Whelp

*Chapter 22*: Chapter 22

Whelp -- Chapter 21

By jharad17

Disclaimer: None of this is mine. Honest. She's rich, I'm not.

A/N at end.

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Yes, the afternoon would have been perfect, except that was when Draco suggested they should use their brooms to fly out over the lake, and take a closer look for the squid.

Even then, if Father had been in their quarters and been able to stop them from collecting their brooms, or if Nelli hadn't been convinced that, "just because we can't go to the pitch, doesn't mean we can't fly," it still might have turned out all right.

As it was, though, within half an hour, Harry and Draco were back at the edge of the lake, brooms in hand. Nelli was beside them, with her large head held in her hands. Soft sniffling sounds came from her, but she had already acknowledged that this wasn't expressly forbidden. Still, Harry felt bad for her, and hoped she wouldn't get into any trouble on their account.

"You're scared," Draco said. He was already astride his broom, and waiting for Harry to do the same.

"Am not." But Harry was, really. He didn't like the idea of going into that water if he fell off his broom. He didn't know how to swim, for one thing, and it was too much like . . . well, he didn't like it.

"Are, too." Draco looked over the lake. "Don't you want to see the squid?"

"Yeah," Harry said. He'd never fallen off yet, so why should this be the first time? Taking a deep breath, he swung one leg over his broom. "Up!" he called, and he was airborne, although only by about five feet. His broom wouldn't go any higher than that, till the child protection was taken off. And Father said he wouldn't do that for another year or two, at least.

Draco grinned at him and kicked off, hovering a few feet above Harry. "Ready then?"

Harry nodded, and they were off!

Draco swooped by him, and then to the side, so they were on the same level. The two of them cruised, side by side, just above the surface of the water. Despite the summer sun, the air just above the lake was chilly. Together with the wind in their faces, Harry was shivering in fairly short order.

Though Draco had to keep at a slower speed than he could have done, since Harry's broom had child safeties on it, they still flew in tandem, making sharp turns and steep-ish climbs that turned into dives, and all of Harry's fears of the escapade quickly slipped away. He really loved flying. He yelled as much to Draco on one of their quick turns, when their knees collided and he jiggered sideway to avoid a splash down.

Draco laughed and yelled back, "Me, too!"

Just then, something erupted from the lake right in front of them, too close for either of them to swerve. A wave of water crashed over Harry, who pulled frantically on his broom to avoid the long, pink sucker-covered tentacle that curled toward him. He darted under one of the squid's "arms" but his broom couldn't react fast enough to keep him from flying right into the next one. The tentacle swept around him and grabbed him tight around his chest. One arm was pinned to his side, his good arm, and the other flared in pain.

He couldn't breathe!

"Harry!" Draco screamed, and Harry twisted and turned in the squid's grip, but couldn't find his friend. The tentacle wrapped him tighter still, and his chest was caving in. Whipped to and fro, high in the air, his stomach knotted and he could barely see anything. He was sure he heard something snap. Arm? Ribs? Draco screamed again.

No! He had to get to Draco! Let go! LET GO!

A series of popping sounds echoed in his ears before he fell a long way through the air and crashed into the lake. Before he'd had a chance to catch even a tiny breath, water covered his head, and he sank down, down, down, into darkness. . . .

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"Uncle Sev!" Draco shrieked as he hurtled through the castle's corridors. "Uncle Sev!"

Severus almost bowled him over as he ran, full tilt, towards the Main Entrance. Mere moments ago, he'd once more been accosted by a bright flash of light in the form of a winged snake – Harry's accidental Patronus – and he'd barreled out of the dungeons toward whatever scrape his son was in now.

Draco skidded to a stop in front of him, clinging to one wall and dripping wet. A gouge across his cheek was raw and bleeding. Shivering, he grabbed Severus' arm and yanked him toward the main doors. Gasping for breath, he panted out, "Harry . . . fell . . . squid . . . the lake."

Merlin, no . . . Shaking loose from Draco's grip, Severus raced down the steps and tore off across the grounds. Every conceivable scenario flashed through his mind; Harry was dead; the squid had eaten him; he'd drowned; he'd been captured by grindylows and ripped to shreds . . .

As he neared the lake, he caught sight of two small lumps by its edge, only one of which seemed to be moving. He angled in that direction and, despite the stitch in his side and his burning lungs, he ran even faster. Once he closed in on them, he could see that the lump that was moving was Nelli, and she was turning the non-moving lump on its side, and patting it on the back.

Harry.

Please, no.

Severus slid the last few paces to his son's side, and was on his knees before he'd even come to a halt. Nelli wrung her hands as Severus looked the boy over. Once again, Harry's lips were blue from lack of oxygen, and Severus had his wand out in seconds, waving it over him. Desperation had him shouting the spell, "Respiro Coactum!"

The spell worked this time, and with a hacking, rasping cough, Harry breathed, leaving Severus faint with relief. Another fit of coughing brought water, tinged red with blood, pouring out of the boy's mouth. His eyes were unfocused – he'd lost his glasses – and his skin was pale as death. He shivered all over and coughed up more water, and tears and snot ran down his face in equal measure.

When he tried to get up, Severus gently pushed him down, this time on his back. "No, Harry, stay still a minute." He continued doing a diagnostic with his wand, and was not surprised to find two cracked ribs, a shattered clavicle, and more water in his lungs along with numerous contusions. He fished in his pocket for a pain relief potion and held the boy's head up while feeding it to him, cradling his hurt shoulder.

"Dra-draco?" came a soft stutter, in between coughs.

"He's fine, Harry. Shush, now." He glanced back to see Draco standing just behind him, looking paler than usual.

Tears tracked down the bigger boy's cheeks. "S-sorry, Uncle Sev. I couldn't reach him. I tried, but then the squid just exploded!"

Harry had lapsed back into unconsciousness, though at least he was breathing, and as he eased the boy into his arms, Severus looked over the lake. Smears of blue, viscous slime floated atop the water along with chunks of what looked like a tentacle. He would have to find out what exactly had happened – was it more of Harry's admittedly powerful accidental magic? But for now he needed to get Harry inside and warm and dry. After lurching to his feet, he carried the boy back towards the castle. Nelli trotted alongside them, looking fearful and shocked at the same time.

"Did you fish him out of the water, Nelli?" Severus asked her as they neared the castle.

"Nelli did, yes, sir. Master Harry is going down, under the water. Screaming, and water goes in his mouth, and Nelli had to get him out of the lake, yes, Master Snape."

"Good, you did well." He have a talk with the house-elf later about letting the boys near the lake in the first place, but he did have her to thank for the fact that Harry had not drowned. What had they been doing? "Go let Madam Pomfrey know we're on the way up."

"Yes, Master Snape, sir."

As they climbed the first set of stairs to the infirmary, Draco kept giving him covert looks. Finally, Severus said, "What is it?"

"You . . . you won't tell my Father, will you?"

Without knowing the full story, he would promise nothing. "We'll see, Draco." When Nelli popped back into being, next to him, he said to her, "Take Draco back to my quarters and have him put some dry clothes on. Pick out some for Harry, too. Come back here when you're finished."

"Yes, Master Snape, sir." The house-elf bowed low, ears aquiver, and led Draco back down the stairs.

Severus pushed his way into the infirmary, where Poppy was readying a bed for Harry.

"What happened?" she asked, as Severus laid Harry down. Poppy spelled his wet clothes off, as well as the wet bandage and dressing on his hand. His chest and back were covered with bruises. Poppy frowned. "The house-elf said he fell into the lake."

"I think it's a bit more serious than that." He watched as Poppy ran the same diagnostics as he had, then went for a bottle of Skele-Gro. "Something to do with the squid."

"The squid! Well, no wonder, then." She spelled infirmary pajamas onto Harry, but as small as he was, he was swamped by them. Shrinking them down to fit him, she said, "I'd rather not wake him, to dose him. That shoulder's going to be painful as it heals, and he'll need a good bit of rest."

"Very well." Severus slid in behind Harry on the bed, and eased the boy up, so his back was against Severus' chest. This way, Poppy could feed him various potions with his help in making the boy swallow.

"You know, Severus," Poppy said conversationally, once she put the third empty potion bottle down and started rebandaging the boy's hand. "I'd like a day to go by in which Harry didn't end up in the infirmary."

Severus felt his own face burning. He obviously wasn't keeping as close an eye on Harry as he should be. "He has a knack," he said quietly.

"Mm." Poppy was just about done when Draco entered, with Nelli at his side. The boy was still sniffling, and Severus sent him a Look, which at least made him stand straighter.

"Is he . . . will Harry be okay, Uncle Sev?"

"This time." He nodded at a chair nearby. "Sit. And tell me what happened."

Draco sidled onto the chair, and sat stiffly, his hands folded properly on his lap. "Hagrid told us about the squid, and we wanted to see it, but we couldn't, not from the shore . . . so we decided to fly our brooms over—"

"What!!?" Draco flinched back in his chair, and even in his sleep, Harry twitched at Severus' shout. Severus gritted his teeth, and his voice was much softer, but far more menacing, when he continued. "You did what?"

"W-we flew our b-b-brooms over the lake, t-to see the s-squid. I . . . we didn't know it would come up like that!"

"Like what?" Severus felt like a parrot, but it was all he could do not to shake the boy. Instead, his arms tightened around his son.

"It just zoomed up and grabbed Harry out of the air. His broom . . . I didn't even see where it went. He was being squished tighter and tighter, and I tried to fly in and get him, but then there was this bright flash of light and the squid just . . . blew up. There were bits of tentacle everywhere, and Harry fell into the lake." Draco took a deep breath, his gaze on Harry. Tears poured down his cheeks. "I couldn't see him. I looked all over, but I couldn't find him. So I ran to find you, Uncle Sev. I never meant for him to get hurt!"

Severus exchanged a glance with Poppy, and she lifted her eyebrows. He knew what she was thinking, that Harry had blown up the squid. He already knew the boy was powerful, but this was the first instance of him using offensive magic. He would need to be reined in, or at the very least, taught some control.

Letting out a deep sigh, Severus pressed a kiss to the top of Harry's head, then rested his cheek on the still wet mane of hair. So much turmoil in this little boy's life. What were they thinking, to ride brooms over the lake? He thought the boy was afraid of deep water.

He peered at Draco. "Whose bright idea was it to take the brooms out?"

Draco bit his lip and looked away, which was as much answer as he needed, though he'd still like for the boy to tell him the truth.

"Did you bully him into it?"

"What? No, Uncle Sev! He agreed to go; he wanted to see the squid, too!" Realizing he'd just confirmed himself as the origin of the day's excitement, Draco clamped his mouth shut.

"And he expressed no reservations? You didn't say or do anything to convince him?"

Draco flushed, and Severus had his answer to that question, too. A sudden rage took hold of him and he barked, "Did you shame him into it? Did you know he was afraid? Get out of my sight! Harry could have died because of you! Get out! GO!"

Casting a last, tearful glance at Harry, Draco slipped off his chair and fled.

TBC . . .

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Next chapter: Repercussions galore!

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed! If you have any questions, or comments or corrections, please let me know. Next chapter should be out by Monday. Probably.