Both Snape and Poppy crouched down and looked under the bed. In the far corner, Harry had curled into a small ball, only his frightened green eyes were visible above his knees. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Please don't be very mad."
"Potter, get out here!" Snape snarled.
Poppy punched him in the shoulder. Hard. "Shut up!" she hissed. "Mr Potter," she said in much sweeter tones, "come here. No one will hurt you."
Harry's eyes flickered over to Snape and Poppy punched him again. "Get away!"
Affronted, Snape withdrew to nurse his sore shoulder. "Come on, Harry," she wheedled. "No one will hurt you. Come to Poppy."
To Snape's secret delight, the witch's coaxing was completely ineffectual. After a few minutes, she gave up in defeat. "What on earth is wrong with him? I promised him that he had nothing to fearтАж"
Albus twinkled at her. "Yes, my dear, but he had just seen you strike Severus. Twice. Quite firmly. I imagine he might have assumed that if you would hit a fellow teacher, you would be even more likely to strike a student."
Poppy's eyes grew wide with dismay. "Oh! I never thought of that! Albus, you try."
The Headmaster stooped. "Harry, my boy, will you please come out here?" No answer. "Harry? Please?" Nothing.
He straightened with a sigh. "It appears I have yet to earn the boy's trust."
Snape sneered. "Considering that he has you to thank for his living conditions for the last ten years, I think he shows remarkable perspicacity." Ignoring Poppy's scandalized look, he turned back to the bed. "Potter," he said, once again crouching down. "Are you going to come out of there?"
"Are тАУ are you very angry?" Potter gulped.
"I will be if you don't get out from under the bed," Snape retorted. "Hurry up!"
To Poppy's shock, Potter crawled out from under the bed. He stood up, half-flinching, but didn't jerk away when Snape picked him up and deposited him back on the bed.
"There." Snape couldn't resist sending a look of triumph at the disgruntled medi-witch.
"Harry," she said, coming forward very slowly and tentatively. "I promise I won't hurt you."
"Yes'm," Harry acknowledged nervously. That's what they all said, right? Well, not Snape. He'd never made such a ridiculous claim. That was why he could trust the man. When he was mad, he let you know it. He didn't lie or pretend. Harry was rather surprised Snape hadn't walloped him as soon as he'd emerged from under the bed, but hadn't the man come to apologize about having to send him back to the Dursleys? Maybe he felt badly enough that, this one time, he'd overlook Harry's hiding.
"Why did you tell everyone the Headmaster was going to send you back to the Muggles?" Poppy asked gently.
Oh no. Not again. If there was one thing Harry really hated, it was being asked why he had said or done something he hadn't. He knew better than to deny it, of course, but taking a punishment for something he hadn't done always made him that much angrier inside. Still, there was nothing he could do. He forced down his fury at the injustice of his life. Getting mad or talking back would just make things worse for himself. "Sorry, ma'am." He shut his eyes tight and hunched his shoulders, waiting for the first blow.
"Potter!" It was Snape again. He swallowed hard. He knew just how much a clout from the tall, dark man could hurt. "Look at me!" He didn't want to open his eyes, he really didn't, but he knew that he was just making them angrier. Uncle Vernon sometimes wanted you to see it coming, too. He forced his eyes open and glanced up warily through his fringe. The Potions professor was glaring at him, but his arms were crossed over his chest. Harry blinked. How was he going to hit him from that position?
Then Harry realized that Snape and the others had actually retreated a bit. No one was currently within arms reach, and Harry sat a little straighter.
"Potter," Professor Snape was looking at him strangely. "When I said I was sorry, you replied that it wasn't my fault." Both the headmaster and the medi-witch looked at him in surprise. "Is that correct?"
Harry nodded immediately. This was a lot better. He might still end up getting hit, but at least it would be something he'd actually said.
"What did you mean?"
"J-just that I know you tried, sir. You had said you would. So I don't blame you."
"For what?" Snape pressed. There was something wrong here. Merlin, what was the boy talking about?
"For my getting expelled."
Now both Snape and Pomfrey were staring at Dumbledore. "You expelled him?" the medi-witch breathed.
Even Snape was looking bewildered. There was no artifice in the boy. He truly believed he was expelled, and where would he have received such information but from the Headmaster? But why on earth would Albus do such a thing? Yes, the old coot played a very deep game, but to expel the boy? To remove him from one of the few places where he was safe from harm?
"Harry," the headmaster stepped forward, and Harry flinched back. Okay, here it came. He still wasn't sure what he had done, but obviously he just kept doing it. Dumbledore held out his hand, and Harry tried not to cower. They hated when you cowered.
"Lemon drop?" the Headmaster offered, and to his amazement, Harry realized that the man was holding a tin of candy in his hand. As Harry watched, the Headmaster took one and popped it into his mouth, smiling encouragingly.
He glanced nervously at the Headmaster and then at the other two. What was the right answer? But the old eyes were twinkling at him, and though they were sad, they seemed kind. Harry slowly reached forward, and when no one shouted at him or slapped his hand away, he carefully took one. "Thank you, sir," he said politely. Even if they jeered at him and grabbed it back the next minute, he still had to be polite when anything was offered.
Just as slowly, he moved the candy to his lips, waiting for the snarl or the cuff, but they didn't come and then the delicious lemony taste was filling his mouth. He couldn't suppress a smile, and the Headmaster smiled back.
"Now then, Harry, I wonder if you can help me," Albus said easily.
"I'll try, sir," Harry agreed. He looked over to Snape. Was that okay? The Potions Master was just standing there, glowering, but he didn't seem any angrier than usual, which meant Harry probably hadn't done anything stupid. Yet.
"It seems that there is a little confusion here," the Headmaster continued. "What makes you think you have been expelled?"
"You mean, I haven't?" Harry asked, confused.
"Answer the Headmaster's question, Potter!" Snape snapped, and Harry jumped.
"Yes, sir!" he gulped. "Sorry, sir!" He looked at the Headmaster, and although the old man didn't look angry, he still scooted back just a bit. After all, Snape was pretty big and scary, but even he listened to the Headmaster, That must mean that the Headmaster was even more powerful, and hadn't he been the one to send Harry to the Dursleys in the first place? Obviously he wouldn't think twice about sending him back to them.
"You were telling me why you thought you had been expelled," Dumbledore prompted gently.
"Because Professor Snape apologized, sir," Harry explained.
"And that apology was becauseтАж"
"He couldn't keep his promise, sir. He had promised that I wouldn't be expelled, soтАж" Harry trailed off. He could tell that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
"Harry, did Professor Snape actually say that he couldn't keep that promise?"
"N-no, sir," Harry admitted. "But what else would he have to apologize for?"