An Unlikely Bond

The wind howled and gasped like a despondent beast, as it buffeted the castle with the force of a hurricane, shaking the very foundation of the ancient castle. Nestled high up in one of the towers, sat a teenage boy, staring disconsolately out at the gloomy weather. Every time the thunder clapped, he would jump and shiver.

The boys name was Harry Potter and at this very moment, he felt as if his world was coming to an end. His supposed best friend - Ronald Weasley had turned on him after he defended fellow Quidditch player, Cedric Diggory. As a result, Ron had severed all ties with Harry, leaving him feel rather morose. Hermione, of course had tried to talk some sense into the redhead but he'd been adamant.

If Harry was honest, he thought that Ron was overreacting just a little bit. He'd only defended Cedric, he had never said that he wanted to replace Ron, But as usual, Ron had blown it all out of proportion. Harry sighed and rested his chin on his knee, staring unseeingly at the swollen lake.

The gentle snores of his fellow dorm mates were drowned out by the tumultuous thunder and Harry found his mind reeling with all the noise. He needed to get somewhere, somewhere that he could think without fear of being disturbed. But where? The owlery would probably be too smelly, he didn't fancy the smell of owl droppings and rotten rodent carcasses. The astronomy tower! That was perfect, it was quiet, it was secluded. He could think with the feel of the rain on his face without being disturbed.

Coming to a decision, Harry slid down from the windowsill and crept across the room, bending over his trunk to retrieve his invisibility cloak. Lupin had confiscated the Marauders Map after he'd been caught going to Hogsmeade so he would have to go blind. Sighing, he wrapped the cloak around his shoulders, clutching his wand tightly in his hand as he navigated his way through the dark dorm. All he needed was for to trip over something and wake the whole of Gryffindor House up.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he emerged into the crepuscular Common Room. The candles had been extinguished, leaving a faint, pearly glow that was emitted from the moon. The fireplace was dank and dark, with the faintest trace of the embers of a roaring fire. Harry slowly picked his way through the accumulated debris and made it to the portrait hole with a sigh of relief.

He clambered through it, leaning against the wall and taking a deep, steadying breath when the Fat Lady called out to him. Composing himself, Harry made his steady way to the Astronomy Tower, jumping at every creak of the wind or dancing shadows. He made it to the bottom of the Astronomy Tower in one piece. For which, he was grateful. He dreaded to think what Lupin would say if he was caught out of bed at this time of the night.

Harry took his time on the stairs, allowing his hands to ghost the dusty bannister. He was aware of his quick, noisy breathing, of his heart pounding in his chest and of every tiny step he made on the stairs, clutching at the bannister at the slightest noise. Merlin, he was so paranoid!

What he saw when he emerged at the top of the stairs would change him forever. What he saw, would change the way he thought about people for the rest of his life. Severus Snape, Potions Master and 'Snarky Dungeon Bat' lay crumpled at the top of the stairs, a fine trickle of blood coming from his mouth. His pallor was that of deathly pale and a fine sheen of perspiration shone in the flashing light of the storm.

Horror filled every pore of Harry's body, it took all of his self control not to turn tail and run, not to vomit. But he stayed calm and approached Snape, hoping against hope that the man wasn't dead. Swallowing shakily, Harry approached the man and crouched down next to him, pressing his hand the man's chest. He was reassured when he felt the reassuring thrum of Snape's heart. It was there, but barely. He didn't allow himself a sigh of relief yet. He knew how quickly these things changed. He shrugged off his invisibility cloak, tucking it down his jumper.

Trying to calm his frantically beating heart, Harry put Snape in the recovery position. He made sure that he couldn't roll back onto his back. He didn't want him to choke on his vomit. Harry had been taught basic first aid when he was in primary school and had learnt the basics such as CPR, The Recovery Position and minor injuries. He'd hoped he would never have to use it.

Harry sat back on his haunches, running through his options. He could leave Snape here in the cold, pouring rain while he ran to get help. Or he could shout at the top of his lungs and call for help from here. Of course, the latter was a ridiculer notion, There was no way on earth that anybody would hear over the roar of the storm. No way.

What to do? What to do?

Harry was saved from making the decision by the sudden sound of footsteps. the small wooden door burst open and Professor Lupin stood in the doorway, looking oddly impressive in the dim light cast by the candles. He seemed to crackle with electricity as he glared down at Harry.Seemingly, he hadn't noticed Snape yet.

"Harry James Potter, what do,-"

Lupin abruptly stopped sight of Snape. He blanched and dropped to his knees, pulling his night cloak off and throwing it over his prone form. He mumbled to himself as he checked his vitals and ran the wand over Snape in a complicated manner. Harry watched with slightly wide eyes as Snape's body glowed an ethereal blue and seemed to hum and buzz.

Lupin then turned to Harry, looking rather stressed.

"Harry, was Professor Snape like this when you got here?" he said urgently.

Harry nodded quickly. He didn't want the blame for this one pinned on him.

"Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with him." said Harry desperately, wringing his hands. A habit he'd developed when he was agitated.

"Not to worry, Madame Pomfrey will know," said Lupin, patting Harry's shoulder and standing up.

He extended a hand to Harry, who took it and was pulled to his feet. Lupin put both his hands on Harry's shoulders and ducked his head so as to look Harry in the face.

"Now listen to me, Harry. What you did tonight may well have saved Professor Snapes life. However, I wish to speak with you tomorrow. I'll walk you back to your dorm and you are to come to my office first thing,"

Harry nodded and watched dazedly as Lupin conjured a patronus and whispered something to it, causing it to disappear in a puff of white smoke. Almost immediately, Madame Pomfrey rushed up the stairs, pushing past Lupin as she dropped to her knees beside the potions professor and began prying him with potions.

Lupin squeezed his shoulder and gestured for Harry to follow him. Casting one more nervous glance at the Hogwarts matron and his potions professor, Harry followed Professor out of the Astronomy Tower and towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Harry, what you did tonight was remarkably heroic. I'm sure your parents would be proud of you," Lupin said quietly, smiling in spite of the situation.

Harry blushed but inside, he was pleased. His parents would be proud! The thought made him want to sing and dance. He settled for smiling shyly at his defence professor.

"Thanks, Professor," said Harry, yawning as they stopped outside the portrait of the Fat Lady - who was silently glowering at the sheepish teen.

"Not a problem, now off to bed. Remember, I want to speak to you first thing in the morning. Get some sleep."

Harry bade Lupin goodnight and clambered tiredly into the portrait hole. He barely made it to his bed. Harry barely had time to register his racing thoughts as he was lured by the pull of Morpheus' arms.

Harry Potter slept on peacefully, blissfully unaware that his life was about to change forever.