Severus took a sip of the admittedly delicious coffee; his second cup. He crossed his long, jean clad legs where he sat side on to the small round table and picked fastidiously at a non-existent spot over his knee. For the umpteenth time in the last fifteen minutes, he allowed his hooded eyes to roam past the plastic domed phone booth where Erin was standing rigid backed but trying to project relaxation for his benefit, knowing as she did, that he was watching. The fingers of her phone free hand were rubbing her forehead agitatedly and then running backwards through her thick, red hair.

The phone booth and the coffee shop were situated in that most offensive of modern Muggle developments, the shopping mall. Commercialism gone mad, and something Severus tried to ensure he never entered if he could possibly help it. But today, the crowds of Muggles offered anonymity and Severus felt much safer being inside. The Death Eaters he knew would not enter a mall randomly and he was positive that they had not been followed. Severus took another sip of coffee, and with his eyes roving about ceaselessly, he absently unwrapped the small chocolate that had accompanied his coffee and was probably the excuse the proprietors used to charge the exorbitant amount that they did for a cup of coffee that was certainly only worth about fifty pence.

He and Erin had left The Leaky Cauldron forty minutes earlier and Severus had stalked off along Charring Cross Road, his Muggle companion apparently still as fumingly angry after their confrontation in front of Gringotts, as he was himself.

They had re-entered the grubby pub with Erin still under the Disillusionment Charm and after they had crossed the scuffed and dusty wooden floor, Severus had stepped behind a brick pillar near the front door. He heard Erin stop very nearby, obviously reluctant to follow him behind the pillar. Severus had smirked nastily, glad to see that she was wary of his mood.

He could see the shimmering outline of her Disillusioned form because he knew that she was there, and his hand flashed out and grasped Erin’s arm in a firm grip above her elbow before she could skip out of arms reach.

“What are you…let me go!” Erin had said, trying to wrest her arm out of his determined hold. He had berated her for her foolishness and after reversing the charm, she had rubbed the top of her head and looked at him accusingly, as if she thought he had been unnecessarily rough.

Now, when Severus looked towards the phone booth again, he saw Erin move slightly so that her back was more firmly towards him. She still had the phone in her hand but it was no longer held tight to her ear. Severus was sure that the call had ended but she did not hang up the handset, and when he saw her raise her phone free hand to her face, he was sure she had finished her call and was trying to compose herself before returning to the table.

Severus really wanted to get out of here, but the human side of him saw that the girl probably needed a boost. He resigned himself to spending more time in this Muggle monstrosity and towards that end, he summoned a waitress and ordered another flat white for himself and a more frivolous cappuccino for his companion.

8888

Erin hung up the now dead handset, but kept her back to Severus. She could feel his eyes boring into her back. She dashed more tears from her face and lamented the lack of even a tissue. She had nothing, nothing but the clothes she was standing up in. Evil wizards had destroyed everything she owned, and except for circumstance, they would have destroyed her too, as they had dozens of her neighbours.

And he was one of them; this man…this wizard who was her appointed bodyguard, he was one of those animals. But Severus Snape had saved Harry last night, and Geppetto obviously trusted him. And though that horrible man, Selwyn had been a good fifteen feet from where she had been waiting under her Disillusionment charm, Erin had felt the evil emanating from him. Just his voice had made her shudder with revulsion.

Oh, certainly, the Black Prince infuriated her so much, she could happily tear her hair out and scream until her throat was raw, but he did not make her shiver with fear and loathing. He was sitting feet away now, obviously as put out with his surroundings as he was with the task that his boss had assigned him, but he was, none-the-less doing as he had been instructed…protecting her. There had to be an explanation as to why that Selwyn man knew the Prince and had spoken to him of ‘their master’ and why he had explained in gloating detail the task he and his fellow Death Eaters had performed for their boss the night before.

And then another snippet of that sinister conversation came back to her and Erin’s anxiety factor went up another notch. Taking a deep breath and scrubbing at her cheeks to make sure they were completely free of tears, she squared her shoulders and went to join the Prince.

Severus knew that she was walking towards him but he was studiously studying a Muggle newspaper—the Daily telegraph—that someone had left on the table when they had finished their coffee. There was a small sticker half covering the word ‘Daily’ indicating that the paper was the property of the coffee shop.

Erin sat down in the empty chair, her back stiff and her face partly averted, reluctant to look at him. Severus kept his eyes on the newspaper but he was not really reading anything, far too conscious of the woman opposite him. He told himself that he was only focused on her because he was worried that she would break down entirely in front of him, and the last thing he could cope with was a woman in tears. Hopefully, she was now fully composed after speaking to her parents.

Erin followed the movements of the tide of humanity passing by their little table, some stopping to look in shop windows, others entering or leaving the shops, but most passing by, no more interested in her and Severus than they were in the occupants of the tables around them. Some of the crowd looked purposeful, others vague. A group of teenage girls dressed in very revealing summer clothes walked past, their confidence in themselves and disdain of anyone not part of their little clique apparent from their loud and profane conversation and crude laughter. Erin saw Severus lower his paper and stare after the gaggle of half a dozen girls and she wasn’t surprised to see his lips thin with disgust. The lush young bodies, many acres of which were devoid of any kind of fabric covering, apparently did not attract the man at all. Erin was very glad to see it, but not really surprised. One of the overall impressions she had of the Black Prince was that he was more than a little prudish.

As Erin kept her eyes on the passers by, all intent on their own purpose, she wondered whether their was one other person beside herself within this huge glass and steel structure who knew of, or even suspected the existence of real, magical witches and wizards. Oh, she knew that there were ‘New Age’ folk around who called themselves witches and wizards, but she doubted that even they thought that there were people imbued with real fairytale type magic. Of course, Erin knew that there were Muggles who did know about the magical world…families of witches and wizards, but they of course kept quiet because who would ever believe them anyway? She herself had known of their existence for less than twenty-four hours—had seen magic first hand—and she still felt as if she was living in a dream.

Erin was idly wondering why she and the Prince were still sitting there; she had expected him to want to leave immediately she had finished her call, but a moment later, she had her answer when a waitress set a cappuccino down in front of her and a flat white in front of Severus. Erin looked at him with raised eyebrows as he cast the paper aside.

“I thought you would probably need a pick-me-up after your call,” he said with careless unconcern, picking up his cup and sipping the brew within. Erin was surprised but she could not bring herself to say thank you. She found it difficult to be grateful for this one small act of thoughtfulness when he had made absolutely no effort to be pleasant all day. She knew that he was only here with her under sufferance. There was also that conversation she had heard and the familiarity—albeit hostile—she had seen between the Prince and that Selwyn man.

After sugaring her coffee and taking a sip—it was delicious—Erin unwrapped the small chocolate and popped it in her mouth. Closing her eyes and trying to throw off the tension of the last fifteen painful minutes, Erin savoured the rich, velvety smoothness on her tongue. When the last particle of chocolate had flowed down her throat, she opened her eyes to find the Prince staring intently at her mouth over the top of his raised cup.

Erin felt the colour bloom in her cheeks and she picked up her cup and took a hasty sip to hide the blush. What on Earth was he looking at, she wondered, flustered. Behind the protection of her own cup, Erin glared at Severus. If he was embarrassed about having been caught staring, it was not apparent as he continued to sip his drink.

“Have I got something on my face, Professor Snape?” she snapped.

Severus raised his eyebrows, and the slight quirk of his lips told Erin that he was amused by her embarrassment. “Not that I can see , Miss Hanson. But if you are concerned about your appearance, there is a female toilet just down there.” He gestured with his head towards a narrow alleyway between two shops where a sign indicated the presence of male and female facilities.

“I am not worried about my appearance, as you well know,” Erin said angrily, putting her cup back in it's saucer with a loud clink of china. It was time to put Severus Snape back in his box! “What I am worried about is how you knew that man you were talking to at the bank. He was one of the men who would have killed Harry, and he seemed to know you very well indeed.”

‘The wizarding world is not particularly large, Miss Hanson. It is almost impossible to venture out…”

“There was more to it than just a chance meeting of casual acquaintances,” Erin hissed. “You brought up the excursion into the Muggle world, not him and you spoke of ‘our master’. You work for him too, don’t you? You work for that evil man who ordered the attack on Privet Drive.

“Shh. Keep your voice down!” bit out Severus, and Erin realised belatedly that she was nearly shouting. A couple of women at the table nearest them looked up curiously. She reddened slightly, and putting her elbows on the table, she leaned towards him. And though she spoke at a more sedate volume, her tone was no less angry.

“You disappeared suddenly last night, just after Harry started writhing around and screaming in agony. You’re his doctor and yet you left him suffering. Were you being summoned by some magical means or other? Because it certainly seemed as if both you and Mr Selwyn had been at the same venue last night.’

Severus mimicked her and leaned forward. There faces were now barely six inches apart and Severus spoke in a low hiss.“ Quite the little detective, aren’t you?” The words were not a compliment. “But your conclusions whilst not strictly erroneous are also far from correct. You have been thrust into what must seem a very bizarre world, Miss Hanson, and you have met quite a few different people since you awoke at Hogwarts. And though you have had innocuous charms cast upon you—for no other reason than to make you listen when you were bordering on the hysterical—you have not been hurt.

“And when I cast charms upon you today, I either asked your permission, or I warned you beforehand. On both occasions, the charms were for your own protection.

“You have to decide whether you want to trust the people with whom you have been associating since you found yourself among us.” He looked at Erin pointedly. ‘And if you find that too difficult, perhaps you should remember that Harry Potter is one of us, and though he and I are not what you might call friendly, he trusts Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin implicitly.

“Albus Dumbledore is more than just the headmaster of Hogwarts. It would take far too long to go into his prodigious history, but suffice to say, that the only wizard alive today who is anywhere near to him in magical ability, is the Dark Lord. Dumbledore is the leader of all the adult witches and wizards you have met, including myself. And Albus Dumbledore trusts me implicitly.”

Erin listened to this lengthy speech with her eyes fixed firmly on her companion’s austere face and her hands wrapped tightly around her coffee cup. When Severus finished speaking she lowered her eyes to the rapidly cooling coffee. Automatically, she picked up her spoon and began to scoop off the froth and spoon it into her mouth.

She knew that what the Prince said was true. After she had gotten over her initial shock at finding herself in the company of wizards, it had not taken her long to see that Albus Dumbledore was held in very high esteem by all of the others, and not just because of his venerable age. She had also seen that the respect shown Dumbledore by the Prince was overlaid with affection. It had been easy to spot this actually because Severus Snape had been nothing but acerbic with everyone else, except perhaps Minerva on occasion.

But even in the short time that Erin had been a witness to the relationship between Geppetto and the Prince, it had been obvious that Geppetto did trust the Prince. And the Prince had saved Harry, first from the injuries inflicted by his uncle and then from the Death Eaters.”

She came to the conclusion that if Severus Snape was in the employ of this Dark lord, he had had plenty of opportunity to hand both Harry—who was very much at the centre of this fight between good and evil—and herself over to him and his henchmen. And though she knew that there was more to the situation than that, she decided belatedly that a little prudence would serve her well for the time being. She could come back to the subject at a later time. After all, she couldn’t just forget that she had heard that telling conversation on the steps of the bank.

“Harry says that you hate him. And you are certainly antagonistic towards him. I wonder why when…”

Severus abruptly withdrew back across the table. He sat back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and a very sour look on his face. “My relationship with Potter is not open for discussion Miss Hanson. Now, I suggest we discuss what is next on today’s agenda as I wish to get back to Hogwarts before midnight. I do have an important potion that I need to be getting on with. I believe you wish to access your savings.”

Erin was frustrated at being denied information again, and she glared at her companion who was totally indifferent to her irritation. But then she seemed to wilt in her chair. What right did she have to any answers? She had only known Harry for a few days, and the state of his relationships with his teachers was certainly none of her business. Still, she did care for Harry and she was very worried about him, and it seemed that her fate, for the time being at least, was inextricably interwoven with his.

The terrible relationship with his Muggle family notwithstanding, it seemed, from what she had been able to glean, that the poor boy’s life had been imbued with drama for a very long time. She was desperate to know why Harry Potter, a seemingly normal teenager, was so very important.

“Miss Hanson?” An irate voice recalled Erin to her surroundings and she looked at Severus hopelessly.

“I do need my money but I have absolutely no idea how to go about getting any in the short term. I have lost all of my cards and my ID and I’m sure I will need to get Statutory Declarations filled out and signed, and all of that will take time.”

She gestured at her clothes. “I can’t live in these for however long it takes to be able to get to my money.” And much to her dismay, her eyes filled with tears that overflowed straight away. “Oh, bollocks!” she groaned and plonking her elbows on the table, she covered her face with her hands and tried, ineffectually to stem the flood.

The conversation with her mother and father and their absolute horror at the loss of their home and their worry for her wellbeing washed over her again. Of course, they had wanted to come home immediately, but Erin’s fears had been fully activated by Dumbledore and his dire predications of just how much this Lord Voldy-whatsit would be determined to find out who she was because she had escaped his purge of Privet Drive, and because she seemingly had something to do with Harry. If her parent’s came home, they might be in danger too. She couldn’t stand the thought of that.

She had sensibly pointed out that there was no point in their coming home because there was now nothing to come home to. So, they had insisted she come back to Australia and she had promised that she would, just as soon as she was able to get her papers and her passport organised. Her father had insisted that he come back to England to help her do everything that needed doing, but she had somehow talked him out of it, lying and telling him that she was staying with friends who would be able to help her. They had pushed for the name of her friends and she had made one up, along with a phone number—she couldn’t give the names of any of her old friends from Essex, because her parents knew all of them and they would know how to contact them.

She had finished the call with her mother’s pathetic sobs ringing in her ear and at that time, all she had wanted was to be able to get on a plane and fly out to Australia, away from this horrible nightmare that she had found herself at the very centre of. It was the most sensible course of action, even though the thought of leaving Harry distressed her enormously and she wasn’t quite sure why. He obviously had people in the magical world who cared for him greatly.

But though she didn’t want to leave him, she knew that she couldn’t stay in his world either. She couldn’t expect Professor Dumbledore to be responsible for her safety for longer than it took to organise her passport and buy her ticket to Australia. But to do that, she needed the freedom to come and go as she pleased to see to the necessary legalities and to that end, it was impractical for her to stay at Hogwarts.

Surely the anonymity of being part of the human tide that ebbed and flowed in London would protect her from the Death Eaters. She would be just one more face amongst hundreds of thousands. And if she could get some money, she would be able to stay in some cheap hotel that did not worry about such mundane matters as establishing a person’s bona fides.

Where did one go to start the process of re-establishing their identity? The police? And wouldn’t they want to know where she had been since last night? God, this was a bloody nightmare!

“Please pull yourself together, Miss Hanson. It is my profound observation that tears are always superfluous to needs. Here.” She felt something brush against the back of her hands where they were still clamped over her wet face. With a sniff, she uncovered her face and swiped at the salty moisture.

“Take it, woman,” Severus said again, with a long-suffering sigh. He was holding a perfectly clean, folded handkerchief out to her across the table. She hesitated for a moment, and then snatched the pristine white square of cotton from his hand. When she had mopped up the worst of her tearful excesses, she balled the handkerchief up in her hand and sniffed again.

“So, are you composed enough to continue?” Severus asked, the fingers of one hand drumming out an impatient tattoo on the table.

Erin cleared her throat. “I know you’re eager to return to the castle, Professor Snape. And if you can lend me some of that money you got from your goblin bank, I won’t hold you up any longer.” Severus stared at her with one eyebrow raised in question.

“I’m grateful for your assistance in getting me to London, I really am. But there isn’t much point in you hanging around anymore. I know you would rather be anywhere than here with me, so, if you can lend me the money, I promise I will pay you back.

“Getting away from the very real problem of how you would return to Hogwarts without me and also the very real problem of my certain demise at the hands of Albus Dumbledore if I was to return without you in tow, why would you need to borrow my money when you can use your own. You said you have savings.”

“I do have savings. But it will take days, possibly even weeks before I can access it. I need a change of clothes now and I have to be able to pay for a hotel room.”

“You will not need a hotel room because you are coming back to Hogwarts.”

“Professor Snape, I have things to do that will require me to be in London far too often to be convenient for you or any other wizard or witch to have to accompany me backwards and forwards.

“So, you have decided to go it alone and eschew our protection?”

“Professor Snape, I am grateful but I know that you at least do not think that I should be at Hogwarts. Minerva expressed the same sentiments in the beginning…”

“And yet, Professor Dumbledore insisted that you were to stay. And his word is law. And though having Muggles within the castle is not a common occurrence, it is not unheard of. Muggle parents occasionally need to come to the school, though it is usual for someone from the staff to go to them. We cannot, however, refuse them admittance and Dumbledore is particularly adamant that the parents of Muggleborns be allowed access to their child’s school if they wish it.”

Erin did not want to hear any of this. She had made up her mind not to return to the castle and Harry and he wasn’t making it easy to stick to her resolve. “My parents and my brother want me to return to Australia. I think it is the most sensible thing to do. I’m sure your Lord Thingy won’t look for me there.”

“There is no telling exactly what Lord Thingy will take it in mind to do. And Australia would certainly not be beyond his reach, and if he has taken it in mind that you are a prime target and he finds out that you have left the country, he will come after you.”

Erin swallowed. “But just because his men saw me…I find it hard to believe that he would care.”

“He saw you in Potter’s room, Miss Hanson. He will assume that you have a connection to Potter. Potter is very well protected and if the Dark Lord can't get directly to him, he will want to use you as leverage. He knows Potter and he knows that the boy would stupidly give himself up to save any of those that he cares for. Idiotic Gryffindor!”

The last was a mumble and Erin didn’t quite catch it. “And you’re trying to tell me that the Dark Lord will assume all of this because a couple of his henchmen saw me?”

“Saw you in Potter’s room, being protected by a member of the Order of the Phoenix.”

“The Order of…”

“The Order of the Phoenix is the organisation that Dumbledore formed to fight the Dark Lord. Our Ministry is, shall we say working to the beat of a different drum when it comes to trying to apprehend the most evil wizard the wizarding world has ever known.”

“But why? Surely his apprehension should be their main priority.’

“There is far to much to go into Miss Hanson with regards to the Dark Lord. It is all tied up with Harry Potter and though the boy has been the bane of my existence for the last five years…” Erin’s chin went up a notch. “even I can see that he needs as much moral support as he can get. He will be busy blaming himself for the deaths of his aunt and cousin and all of the residents of Privet Drive. They will just be added onto the tally, I am afraid.’

Erin went pale and Severus continued relentlessly. “The boy needs all the support he can get and he seems to have latched onto you. Would you deny him?”

Erin looked like she wanted to cry again. “That’s emotional blackmail,” she whispered.

Severus stood up, pleased with his work but surprised by his passionate defence of James Potter’s son. He must be going soft in his old age. Or perhaps seeing Potter in the terrible state his uncle had left him had brought home that he had been suffering under at least one misconception about the Boy Who Lived and that perhaps there were more.

There was no getting away from the fact that he was a cheeky little snot, however.

“Come along, Miss Hanson, we need to get to a branch of your bank.

8888

Two hours later, Erin was juggling several plastic bags full of shopping and trotting along behind a wizard who had become more and more irate the longer she had spent purchasing the bare minimum of clothing and toiletries that she could reasonably manage with.

Erin had spent less than three-quarters of an hour shopping. The fact that she had been able to do so at all was entirely thanks to the Prince. She had explained her circumstances to a bank clerk, and by giving her full name and her birth date and address, the woman had brought her account up on the computer, but she had refused to allow Erin to access her account without the requisite Statutory Declarations that had to be produced in these circumstances.

That is until Severus Snape had stepped in and cast a surreptitious Imperious Curse on the woman and she had then done everything he ordered her to do…which was to close Erin’s current account. They had discussed the course of action Erin should take on the way to the bank and concluded that it would be easier to remove all her money now and open a new account at a later time when she had become an official person again. In the meantime, she would have the use of her money.

When Erin dropped a couple of bags and cursed softly, Severus turned around. He rolled his eyes as he watched her scrambling around picking up several items that had scattered across the pavement.

“You could help me,” she said irritably and Severus put out a foot to stop a can of deodorant from rolling any further. Erin finished scrambling around and shoved everything back into the bag. “Thank you so much, Professor Snape,” she said pseudo-sweetly. I’m so glad you didn’t get down on your hands and knees. I would have been devastated if you had broken a fingernail!”

Severus ignored her rant and took the bags from her. He crossed to the blank façade of a brick wall and stood facing it. Erin stared at his back in puzzlement and when he turned back to her a few seconds later, he was putting something into his pocket and her shopping had disappeared. She mouthed a silent “where?” but Severus took her arm and hustled her along.

“Come along Miss Hanson. Your shopping is safe. We have completed the tasks we set out to do and so we can now return to Hogwarts. Erin could see she was being dragged back towards Charring Cross Road. Severus ignored her pleas to slow down and when Erin recognised the book shop and the music shop between which the wizard pub was squeezed, she finally pulled her arm free and planted her feet stubbornly.

She had been thinking about a specific course of action since she had decided that she would return to Hogwarts. Now she looked defiantly into Severus’s annoyed face. “I want to go to Little Whinging to see if my cat is alive,” she said in a rush.

As expected, Severus looked at her as if she was totally deranged. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he bit out angrily. “It is totally out of the question.”

She had thought about it carefully and she now presented her argument. “You said that your Ministry are now in control of the area, so that must mean that the Death Eaters have well and truly left. And the last thing they would be expecting would be for me to turn up. And if you made us invisible again…”

“No!” The denial was succinct and unequivocal. Erin could see it was useless but she crossed her arms and stood her ground none-the-less.

“I want my cat!”

Severus thrust his face to within an inch of hers. Erin could smell a tantalising trace of sandalwood aftershave and a hint of cinnamon and coffee on his breath. She took a hurried step back, a little disconcerted that she could be distracted so easily when she was determined to talk him around to her way of thinking.

“You are willing to risk your own safety for a bloody cat! Are you absolutely barking mad?” Severus was livid.

“No,” she answered reasonably, trying very hard to keep her temper because she knew it wouldn’t do her cause any good to antagonise him further. “I know that if Pumpkin is alive, she will be near where the house was. She doesn’t wander. If you just made us both invisible, it will only take a few minutes to locate her.”

“No.”

“Please!”

“No!”

Erin’s eyes narrowed. “I think people might look at you askance if you were to drag me unconscious onto that bus, don’t you?”

“I don’t think I will have to resort to stunning you, Miss Hanson. You saw what I did to the bank teller, did you not? It will be absolutely no effort to do something similar to you and you will follow my lead quite docilely.

Erin was so angry, she wanted to scream. If she was willing to take the chance, why wouldn’t he? It would be dark, they would be all but invisible and the chances of there being any of the enemy in the vicinity was miniscule. And her cat was very possibly still alive.

“I am not usually one to resort to bad language Professor Snape, but for you I’ll make an exception. You are an absolute shit!” She held out her hand. “Give me my shopping,” she ordered and Severus was reluctantly amused by her belligerence and her nerve. Not many people continued to defy him when he was so obviously not in the mood to tolerate any more argument. And as for her definition of bad language…well, he had heard much worse amongst students as young as first years—Slytherin first years, admittedly—and they had been punished for their foul mouths. He didn’t think he could hand out a punishment to Erin Hanson. But in his minds eye, a sudden, vivid image of a pert, jean clad backside uppermost across his thighs and his hand descending upon it with enough force to make her squirm, forced itself to the forefront of his brain.

It did little to improve his mood.

“Enough of this!” he hissed and without further ado, and without considering the full consequences of his actions, he grabbed Erin’s arm and pulled her roughly into his embrace, clamping her to his chest so that her face was pressed into his sandalwood-scented neck. For a second or two, her mind went blank—how she loved that smell—but then reality reared it's ugly head again and she opened her mouth to demand release. But the words were caught in her throat and she did not have time to begin to struggle, before Severus turned on the spot and disappeared before the eyes of a couple Muggles, both of whom stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the spot where they were sure an amorous couple had been snogging seconds before. After a few seconds, they looked surreptitiously at each other before looking down at their feet and hurrying off in opposite directions—one to catch the train home and the other to head for the pub to meet up with his mates, and both putting the strange apparition down to the stress of a long day at work.

When Severus and his passenger popped back into existence, the gate of Hogwarts were mere feet away. Severus staggered and though he tried to lower Erin to her feet, he was aware that she ended up on her knees before he staggered to the gates, holding on while he tried to catch his breath and waited for the world to right itself. He heard Erin vomiting but he could not go to her at the moment, if he moved he might vomit himself and he would certainly fall over.

God, what an idiotic thing to do. He deserved this discomfort for allowing his temper to override his good sense. He had told her earlier why it was not a good idea to Apparate with a Muggle.

Severus leaned against the gate for at least five minutes before he felt enough in control to open his eyes to see what had become of his travelling companion. It could have been worse for him, he supposed. Erin Hanson was a slight woman so the drain on his magic was not as bad as it could have been. He was feeling close to normal already but he would be taking a dose of Pepper-Up Potion when he returned to his rooms.

Erin was lying on her side next to the puddle of vomit. He noted that the vomitus was mostly bile. She must have retched long and hard, but he was not surprised. Severus knelt on one knee beside her and took her shoulder to turn her onto her back.

“Don’t!” Erin panted, as soon as she felt his hand and Severus was relieved. At least she had not passed out, though her eyes were tightly closed.

“We need to get up to the castle, Erin. We can’t stay here all night.”

“If I move, I’ll be sick again.” She stopped to take a couple of rapid breaths. “Everything is spinning around and I can't seem to get my breath.” More panting.

Severus dipped his head, the weight of guilt unfamiliar and unwelcome on his shoulders. “I should have considered my precipitate move more thoroughly before Apparating with you. I am sorry.”

Erin didn’t answer and he knew that if he tried to carry her up to the school, he would end up in a bed in the hospital wing as Lupin had last night—Poppy would insist on it—and if he levitated her, her dizziness and nausea would only increase. There was nothing for it. He drew his wand.

“Stupefy!”

And for the second time, in less than twenty-four hours, Erin Hanson was gently lowered onto the bed in the hospital wing that she had occupied the night before. This time though, she had been levitated the whole distance and though not as physically exhausting as carrying her would have been, Severus obviously wasn’t as recovered as he had thought and he collapsed, practically boneless, into the chair that Poppy Pomfrey had quickly spelled into position behind him.

He caught a glimpse of Potter’s appalled face as the boy levered himself up on his pillows before Poppy spelled the screen around the two new occupants of her hospital wing.

“Severus Snape, what has happened?” she demanded in her usual brisk, no-nonsense manner.

“Side along Apparition,” answered Severus succinctly, too tired to elaborate further. He didn’t have to. Poppy had been caught up on all the recent happenings and she knew that this was the Muggle woman she had heard so much about from Minerva. And she knew full well, the effects of Side Along Apparition on Muggles.

“I had to stun her to get her up here without upsetting her equilibrium even more.” Poppy clucked her tongue and after making sure that Erin was stable for the moment, she turned to Severus. He forestalled her questions.

“I am fine. Just tired. All I need is a dose of Pepper-Up Potion.”

“I will be the judge of that Severus Snape, and before Severus could object further, the infuriating witch had spelled his Muggle top off and was moving her wand across his chest.”

“Poppy…”

“Shut up, Severus and let me do my job.” And rather than arguing, he subsided, but only because he was too tired to argue.

Bare feet padding across the floor outside the curtain drew his attention however. “Madam, Pomfrey. What’s wrong with Erin?” came Harry’s worried voice.

“Potter!” roared Severus, making Poppy jump a foot into the air. “Did I not tell you this morning not to get out of that bed for anything other than toilet privileges?”

“Severus!” admonished Poppy quietly. That is no way to speak to a convalescing boy.

“He is bloody incapable of doing what he’s told,” he grouched to Poppy’s back as she swept around the screen to guide Harry back to bed. He heard Harry arguing all the way back to the bed and Poppy’s reassurances that Erin was not hurt, but was suffering the effects of being transported by Apparition.

Severus was too tired to even be sour that the boy was having things that were none of his business explained to him, and he wasn’t going to suffer Poppy’s tender ministrations any longer. He pulled the top back over his head, ripping the leather thong from his hair in frustration and shoving into the pocket of his jeans.

Poppy saw Severus appear from behind the screen and head towards the door. “Professor Snape,” she called exasperatedly.

Severus raised his hand in farewell and without turning around, he called back over his shoulder, “I will see you later Poppy. I’m going to rest in my own quarters.” And he trudged out the door with her muttered, “stubborn idiotic Slytherin Potions Masters,” ringing in his ears and the feel of Potter’s hostile gaze boring into his back.

Severus threw himself fully clothed onto his bed, deciding that he would sleep for as long as his body dictated, and then he would take the Pepper-Up Potion when he awoke. He had a job to do and he was not going to find himself at anything less than par whilst he was about it.

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Erin came back to the land of the living by slow degrees. She moved to stretch and the merest trace of queasiness made her freeze, the memory of the terrible nausea and dizziness that had recently assailed her, frightening her into lying still. She was even too frightened to open her eyes.

She heard a chair being pushed back near the bed she was lying in and then a soft weight landed on her stomach. She held her breath, but when the weight shifted and she heard loud purring, Erin’s eyes flew open. Little paws padded across up her chest and then a little black head butted her chin and began to rub enthusiastically at the space between her chin and neck, a raspy little tongue flicking out to lathe her earlobe.

Her hands flew up and grasped the precious, little black body under her front legs and held her up so that they were staring at each other, orange eyes into teary green.

“Pumpkin,” she whispered in a choked voice. “I knew you were alive. Oh, you beautiful, beautiful girl.” Pumpkin squirmed in Erin’s hold and she lowered her back to her chest, where the cat went back to her head rubbing, making up for lost time. Erin ran her hand along the long length of her fluffy tail and she smiled at the boy who was sitting beside her, grinning broadly.

“We were getting acquainted again while we waited for you to wake up,” said Harry. The cat’s purrs had increased in volume and Erin could feel the vibrations all the way down her throat into her chest.

“How did she get here, Harry?” asked Erin, reaching over and grasping his hand where it rested on the covers.

“Professor Snape,” said Harry. “He brought her in about an hour ago. He gave her to me though. He said to let you sleep until you woke up by yourself. Who’d believe he was capable of two good deeds?” he asked, still amazed as he remembered how his professor had strode into the hospital wing just after dawn with a very relaxed, furry black bundle in the crook of his arm from which two orange eyes blinked sleepily. The cat had been purring as loudly as she was now. “Saving me and then saving Pumpkin.”

Snape had seen that Erin was still asleep, so seeing that Potter was awake, he had crossed to his bed and plonked the amazingly docile animal on Harry’s chest. “You will keep this animal entertained until her mistress awakes, Potter. Do not, under any circumstances wake her beforehand, is that clear?” and he had swept from the room.

Erin now buried her face against the cat’s flank where Pumpkin had decided to plonk herself down in regal splendour across Erin’s throat. “Yeah,” she whispered into the black fur. “Who’d believe?”