few running. Only Remus, Sirius, Draco, Hermione, Ron and Ginny remained.

“Well, you’ll recover soon enough, I think Harry.”

“I should hope,” Harry replied seriously. A look of mischief crept into his eyes and he slid a sideways glance at Draco. “With my leg so badly wounded I’ll not be able to seduce you into my bed yet, Draco. I’d had high hopes of you warming the sheets with me tonight.”

Snape’s lip curled up. “You disgust me, Potter,” he spat, snatching up his bag.

Harry looked amused. “Really? ‘Cause, that’s not what you said that night we...”

Snape sputtered, Harry looked smug, Sirius turned a horrific shade of rage-red and everyone else looked ill. Everyone that is, except for Draco, who only looked mildly intrigued by the insinuation of the two having spent a night together.

“You slept with Potter, godfather?” Draco asked at last when it seemed no one else would.

“I most certainly did not!”

“Don’t be shy, Severus. You’re amongst friends here.” The look on Harry's face was almost too innocent.

“I’ll have your head for this, Snape,” Sirius shouted, having finally found his tongue.

Harry was chuckling, but the strain of his movement became evident when his face turned ashen. Closing his eyes, he fought against the urge to yell as the pain the opium had been blocking suddenly flooded his body. He remained oblivious to the sounds of people being herded out of the room and only responded to the coaxing for him drink from a vial. The liquid was cool and bitter, but the relief was swift and welcome.

“You fool. You’re only human, Potter, not a God. Let your body heal or I shall feel obligated to end this miserable life you’ve chosen to lead.”

Harry nodded, but his actions were sluggish as the drug pulled him back into sleep. Draco watched on silently, never noticing when his godfather left, closing the door softly behind him. All through the rest of the day and well into the next night, Draco remained in his chair, his mind on the man lying so still in the bed and the plan that would redeem the Malfoy heir in the eyes of his father.

~ * ~

tbc
- 10
- 11
- 12
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A Pirate's Tail