Chapter Text
Business was running as usual at the Royal Surrey County Hospital for the mid morning on a Monday. Nothing immensely spectacular was happening… yet.
Dr Severus Prince was doing his rounds, going around his patients in the children’s ward with a smile, checking that they and their parents were comfortable. His mind wandered to his own childhood, being tutored by his grandfather in magic whilst still attending a muggle private school. Watching as his friends all headed off to Hogwarts and envying them, but also glad he didn't have to face the stigma of houses. A fond smile slid across his face as he thought of Lily, his best friend. She’d gone off to Hogwarts and come home with three other boys in tow, boys who would soon become like brothers to him, and help him complete some (rather illegal) impressive acts.
Severus looked down at his pager as it emitted a loud beep, before heading for the elevator, moving swiftly to the ER. There was only one reason he would be getting an urgent page to the Emergency Room, and that was a severely injured child. Severus was only paged for the most severe cases, as Head of Pediatrics, any easier cases to deal with were left for the younger Pediatricians.
He headed straight for the bed his colleagues were gathered around, “What have we got?” He asked, eyes widening as he took in the battered boy unconscious in the bed. He was small, looking to be around seven or eight years old, a mop of black hair that flew in every direction and bruises covering every inch of his body. Or at least, every inch of his body that wasn't covered in cuts or welts or burns.
“John Doe, looks to be around 8 years old” Dr Williams answered, leaning over the boy, “Unconscious since retrieval by paramedics. Confirmed collapsed, potentially punctured lung, multiple skull fractures, at least twelve other confirmed fractures, suspected bruised or perforated kidney”
Severus nodded grimly, getting gloves on, “Parents?” He asked, seeing no hysterical mother anywhere near by, as was usually the case with children hurt this badly.
“We don’t know” Dr Williams said bluntly, “Abuse case Dr Prince” his voice dropped a little, “They kept him in a cupboard”
Severus swore inwardly, before nodding, “Let’s get him to CT, then we’ll start treating his injuries, no time to waste. Let’s move people!” He added when no one started moving.
He grabbed a handle of the bed and started heading for the elevator to take them to radiology.
Something about the boy was tugging at the back of his mind but he was sure he’d never met the boy before.
He turned to one of his interns, “I want you to call every primary school within an hour’s drive from here. Someone must know who he is, especially since he hasn't turned up to school today”
The intern nodded swiftly and ran off.
They got rushed through the scans, before immediately running up to the O.R.
They spent four hours working to stabilize the boy. Every time it looked the end was in sight, another bleeder would appear or another injury would be spotted or his heart would stop.
By the time the surgery had finished, the boy had lost his spleen, ½ a kidney and a fair portion of his liver and spent a total of 30 minutes dead on the table.
Severus cleaned himself up and headed for the staff locker rooms, planning on getting a hot cup of coffee before heading home, his shift having ended halfway through the surgery.
He managed a weak smile for a few of his colleagues, exhaustion flooding through his bones as he slumped into an armchair with his coffee, holding the mug as though it was pure gold.
He let out a soft groan and looked up when his intern returned, having hoped it would take her at least until tomorrow to track down some potential names of missing children.
“There are three boys fitting the description who didn't turn up to school today.” She said, handing him the stack of files, “One of them doesn't fit the age range but his teacher insisted that he was small for his age and looks to be around eight years old”
Severus nodded and flicked through the first file, seeing nothing that could indicate abuse in his records, putting it aside and repeating the process with the second, finding nothing.
He picked up the third file and flipped it open, body going tense as he saw the photo of the young boy. A very familiar face, with very familiar eyes. He let out a soft gasp as he flicked through the file, growling when he saw who the boy had been living with.
“Harry James Potter” was the name glaring up at him, a name he hadn't heard spoken since that fateful day nine years ago, listening to someone mention Harry at the funeral.
He shoved that thought away quickly, because if he stayed on it too long, he would start crying, and he really didn't need to start crying.
However, as he continued flicking through the file, memories of Lily kept flooding through him, memories of his best friend. Memories of James, the man who he had long considered his brother.
“Go to the boys room and tell me his eye color” Severus said quietly, not wanting to allow himself to think it was Harry until he was sure, “Then come back and tell me straight away”
He’d first met Harry when the boy was just days old, and already, Harry had carried his mothers vibrant emerald eyes.
The intern returned minutes later, breathless from sprinting the length of the hospital, “Green sir, like, really green”
Severus’ breath caught in his throat and he stood slowly, “It’s the ten year old” He said softly, heading to his best friends sons room in a daze, shock covering every inch of his face.
His thoughts caught up with him and he quickly ducked into a bathroom, making sure no one was around before quietly calling, “Wolfer” in a clear voice, his personal elf appearing moments later.
“I need you to start preparing the Manor for my arrival. The wards need strengthening and the floo reactivating.” Severus sighed, “I’ll need all of my wizarding clothes brought out of storage”. He paused for a moment, before answering the question his elf clearly wanted to ask, “Yes Wolfer, it’s time Lord Prince made his return to the wizarding world”