In Family, There is Strength

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly, hands on her hips as she saw Harry Potter unconscious and being levitated down the corridor. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was Snape levitating him. She paled slightly. "Oh Severus, you didn't kill the boy did you?" She whispered in horror.

Snape rolled his eyes. Honestly... "No, Minerva. Your star Seeker is still among the living." He said sarcastically.

"What's wrong with him then?" McGonagall demanded.

"Besides fighting death eaters, being possessed by the dark lord, and losing Black?" Snape sneered. McGonagall's face softened.

"Poor child. He's so young to have faced so much." McGonagall murmured.

Snape privately agreed but kept an annoyed look on his face. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. "I'm taking him to the infirmary before I get his belongings ready to go." he informed her.

"He's going home already? There are still a few days of school left." McGonagall protested.

"Albus believes it is best for him to return home immediately," Snape said smoothly. The less people who knew where Potter would really be spending his summer, the better. At least until he figured out what was going on with Potter's home life.

McGonagall frowned. "Yes, I suppose that it is best for his safety. His relatives though..." She hesitated.

"Don't like them?" Snape asked casually.

"As I told Albus when he left the child there, they are the worst sort of muggles. They never send him any care packages or Christmas presents and he never goes home for the holidays." McGonagall said in frustration. "And they never have responded to any letters I have sent anytime Harry was hurt or in trouble. Eventually I just stopped writing to them."

"Hmm," Snape continued on his way to the infirmary, laying the boy on a cot once he entered. Granger was asleep on a bed as she recovered, Weasley snoring in a chair beside her. He smirked at the sight of Umbridge laying on a bed across the room, staring blankly at the ceiling. He certainly didn't feel sorry for her. He did wonder what Potter had meant about being tortured by her though...

"Severus?" Pomfrey asked, walking over. "I thought Mr. Potter was fine." She frowned as she looked at Harry.

"Apparently not, as he had a breakdown in the Headmaster's office," Snape said. "Spell a Calming Draught into him."

"I should wait until he wakes -"

"Trust me, the longer he is out the better," Snape interrupted. The boy needed the rest and it would be best if he was asleep until transported safely to his cottage. The child would kick up a fuss when he realized who he was spending his summer with as it was, Snape thought wryly.

Poppy gave a sad sigh and summoned the draught, spelling it into the sleeping teen.

Once she was done, Snape said, "If you would run a full diagnostic on him, discreetly, I would appreciate it," He said in a low voice.

"A full diagnostic?" Poppy looked at him in concern. Those were only done on children whose Head's of House thought they had been abused...

"As thorough as possible," Snape nodded. He took Potter's glasses off and set them on the table next to him. He then covered the boy with a warm blanket.

"Albus wants this?" Poppy asked curiously.

Snape hesitated, not sure how much to tell her about his suspicions.