“If we tried using another 500 millilitres of water then the belladonna would be diluted enough for the curse to be deactivated.” Harry pushed his paper under Hermione's nose.

Hermione groaned and took the paper. “Harry, I don't think we're going to find the cure tonight. Let's got to bed. When was the last time you slept?”

Harry pushed his hair out of his eyes and pulled his gloves back on. “Don't remember.” He took a cauldron off the fire and set into a bucket of ice. “There's no time Hermione. I need my father. He's got the answer to defeating Voldemort.”

Hermione looked over the paper and pulled another piece out of one of the many stacks surrounding her desk. “Harry, we already tried this. The water didn't work. Remember? You're too tired to think straight. We really should go to bed.”

Harry shook his head. Snape's body was lying dormant in the Castle, he was the one they needed to solve the problem. His potions skills and experience. It seemed as if everything was falling apart since he'd been taken out.

There had been more attacks and more losses for the Order to the Phoenix. Hermione was standing in as Potions Professor, but she was fresh out of school herself and she couldn't feel the place as the Head of Slytherin House. Hermione and Harry had spent most of their nights together working on finding a cure. Harry rarely stopped working, McGonagall had barred him from teaching Transfiguration because he couldn't concentrate and focus on the task at hand. She took her classes back, in addition to being the Headmaster.

“Jut give me a little longer Hermione. I've got to find this.” Harry picked up another of the musty tomes and flipped it out. His desk was filled with piles of parchment, same as Hermione's. Only none of his were school related, they all focused on finding a cure.

Hermione put her papers down and adjusted her new glasses. All the stress on her eyes from potion fumes had damaged them incurably. She hadn't found out that there were protective eye drops to use until it was too late. She got to her feet and headed across the room to Harry's desk. “Harry, we're going to bed now. You'll work better after some rest and food. A shower too. Come on.” She grabbed his arm and hauled him out of the laboratory.

Harry let Hermione pull him out of the lab. He was too tired to protest and he was out of ideas. Starring at pieces of paper didn't help him or his father and that was all he wanted to do. It was all he'd been trying to do for the past year and a quarter. Mad-Eye kept complaining that the Order didn't fight any more. All they did was work on finding a cure.

The quarters that they shared were just down the hall. Professor McGonagall had been scandalized at the thought of them living together before marriage but she got over it. The rooms were small, but they were close to the lab and Snape's shrine room. Neither of them was home long enough to need larger rooms and it was easier to keep clean.

“Harry.” Hermione let go of his arm and dropped onto the couch. “You can take the first shower. I've got some marking to finish up.” She waved an arm and summoned the fifth year Potion tests to her.

Harry nodded and stumbled toward the bath, anxious to relax in the hot water.

Hermione made another comment on the margin of the test in red ink and scowled at the paper. When she'd first taken over the job most of the students were expecting easier classes and comments that weren't rude or scrawled in an unreadable hand.

Sadly that wasn't what had happened. Hermione was just as much of a perfectionist as Snape and after reading the wrong thing in five essays she started to get angry and her comments became rude. She saw it as a stress relief tool. If essays caused stress than they should get rid of some of it too. Writing wasn't an issue for Hermione. She still marveled that she could write at all after completing so much marking, let alone if it was readable.

“Your turn.” Harry stuck his head into the living room. His eyes were already starting to drift close and Hermione helped him get into bed in a comfortable position before finding her pyjamas and getting into the shower. The smell of calming bath oil was overwhelming and she used the plain soap, so as to not hurt her nostrils any more.

At first the night was peaceful, Hermione was relieved to have the space to stretch out in her dark bedroom. The camp bed she'd been using in the lab was not the ideal sleeping surface. Mattresses were a wonderful invention.

But the quiet was cut short at half past three in the morning. Harry woke up with a scream and fell out of bed. The blankets had gotten all tangled up and it felt as if he was locked in a body bind. He squirmed and thrashed about in the bed covers, unable to free himself.

“Harry?” Hermione walked sleepily into the room and flicked on the lights. “You all right?” She looked at the bed and almost fell over the figure on the floor. “Oh, Harry.” It took her a moment, but Hermione managed to manually remove Harry from the mess of blankets he was trapped in. “That better?”

Harry nodded and picked the blankets back up. He wrapped them around his shoulders and settled next to Hermione on his bed. The nightmare had left him shaky and nervous. “Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up.”

Hermione shook her head and put her arms around Harry. “It's all right. I'm used to it. Want to tell me what this one was about? It had almost become a ritual for them, Harry waking up and Hermione sitting with him until he was ready to return to sleep.

Harry drew in a shaky breath. “It was the battle again. The one where Severus was. . .hurt. I saw the curse hit him and I tried to get the potion into his mouth. But it wouldn't move quickly enough. I could see him dying and then he opened his eyes.” Harry stopped for a moment, slowing his breathing down. “He accused me of not liking him. That I let him die because I would rather be James Potter's son.”

Harry leaned back into Hermione and relaxed as much as he could. “Hermione, I don't want it to end like that. I barely know Severus and I want to know him. I want him to be at my wedding, see his grandchildren. I want him, I need him!”

Hermione nodded and slowly let her arms fall back to her sides. “We'll find the cure Harry. Even if it takes twenty years, or a hundred. I promise I won't stop until we've found a cure. I know we will.” She stood up and stepped away from his bed. “Stand up, I'll fix your bed.”

It didn't take long for Harry and Hermione to straighten the blankets on Harry's bed and tuck him in gently for the second time that night.

Hermione was thankful that the rest of the night passed peacefully, both for her sake and Harry's. The nightmares tortured him and Hermione knew that he often didn't fall back asleep. And the peace meant that she could catch up on her rest and have the energy to function for the next few days. It was almost like the times that she, Harry and Ron had lived together in the tent while hunting for horcruxes.

If only they'd been able to find all the pieces of the Dark Lord's soul. Then Snape wouldn't be cursed, Ron wouldn't be dead, and Order would be a group of friends who gathered to tell stories of old times instead of at funerals.

“Hermione, I'm heading to the lab now.”

Hermione was woken up by someone shaking her shoulder. For a second she thought it was Ron. The short months that they had spent dating had been amazing and she was only beginning to get over him almost a year and a half after his death.

“Wait Harry. I'll come with you. And we'll eat in the Great Hall first.” Hermione sat up in bed and brushed her bushy hair out of her face. “Give me a moment.”

Harry nodded and stepped out of the room, he wasn't hungry. In fact, he'd found it nearly impossible to eat since his father was cursed. He'd been surviving on nutrient potions that he took every few days. His stomach could barely handle food and he was loosing weight that he couldn't afford to loose.

“All right Harry, let's go.” It only took Hermione thirty seconds to wake up and be ready to leave. It

was just another skill that she'd developed due to the war. Spells for her hair and to exchange her clothes. Another to clean her teeth and make sure that all of her things were in the working lab.

The two set off together towards the Great Hall, moving quickly after their night of sleep. And with new ideas of working on the cure.

The portraits greeted the two happily, they all knew that story of what had happened and since Hermione and Harry rarely left the dungeons and even less frequently ate in the Great Hall. They were so secluded and alone and no one tried to impose on them any more.

“Hermione. . .”

Hermione turned to look beside her, but Harry wasn't there. She looked down and gasped. He was lying on the ground, shaking and shuddering as his body went through convulsions. “Harry! Harry!” She shook him by the shoulders. “Get up! What's wrong?”

Harry didn't notice but within a few seconds he'd stopped moving at all and lay there on the cold, stone floor like a corpse. Hermione didn't know what was worse, the convulsions or the stillness. She scrambled to grab his wrist.

There was a pulse. A very faint one, but it was there. She drew her wand and sent out her patronus to get help. Harry needed help, and he had to recover fast.

Harry sat up. His clothes were wet, as if he'd been lying on the floor for quite some time. He glanced around the area he was in. It reminded him of some place he'd been before. Somewhere that had meant a lot to him. But he didn't know what.

Harry got to his feet. His shoes squeaked on the floor, like they had at the muggle school. Harry turned in a slow circle. He was in a hallway, the stones, the light. This was a place he'd been before and gotten lost in. This was a place that had meant a lot to him.

Down the hall he walked, ignoring the squeaky noises his shoes made. After all, he didn't know how he'd ended up here. Perhaps a portkey, the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters could be waiting around any corner. It made him feel insecure, as if someone was watching him.

Finally the hall ended and Harry tugged on the door in front of him. It opened and let him into a room that he remembered far too well. The circular shape, the veil in the centre. It still flapped due to the non-existent breeze. The odd magic of the Department of Mysteries once again spooked Harry.

More than anything Harry wanted to rush down and make Sirius appear again. His death was no longer as fresh but with so many other deaths no one had time to grieve. It seemed as if someone Harry knew was dying every week, if not everyday. He didn't know everyone personally, some of them were his classmates, Order members, muggles he'd gone to school with.

“Prongslet!”

Harry jumped at the voice. He'd convinced himself ages ago that this particular voice was gone for ever, that the only place he could hear it was in a pensieve. But he was willing to accept a miracle. Harry took a step closer to the veil and stopped.

How do I know this isn't a trap that the Dark Lord set up? Father was always warning me to think before I act. Using polyjuice potion to turn someone into Sirius would be a useful way of capturing me. And if I'm lost we will most definitely loose the war.

“Harry, come on!” Sirius started walking away from the veil, up the steps toward Harry. “It's been ages seen last saw you.”

With his beloved godfather growing closer and closer, Harry lost all sense of tactics and possible traps. “Sirius!” He let his godfather engulf him in a warm hug and relaxed as much as possible. “I really missed you.”

“Same here.” Sirius finally broke the hug and pushed Harry away to look him over. “You haven't been taking care your yourself. Harry, it's important to keep up your strength.”

Harry nodded, not really paying attention to the words. Sirius was alive and well that was all he cared about, nothing else mattered. “Sirius, I thought you died. It was so horrible, and then my father too. . .” His voice trailed off and he glanced at Sirius's face, terrified at how the man would react to him having Severus Snape as a father.

“He was a good father to you Harry, pity you can't seem to hold on to your parents.” Sirius's let out his bark life laugh. “Man pup, I really missed you. Let's play.”

Harry glanced around. “Where? We're in the Department of Mysteries, there isn't really a convenient park to play at.”

Sirius gave his godson an odd look. “What are you talking about?” He pointed over Harry's shoulder. “There's a park right there. It looks just like the one that I use to play at.” He turned into his dog form and bounded over and began to roll in the grass.

Harry shrugged, he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, or where he was. The only idea he had was that a portkey had brought him to the Ministry and he was in an area of the Department of Mysteries that he'd never been in before.

He reached the park and sat down on the grass next to Padfoot, watching in surprise as the veil room disappeared and the only thing he could see was parkland and trees and playground equipment.

“Harry, come and play!”

Harry drew in a breath sharply at the sound of another voice he never expected to hear again. “Ron. I. . . it can't be you.”

Ron gave Harry an odd smile. “Why not? Don't you want to have some fun? I never thought that you'd rather study with Hermione instead of having some fun outside.”

Harry was growing more confused. “I saw you die. I was at your funeral. You body is buried near the burrow. This can't really be you.”

“Why not?” Ron leapt off the playground and sat on the grass next to Harry, running his fingers through the large dog's hair. “It is me mate. You know me. What would make you think I'm dead? Were you listening to Trelawney again?”

Harry smiled and looked away. “As if I'd ever listen to that batty old hag.” He looked at his former best friend and godfather. “This is awesome, but does it mean I'm dead?”

Padfoot shifted back to human form and Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulders. “You're not dead and you're not allowed to die. I want you to start eating more, sleeping. I know that's what your father would want and he's a decent guy when he'd with you. Most of the time.”

Harry stood up and brushed off the back of his jeans. But he didn't remember putting jeans on. He'd been wearing robes that morning once he'd gotten up and they'd somehow been exchanged with jeans. And nice jeans that really fit him well.

“Harry . . . “

Harry looked around at the sound of his voice. “Did you two hear that?”

“Hear what?” Ron asked, confused as always. “I didn't hear anything.”

“Harry . . .”

“There it is again!” Harry glanced around, but no Death Eaters came out from behind the trees. “It's getting louder.”

“Harry. . . “

This time the voice was loud enough that Harry took a step in its direction.

“Where are you going?” Sirius put a hand on his arm. “Stay with us Harry, Prongslet. I don't want to loose you again.”

Harry pulled his arm out of Sirius's grasp roughly and headed towards the voice. He knew he had to find it, had to get to it.

After a few steps and helpless calls from Ron and Sirius the playground disappeared. Harry was somewhere new. Surrounded by white clouds of steam and fog. At least they were quite warm, almost like a bathroom while someone was taking a steaming hot shower.

“Harry . . .“

Harry took another step in the direction of the voice. He could see a figure in the steam now. A figure that was getting larger and more intimidating all the time, and it was calling his name.

The voice was starting to scare Harry. Images of dementors at the lake and Death Eaters in their black robes flashed through his mind. It made him nervous. Scared and shaking among the warm, white clouds.

Harry's first instinct was to run, but there was no where to run to. Everything seemed to be closing in on him and the clouds of steam were becoming denser by the minute. Harry dropped to knees and began to feel around for something, anything that he could use as a weapon. But there was nothing, he was alone save the figure approaching him.

“Harry . . .”

Harry stood his ground and looked at the dark figure coming nearer and nearer. “Come out where I can see you! I'm not afraid of you!” But the shaking in his knees and shoulders betrayed his fear and made his challenges ludicrous.

“Harry, it's me.” The figure emerged from the foggy clouds entirely. It still seemed intimidating as it was wrapped in a full black cloak with a low hood that hide the wearer's face completely.

But Harry knew who it was, he knew exactly who it was. The flow of the cloak, the silky voice and the loving tone in which it addressed him. “Father?” Harry took a step closer to the figure and slid the hood off of its head. “Father.” The voice had sounded different when the man had been farther away.

Severus Snape nodded and pulled his son into a tight hug. He breathed in the smell of the boy's hair and enjoyed the scent of it. “I have missed you Harry. It seems as if I've been in this state forever.” He stopped hugging Harry and pushed him away to look at him seriously.

“Father, I've been working on finding a cure for you. I swear I'll get one. Hermione's been helping too. We'll be able to do it!” Harry found himself growing frantic in his hurry to assure his father that he was trying as hard as he could. He feared that his father would find him inadequate, after all if their positions had been reversed Severus would probably have found a cure within a few days.

Severus shook his head and looked at the ground. “Did you ever think of anything else going on in the world?” He met his son's eyes. “Your skill in Potions has increased and I admit that returning to my more mobile state would be very pleasant, but there is a war going on!”

Harry hung his head. The faces of those he knew and the names he'd heard flashed through his head. Those who'd died due to his negligence. He had no excuses, no reason that he'd not been fulfilling his duty as the chosen one. “I- father- I.” He shook his head and leaned into his father, relaxing with another human for the first time in ages. “I am sorry. I didn't mean for any of it to happen.”

“How's Ginny?” Severus asked, hoping to steer the conversation to a happier topic. He didn't want his son's memories of him to all be negative and insulting. Harry had gotten enough of those from the Dursleys. And Severus knew that Harry and Ginny had been working on a relationship before he'd been cursed.

A groan escaped Harry. Most of the school had gotten over his breakup, now he had to explain it to his father. “Ron died. And the Burrow was torched. I broke up with Ginny. Things just weren't working out.” He shot a quick look at his father. “Sorry, I didn't think that you wanted me to be a Weasley, even if it was just by marriage. And not even in name.”

“I just want you to be happy.” Severus made two armchairs appear with a wave of his hand and took a seat in the green one. “Is there someone else? Miss Patil, for instance?”

Harry blushed. He'd considered himself lucky before he'd met his father, there was never anyone to ask about his relationships and make sure that he'd had a sex talk. Now things were definitely different. “Well, IsortofmovedinwithHermione.”

Severus looked oddly at his son. “I didn't catch a word of that. Would you mind repeating what you said?”

“I said, I moved in with Hermione.” Harry whispered, he turned a bright shade of red as soon as he was finished talking. “Yeah, I did. A while ago.”

Severus coughed, hiding a smile. It amused him to see his son embarrassed. His own parents had died or not cared for anything but drinking. There'd been no one to embarrass him. “Miss Granger is usually an intelligent young woman. If a bit long winded at times.”

Harry laughed. “Like the essays that you always assigned. She always went way over the required number of scrolls and inches. Ron usually fell short.” His laugh stopped and his face grew grim again at the thought of his dead friend.

“And what's this about moving in with her? Did the two of you marry?” Severus asked, taking great pleasure in making the boy in front of him squirm.

“No.” Harry looked red-faced at the ground. “We're not really going any of that. There isn't time. We both are barely home anyway. Hermione has classes to teach and I spend all my time looking for a cure.” He held out his hands to show his father. “My fingers are as stained as yours now.”

Severus took his son's hands in his own. The fingers were long and both had nails stained with the quantity of potions they'd made. Only difference was his hand had more age to it and the stains on his own skin where darker and less likely to ever become removable.

“Father.” Harry pulled his hands out of his father's. “What about you? How can I create a cure? How are you even living? Dumbledore said. . .”

Severus leaned back in his armchair. “Dumbledore says many things. And he is not right as often as everyone believes.”

Harry bit his bottom lip. It was a bad habit he'd picked up from Hermione. “You didn't answer any of my questions. I just want to help you. I want my father back. The Order needs you, I need you! Please, I need your help so much.”

“There is a cure Harry. Come closer. . .” Severus drew his son close and snapped his fingers, a wand appeared in mid-air next to his hand.

Harry stared open mouthed at the wand. “How'd you do that? And how did you ever make these armchairs appear? Where are we anyway? I think it might be the Department of Mysteries. I saw the veil room, and Sirius.”

“We are in a realm of the mind.” Severus told his son as he stood up and pointed the wand at Harry's head. “Anything can happen here, for this is both my mind and yours. Linked through a connection of love and family blood. The eternal bond. I thought it was myth before today. But it seems like everything I've read on the subject.”

Harry looked nervously at the wand his Father was pointing at him. “What do you plan on doing with that? Will it help me find the cure?”

Severus nodded. “I will enter your mind and place my knowledge of the cure within it. For there is evil here and they cannot learn it. There is another connection within your mind. One that you share with the Dark Lord.”

“Call him Voldemort.” Harry said as he gripped the sides of his armchair tightly and stared at the wand in front of his face.

“A moment.” Severus snapped his fingers again and the armchair Harry was sitting on shifted and changed shape. It became more like the Dentist chairs Harry remembered from growing up with the Dursleys. His head back and his father getting as close to his mind as possible. It put less stress on both of them and made the spell less painful.

“Transfero memoria!” Severus said in a low voice, as he tried to enter his son's mind as gently as possible. He'd experienced the spell himself and knew that the sensation of having someone invade your mind and remove or add memories was so painful and invading that it was known as Mind Rape.

Harry had obviously been practising clearing his mind and his Occlumency. Severus could see a pattern to his thoughts and the way in which his mind worked. It was so much easier than forcing his way through the memories, and much for pleasant for Harry too.

Finally he found a relatively quiet place and emptied the memories of his cure into Harry's memory. It didn't take him long and he pulled out rather quickly, breathing hard from the exertion. It took Severus a minute or two to catch his breath and after he'd finished he glanced at Harry.

Harry was fine, he was sitting up and working happily at his father. “It worked! I know the cure now! Thank you.” He hugged his father. “Are you all right father?”

Severus nodded. “I'll be fine.” He sat back into his armchair and looked out at the fog. “You're going to wake up soon. The fog is clearing, condensing. Live well Harry. I'll return before you know and you'll wish that I was gone when I want to know where you're going and what you're doing every night.”

Harry smiled. “I don't think I could ever go tired of having a father.”

“And I'll never tire of you.” Severus kissed the top of Harry's head gently. “Do something for me when you return?”

“Of course.” Harry looked seriously at the Potion Master, obviously expecting a very important and difficult task.

Severus smiled at the serious look on Harry's face. “Marry Hermione.”

Harry's jaw dropped. He'd considered it of course, their relationship was strong and when there was time between trying to find a cure, eating and sleeping, Harry often thought about Hermione and turning their living together into something more. But it had never seemed realistic.

“Father, I couldn't. It's Hermione! She was Ron's girlfriend and she's my friend!”

Severus sighed. “Harry, just ask her. I'm certain she'll agree. And one more thing?”

“Anything. Within reason.” Harry added hastily in case his father had something else crazy for him to do .

Severus smiled openly. “Wait for me to wake up to have the wedding.” He waved goodbye as the fog around them grew thinner and thinner.

“Harry! Finally!”

Harry blinked again and tried to see past the sea of brown in front of his eyes. His father had disappeared, but he still had the memories of how to make the antidote and of seeing Sirius and Ron again.

“Good. His condition was starting to worry me.”

Harry wanted to groan at the second voice, but it seemed like too much work. He was obviously in the Hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey was talking to someone else. But that didn't explain why he couldn't see.

“Harry? Are you awake? Can you hear us?”

The brown mass was swung out of Harry's face and suddenly Hermione was looking down at him. That makes more sense. Her hair and voice. Harry thought about reaching up and reassuring his girlfriend, but his arms were too heavy to lift and his throat felt like it was full of something thick and nasty.

Hermione took a step back from her boyfriend and sat down on the bed next to his. “Madame Pomfrey, is Harry going to be all right now?”

Harry moved his eyes to the mediwitch. He didn't feel very bad, but he also didn't feel very normal. And being normal was sounding more and more attractive even if he didn't feel great, normal would be nice.

“I've told you Hermione, you're staff. Call me Poppy. And Harry's going to be fine.” The mediwitch approached Harry and examined the vials in her hand. “It might take him a few days to get back on his feet.”

Hermione nodded nervously. “But he'll wake up again this time.” She got off the bed and took Harry's hand in her own. “I can't wait for you to get back to normal. I think that I might have almost found a cure.”

Poppy smiled at the couple and held up a potion bottle. “Right now the best thing for Mister Potter is rest. His brain needs the down time and his body will use the time to process these nutrient potions.” She held up another potion vial in her other hand.

Harry didn't want to take the potions, he wanted to find out what was going on and start on making the cure. Hermione would be a great help, especially if she'd almost already found one on her own. But he wasn't asked to take any potions.

Madame Pomfrey continued to talk to Hermione about her new leads on the cure as she rolled up Harry's sleeve and put her wand in the crux of his elbow. She tapped a vial with the handle of the wand and the potion began to flow into Harry's arm.

It hurt. Harry tried to pull his arm away or bend his elbow. Neither of them worked and he wished that swallowing the potions had been an option. The taste might not have been perfect, but it was certainly less painful and much quicker than the potion flowing in vein-style.

Hermione noticed her boyfriend wincing and took his hand in hers so he could squeeze it and try to draw his attention away from the pain. “Harry, what happened? Was it a vision from him?” Hermione and Harry had both stopped saying Voldemort around the time that Snape had fallen victim to the curse.

Harry felt his eyelids begin to slowly slip close. The wand had pulled away from his arm and he was feeling better and pain free. “Night Herm. . .” He whispered as he slipped back into Hypno's realm. This time for a relaxing, resting stay.

The next time that Harry woke up, he was alone and feeling completely normal. The Hospital wing was bright, the blinds open with sunlight streaming in. Judging from his hunger and the quiet, Harry guessed the time to be just before lunch or just after. It was too quiet for lunch hour.

Harry sat up and glanced around the room. He was the only patient in the hospital wing and both Madame Pomfrey and Hermione were nowhere to be seen. It was rather disheartening, now that he had such an important question to ask his girlfriend and an even more important potion to brew with her.

There was a stack of parchment sitting on end table and a quill next to it. Harry could tell it was Hermione's, she always chewed on the ends of her feathers. And the parchment was mostly blank, but the first few pieces had notes on her new formula for the antidote.

Sadly, Hermione wasn't as correct as Harry was hoping. H wrote down the antidote, making it easier for himself to remember then looked over his girlfriend's theories. She had some good points, but there weren't all the key ingredients and her cure was more like deadly poison than anything else. Of course, she probably knew that and was working on fixing it.

Harry started to play around with the numbers on the parchment. There was a charm simple enough that he could cast wandlessly. It made things on the paper move around and was quite fun to play with, if rather useless. And he wasn't suppose to use the spell in Hogwarts. It could be used for cheating too easily.

“Harry, you're awake!”

Harry looked up to see his girlfriend run in through the door of the Hospital wing. She was still in her teaching robes and they were billowing out behind her in a way that painfully reminded Harry of his father. “Hey Hermione.”

Hermione came to a stop and her robes and hair shot past her face due to their relative motion relationship to her body. “You've been sleeping for ages. I was so worried.”

Harry looked confusedly at her. “What do you mean? I thought that I woke up last night.” He looked around the room. “Madame Pomfrey used her wand. . .” His hand flew to his arm, but there wasn't a mark or any residual soreness from the potion entering his bloodstream. “That's odd.”

Hermione sat down on the side of his bad and took the parchment out of his hands so she could take hold of them. “You were in a vision state for a few days. The morning when we were going to eat in the Great hall? Do you remember?”

Harry gave her an odd look. “Of course I remember. And I've got the cure now! All we need to do is make it. I'll need your help.” He indicated the paper on the end table. “I wrote it all out. It's amazing. I can't believe we hadn't figured it out yet.”

Hermione, her eyes slowly filling with tears. “Oh Harry, I was so worried. You woke up and then you went back to sleep for ages. I didn't even know. . . It was just like with Professor Snape.” She clutched his hands tightly. “Don't ever leave me like that again.”

“I don't plan on it.” Harry pulled his hands from his girlfriend's. “I'll be right back.”

It only took Harry a moment to figure out that he shouldn't have said that. Hermione crossed her arms and glared at him. “Exactly where do you think you're going?” She asked as Harry sat up straight and swung his legs off the side of the bed.

“To take a shower.” Harry pointed to the back of the Hospital wing. “It's not far, there's no way I could sneak out.” He smiled. “Relax Hermione. I'm not going to disappear, or fall back asleep.”

Hermione nodded and wiped the sleeve of her robe across her eyes. “Can you manage? It's been quite some time since you've walked, or even stood up.” She got off the bed and moved around to the side he was on, ready to catch him if he fell.

“Hermione, I can manage.” Harry stood up and managed to make his way into the shower under his own power. His legs had started to shake after a few steps, but he'd made it. A shower will help, the hot water.

After his long shower, shaving and putting on clean robes, Harry left the showers. He felt and looked much better now, ready to head to Hogsmeade and find a ring. It was traditional to pass the engagement ring down through the family, but Snape hadn't mentioned a ring and Lily been a muggleborn.

Harry headed back into the main room of the Hospital wing. The bed he'd been sleeping in had been cleaned and the bedclothes replaced. A fresh pair of the blue and white hospital pyjamas sat neatly folded on the bed and Madame Pomfrey and Hermione were sitting on the bed talking to each other quietly.

“I- Hermione.” Harry said, nervous to be disturbing the discussion. “Let's get to work on the cure. I want to finish it soon.” He smiled happily, trying to convey his excitement and anxiousnesses.

Madame Pomfrey stood up and Harry went through the same set of feelings that he experienced right before the Dark Lord attacked. This is not going to be good.

“Not so fast Mister Potter.” She motioned to the bed. “Sit down. I need to run another diagnostic.”

Harry groaned and Hermione glared at him. “Come on Harry. You have to make sure that you're fully recovered. You wouldn't want to get ill or have another vision so soon.” She pulled him down on the bed next to her. “It doesn't take long.”

Harry grumbled through the diagnostic and even more when Madame Pomfrey looked worriedly at the results that appeared to her in flowing green script. “You'll need to stay for a few more nights Harry.” She told him gently. “Just to make sure you're fully recovered.”

That had not been what Harry wanted to hear. He flung himself back onto the bed. “I'm fine.” He protest, “and I've been sleeping for ages. Real sleep, not a vision!”

Hermione put a hand on Harry's shoulder. “Just relax. I've got some detentions to supervise, but I'll return as soon as I'm finished.” She gave her boyfriend a quick kiss and headed out of the room, her robes billowing behind her.

Harry huffed as he was forced to change out of his robes and back into hospital pyjamas. The garments brought back many memories, ones of his father being cursed, one of playing Quidditch. I can't remember the last time I played Quidditch, or went flying. I can't even remember the last time I went outside.

“No worries Harry.” Madame Pomfrey set down the potion vials she was carrying on Harry's end table and began to pour out his doses. “You'll be up and about again. Making the antidote and marrying your Miss Granger.”

Harry blushed at the mention of Hermione. “Wait, who did you know I was planning on asking her to marry me?” He asked, not remembering telling anyone other than his father. It wasn't a very old decision.

Madame Pomfrey handed him the first potion. “The way the two of you act. It's very sweet. Don't wait too long to ask her, or to take that.” She pointed to the potion in Harry's hands.

After choking down several different potions, Harry was finally allowed to rest. Madame Pomfrey hadn't given him a sleeping draft, something he was very grateful for. Once the lights were turned low and Madame Pomfrey told him she was going to retire for the night, Harry was very alert.

With only twenty minutes left before curfew, Harry got up and changed back into his robes are quickly and silently as he could. He then shoved his feet into hard soled slippers, lacking shoes, and hurried out into the corridor. There was only one thing he wanted to do. Save his father's life.

Harry gathered everything he was going to need. Cauldrons, ingredients, beakers and decanters. It would take him quite a while to make it properly. And his father hadn't been certain about the effectiveness of the cure. A single slip and I may as well feed him poison.

The burning of fire under several cauldrons provided his light and Harry looked carefully over the set up. The five separate mixtures he was making were all suppose to produce gases. When those gases mingled amongst each other a solid would form in the centre of the mass and it was one of the most important components to the cure.

There was a slight problem. Harry couldn't monitor and work with all five cauldrons at the same time. Each one had ingredients to be added and changes that were crucial to achieving the final stage which was the only reason Harry was bothering with the entire process.

“All right Harry. You can do this. Cauldron three down six degrees. Five counter-clockwise turns to cauldron one and add the powdered dragon's blood to cauldron four.” Harry murmured to himself while stirring the base for the cure. It needed to simmer for seven hours before he could do anything to it.

Harry stood in front of Cauldron Three with his hand on the dial and as soon as the warning charm went off he turned it down, moving on to the next step as quickly as possible. But he wasn't fast enough. By the time he got to Cauldron Four, the contents of it had curdled and turned into a charred mess. Harry vanished it before anything bad could happen.

It took Harry another two tries to get over that obstacle. And it was only by using an self stiring cauldron that he managed to just get the dragon's blood in on time. But beyond that step were at least another twenty and Cauldron Two exploded before he could get to it. It just wasn't the kind of process that could be done alone.

After glancing at the clock and reassuring himself that it was long enough after curfew that there wouldn't be any students out, and if there was he could give them detention and they wouldn't be likely to report him for leaving the Hospital wing early.

Harry slipped out into the hall, taking care to move quietly in case on of the staff members happened to be about. He made his way safely down the hall and let himself into the quarters he shared with Hermione. The rooms were dark and he assumed that she had come straight home after overseeing detentions and gone right to bed.

If he hadn't snuck out of the Hospital wing, Harry would have been disappointed that Hermione hadn't kept her promise and visited him. After all, Hermione never forgot anything and on any normal day Harry would be worried about her. Today he was benefiting, she hadn't alerted anyone to his absence. And that was good enough that he didn't worry about the why.

“Hermione.” Harry shook her as gently as he could. He been sleeping all day, she hadn't. And in his few months as a teacher, Harry had discovered the agony of detentions and homework. If students thought they had it bad, they should be made to have detention every night and mark all the homework. Even if he wasn't the one writing lines or cleaning the school, Harry still had to be there overseeing the detentions. And he had to play the teacher, no fun or relaxation.

But now that he needed her help and the cure was within sight, so close. Nothing would stop him from working as fast as he possibly could to get his father back.

Hermione blinked. She could have sworn that she'd just put her head down. “No alarm. You're not allowed to go off yet.” She whispered, wishing it weren't the morning.

“It's not morning Hermione. It's me, Harry. I need your help.” Harry gave her another shake. He didn't turn on a light, his eyes were adjusted to the lesser levels of illumination and it would hurt both of them if he made the room lighter.

Hermione rolled out of bed, holding the covers around her. She had been too tired to change that night and had simply stripped to her knickers and bra. “Why aren't you in the Hospital wing?” She finally asked, her brain taking time to warm up, not unlike a car on a winter morning.

“No time for that. I need your help.” Harry reached out to take hold of Hermione's arm. But because it was dark, he was tired and Hermione's arm was covered by a blanket all he succeeded in doing was pulling half the blanket off.

Hermione gasped as the blanket was pulled to the side and cold air came into contact with her bare skin. She clutched hurriedly at the blanket, hoping to redeem her dignity and warmth. There was a way that she wanted to introduce Harry to the entirely of her body and it had nothing to do with her being freezing cold and both of them half asleep.

“Just give me a sec.” Hermione mumbled. When Harry didn't move, his eyes seemed to be stuck at the place where her chest had been nearly naked a moment ago, she waved toward the door. “Go! I'll be right there.”

Harry went bright red. “Oh, uh, of course.” He turned around and left the room, shutting the door behind him and Hermione heard his footsteps continue down the hallway.

The open bed, steaming with body heat was very tempting, but Hermione resisted the urge and pulled on icy feeling clothes. She shivered in the robes as they slowly began to warm. A heating charm helped slightly, but not enough to make her happy and ready to run a marathon. It had been a long day and for detention she'd had the girls braining fish. The smell of fish guts still clung to her and there were scales stuck under her nails. She was of half a mind to give them detention again and make them clean until the room no longer stunk of fish.

“All right Harry.” Hermione opened the door with her foot, using both hands to tie her long hair into a long braid. “Let's go.”

Harry nodded and the two made their way along the hallway back into the potion lab. Everything was already set up, Harry just needed to turn on the cauldrons and start adding ingredients. And with help this should be the last time he needed to make the precipitate.

“What do I need to do?” Hermione asked, looking through the shelves on one side of the room. She found what she was looking for and turned back toward Harry and the cauldrons. “Harry? You awake?”

Harry nodded and tossed the formulas to her before sticking his hand back into the heating element. It needed adjusting and the only time to do that was when the element was off and had be given time to cool. “I'm awake. Let's get this over with, I want Severus back.”

Hermione forced the cork out of the vial she'd found and swallowed the contents quickly to avoid the bitter taste. As soon as the potion hit her stomach she could feel the stimulant start to work and her entire body perked up.

“Let's get started.” Hermione began to prepare the ingredients, working on grinding, cutting and powdering various supplies. “I'll take cauldrons one, two and three.” She turned them on and allowed a stimulant potion to give her enough energy to move like a madwoman. Nothing was too fast for her.

Harry could feel the power and energy in the room as the potions began to give off the fumes that would mix together. Some of them smelled sweetly, others like rotting eggs. Harry didn't let the smells interference. It wasn't until Hermione tapped on his shoulder and helped him fasten on the mask and goggles that he realised how quickly they had worked.

Almost four hours of constant work had past when the cloud finally formed. Hermione was still under the influence of the stimulant draft and she walked into the cloud and came out with a jar full of a gelatinous silver mixture that seemed to be alive since it fought against the sides of the jar to get out. Hermione clamped the lid on top of it quickly.

“That's it.” Hermione held the mixture up to the light. “Ready to get started on the potion?” She turned to look when Harry didn't answer her. But as her eyes skated over the mess of cauldrons and ingredients all over the tables and floor, she didn't blame him. Harry was curled up around a warm cauldron. His eyes were closed and and he was breathing slowly.

Hermione smiled and conjured an actual blanket to cover him with. She considered conjuring a camp bed, but it seemed like too much work and somehow parts of her brain still managed to work through her exhaustion and the drug haze of the stimulant potion. Hermione knew that using more magic through her borrowed energy would make the crash even less fun and increase the time she needed to get real rest.

The actual cure potion was simple enough once she found the formula. Many of the ingredients were difficult to find and prepare and if they were added incorrectly the entire thing would be ruined, but the brewing techniques were rather simple. And if there was a mistake the potion would not become the bright colour it needed to be.

Hermione took the base that Harry had started and completed the next thirty steps. At that point, she cast a suspension charm over the cauldron and spent forty-five minutes cleaning up the lab. After all, it would make making on the cure all that much easier if there was space to do it in.

Finally, as the sun began to rise, not that it could be seen in the windowless lab, Hermione felt the buzzing in her veins start to subside. She turned the lights off and placed a silencing charm around the room. After making certain that there was water and food aplenty for when she woke up, Hermione summoned a camp bed and blankets. The crash would be worse, but she would be more comfortable.

There was only two more things that Hermione knew could help her come off the stimulant potion more easily. Withdrawal potions, but those had to be prescribed and administered by a mediwitch or healer, and sleeping off the stimulant. The second was what's what she planned to do.

With a vial of Extra-Strength Sleeping Potion coursing through her veins, Hermione felt the effects of the stimulant potion recede more and more. Finally they were low enough that managed to close her eyes before her head thunked into the pillow.

For a few hours, the lab was quiet. Hermione's silencing charm prevented noise from the halls from creeping in and the only noise the two produced was quiet breathes and an occasional turn that rubbed the blankets against each other.

It was just after lunch that Harry finally begin to stir back to wakefulness. He had quite a pain in his back and neck from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. After looking about the room and noticing Hermione he relaxed and got up to check on the potion.

The cure was progressing well. Harry was certain that he could finish it in a matter of hours. And he had absolutely no idea of how much time had passed. Enough for them to nearly finish the cure and get enough sleep to feel refreshed. But no one had come looking for him for leaving the Hospital wing, nor for Hermione to teach her classes.

“Hermione.” Harry took her girlfriend's shoulder and shook it gently. When there was no response he looked around nervously. I've already got one family member in a magical coma. I don't want another. And the Order cannot afford to lose another wand so soon.

But there was vial neatly labeled with Hermione's hand writing lying on one of the tables. Harry snatched it up eagerly, and was relieved to learn that it was simply a very strong sleeping potion. With his fears abated Harry jotted out a quick note in his cramped hand writing and left the lab for his rooms down the hall.

Harry moved quickly, if anyone spotted him he'd be restrained to a bed in the Hospital wing faster than he could say “I'm fine!” Pulling on robes and grabbing a money pouch, Harry flung his invisibility cloak over his head and floo'd out of the castle. The private floo connection had been Hermione's idea, since as the current head of the Order, Harry sometimes had to meet with people like fugitives and Death Eaters that had information he needed.

The Three Broomsticks was open and Harry stood to the side of the door. Severus had started teaching him stealth techniques and he now knew that a door opening and closing on its own could be a dead give away to someone invisible. But there were enough people coming and going that Harry managed to slip out behind a large figure in an all encompassing deep purple cloak.

Hogsmeade was a small town, but Harry knew where to find what he wanted. There wasn't a jeweller or a clothing shop, but he headed down the main street to a building at the very end. The building itself was quite old, but the business inside had only opened a few weeks ago.

Harry opened the door and stepped into the shop. The main room was empty and he pulled off the invisibility cloak. Walking quietly across the floor, Harry moved to the door that lead into the forge and knocked gently, he didn't want to disturb the Master Smith. He had yet to meet the man, but his reputation was one of great work and esteem.

The figure bent over the forge turned upon hearing Harry's knock and came to the door. That was the greatest shock of Harry's day. For the smith was not the man of great reputation that he'd been lead to believe. The smith wasn't a man at all, unless the Wizarding World had suddenly decided to change what man and woman meant.

“Is there something I can do for you Sir?” She asked him, brushing a sweaty fringe off of her forehead.

Harry was amazed to see the size of the muscles in her arms, he was so busy looking that he'd almost forgotten what he'd come for.

“Sir?” She waved her wand and a robe came flying from the outer shop room into her hands.

“Oh.” Harry shook his head for a moment. “I need one of these. Could you make this?” He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and handed it to the women.

She smiled and nodded. “It will take me about thirty minutes. I'll send it up to the castle when I'm done. Hogwarts, right?”

Harry nodded and gifted her with a rare smile. As soon as she'd turned away and returned to her forge, he pulled the invisibility cloak back on and headed up the path to the warmth and windless building of Three Broomsticks. He'd pick up a few butterbeers before flooing back to Hogwarts.

“Hermione.” Harry gave his girlfriend another shake. His package had arrived from the Smith and the sleeping potion she'd taken should have worn off enough for her to wake up. “Hermione, I've got something for you. And we need to get back to work on the cure.”

Hermione let her eyelids drift slowly open. She wasn't feeling as bad as she'd expected, the crash had obviously gone through the cycle while she'd been sleeping. And for once the stimulant had left her ravenous. “What it is Harry?” She asked, her voice horse and dry.

Harry handed Hermione a goblet full of fresh conjured water. “Have a drink Hermione. We should get to work on the next stage of the cure.”

Hermione nodded, sitting up on the camp bed she'd been sleeping on. The room was lit with torches and the cauldron containing the cure was sending out puffs of pink smoke on a regular basis. “Is the cure done yet?” She asked, hoping that it was. I really don't feel like standing over a hot cauldron and getting my hands burned from the metal ladle again.

“Not quite.” Harry took a small box from out of his sleeve and glanced down it for a moment before tucking it back into a pocket. This didn't feel like the right time for such an important and sentimental moment. He wasn't ready and there was work to be done.

Hermione stood up, groaning as she stretched and pulled on gloves and a face mask. The fumes from the cure potion could damage the eyes and she already had to wear glasses like her boyfriend. Hermione definitely did not want to loose her eyes. They were very important to her.

“Let's do this.” Hermione picked up the paper and stepped over to the cauldron. “Did you add the lavender yet?” There weren't many steps left, the potions was nearly finished.

Harry nodded. “I'm on the last step. Adding the precipitate from the other cauldrons. We have to cast a containment spell over it so I was waiting for you.”

Hermione took out her wand and pointed it at the cauldron, while with her left hand, she picked up the bottle and made sure that the mixture within it was still actively fighting and trying to gnaw through the glass. Dead it would be useless to them.

“Still good?” Harry asked. He was focused on the cauldron, his wand pointed straight and steady toward the potion that would soon cause a tremendous noise and reaction.

“Go!” Hermione yelled, letting the lid off the mixture jar with a flick of her wand and tossing the volatile substance into the opaque depths of the cure potion. The two substances began to mix together, sparks leapt out of the cauldron and clouds of smoke billowed out of the mass.

Harry waited for Hermione's lead and as soon as she began to move her wand, he followed suit and the two moved their wands in elaborate patterns while chanting the ancient spell that Severus had unearthed in his work to develop a cure.

And sure enough, once the chant was complete and the wands came to a still, a web blossomed out of them and slowly grew larger and larger until it enveloped the entire sputtering cauldron in a brilliant cage of light and sparking energy.

“Beautiful.” Hermione whispered, reaching out to touch it. The exhaustion, stimulant potion and headache all seemed to be adding up and making her brain not really connect with the rest of herself. It didn't occur to her that interfering with the cure was a very bad thing. Something that could hurt her and make the only chance they had to bring Severus back disappear.

Harry hit his girlfriend's hand away. “Hermione, have you taken leave of your senses? Don't touch the spell web!” He pocketed his wand and sunk onto one of the high lab stools, yawning as he did so.

Hermione rubbed her hair out of her face and stopped to massage her temples for a moment. “Tired.” She yawned, same as Harry had. “Night Harry.” Hermione climbed back onto the conjured camp bed and pulled the bedclothes around her, hoping to fall back into a healing sleep.

“Hermione.” Harry got off the stool and walked over to sit on the end of the camp bed. “Are you feeling all right?”

Hermione shook her head marginally. “'m tired and there's a headache too.” She said quietly, hoping that he'd leave her alone so that she could get some sleep.

Harry nodded and pulled his wand out to summon a few potion vials for Hermione's headache and exhaustion, from the sleeves in the room. “Come on Hermione, sit up. I've got you some potions.” Usually Hermione was the one feeding him potions, but Harry didn't mind helping out when it was needed. It wasn't as if Hermione were one of the students who complained and protested at having to take medication.

Hermione pulled herself up and leaned into her boyfriend's shoulder. She accepted the first potion and swallowed it quickly. Same for the second. But her Potion training was coming in handy, she could recognize the brews simply by taste and a bit of smell. The books all said that it would happen eventually.

Harry could feel his hands shaking with the anxiety and nervousness he was experiencing. “Hermione?” He asked, pulling the small box from his pocket.

“Ya?” Hermione looked at him with tired eyes. “What is it Harry?” She yawned and let his shoulder pillow her head. Harry could feel her breath against his neck. It was rather ticklish, but at the same time warm and comforting.

Harry opened the box and made sure that it was what he thought it was before handing it to his girlfriend. “Hermione, I want to marry you. Severus wants me t' to.”

That definitely stirred Hermione into wakefulness. Her eyes popped open and she looked down, startled, at the box in her hand. She opened it and looked at the ring inside, it sparkled and shone with the same look as the web that they'd cast over the cure cauldron. “Harry . . .” She turned to stare at her boyfriend with amazement written plainly across her face.

Oh no! Harry you screwed up! Why did you ever even ask her?!?! Harry was mortified with humiliation, he couldn't believe that he'd just come out of nowhere and asked Hermione to marry him. It was the worst proposal he could ever make.

“Harry, I . . .”

“No, it's okay. I get it.” Harry got off the camp bed. “Sorry I bothered. I should have known . . .” He turned to head off, to be anywhere but with Hermione.

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm. “Yes Harry.”

Harry turned back, his eyes growing as wide as dinner plates. “Really? You'll marry me?” When Hermione nodded her head, he leapt into the air in his excitement. “Yes!”

Hermione smiled and pulled Harry down next to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers for a long kiss. The deepest, most personal that they'd ever shared. Hermione couldn't believe that it was actually happening. Ever since Ron had died she'd given up hope of ever marrying. Harry always seemed more of the boyfriend, not husband, type.

Harry returned the hug, letting Hermione's body heat warm him up. For him, the biggest problem with the dungeons was their year round icy temperatures. “Hermione. I want to wait to marry. For Severus, he asked me. Said he wants to be there.”

Hermione sometimes doubted the reliability of Harry's visions. For sometimes, she felt that they were just his own version of events, or the way his mind allowed him to reflect and grieve for important people and events. “Sure Harry. The cure should be ready soon. And then this whole business can be forgotten.”

“Look!” Harry pointed wildly, his arms waving about. “It's working! It's working!”

Hermione turned to see what the commotion was about, although she was nearly certain before turning around of what she would see. And sure enough, the beautiful containment web that had covered the potion and the area around it was fading, as if it were light in darkness and the entire web evaporated before their very eyes.

“Amazing.” Hermione found the energy, somewhere within herself, to get up and walk across the floor to peer into the cauldron. Everything was exactly as it was suppose to be in the notes that Harry had brought back from his vision. It matched Severus's instructions and those Hermione was willing to trust.

Harry nodded in agreement and set up the decanting equipment. True to the formula there was only one dose in the entire cauldron that had started out full. With careful spells and vials, he drew the potion up and into a glass vial that had been spelled unbreakable.

“The only thing left to do is administer it.” Hermione said, reading over the instruction paper. “It needs to be injected and ingested. We'll need muggle needles and such, I'll get that and meet you in the shrine in an hour.”

“I'll be there!” Harry felt as if he were floating on air. Everything seemed to be going his way now. Everything was working out and soon his father would be back and he'd be marrying his girlfriend! With Severus, the war might even start to look up again.

When Harry arrived at the shrine, Hermione was already there. Harry pulled the door closed behind him and looked hopefully at the apparatus that Hermione had set up and the notes that she was reading over. “Is he cured?”

Hermione jumped at the sudden noise and looked up from the instructions she was reading over. “Oh Harry. There you are.” She set the notes down and gave a set of vials yet another scrutinizing look. “I haven't started the cure yet. And according to the information you brought back it could take up to a week to take affect.”

Harry nodded. “You're certain that we've got everything? The diagnostic ring, nutrient potions, sleeping- “

“Yes Harry.” Hermione interrupted her fiancé. “I've got everything here. It will go as planned. Just sit down and be patient. I'm not ready yet.”

Harry was too nervous to sit down. Father, Severus. He's coming back! He paced up and down the room, looking over the things that had been left in there in memory of Severus. After all, this had been a memorial before the cure had been found.

Pictures of a figure towering over a cauldron, a Slytherin scarf and a photograph of Severus as a student were all mounted neatly on the wall. Harry knelt down and looked over the things that people had hung up. There was an old Potion Masters certification that had Severus's name as a reference and Harry managed to unearth one of Neville Longbottom's tests. He'd gotten an E on it. Probably the best mark that Neville ever managed to get in potions.

Harry agreed with Hermione's decision to not publicise the possible discovery of a cure. Severus had been doing duty as a martyr and he was doing a good job. They didn't want to interfere with anyone's peace of mind and reconciliation that had come from understanding Professor Snape or forgiving him for the way he'd behaved toward them.

“Harry? I'm ready to get started.” Hermione had her wand stuck behind her ear and stepped away from Severus's preserved and unaging body. “Let's get started.”

Harry was bursting with excitement. He couldn't believe that they'd finally reached the moment they'd been striving to get to for almost two years. “Want do I need to do?” He asked Hermione, she was in charge of this part of the process.

Hermione handed Harry two small vials filled with the cure potion. “Spell one of these into his stomach when I tell you to and the other one, he'll need to drink as soon as his throat and stomach have animate and living tissues again.”

Harry nodded and pointed his wand at the first vial. “Ready when you are.”

Taking a deep breath, Hermione waved her wand to let the IV begin to drip the cure potion into Severus's hand. She nodded to Harry and the two of them cast the contents of cure potion phials into Severus' stomach to start spreading out from there.

“This is going to work.” Hermione reminded Harry, walking to the other side of the room to pull him into a warm hug. “It may take a little while, but it's going to cure Severus and then he can go back to being to Potions professor and I can worry about something I like.”

That brought a timid smile to Harry's face as he returned Hermione's hug heartily. “Thanks Hermione. For everything.”

Hermione smiled and checked the readings that the diagnostic ring wrapped around Severus's thumb was taking. “Wow. It certainly is moving much more quickly than I expected. We're almost up to the next stage.” She pulled away from the hug. “I've got to check on the rest of the equipment.”

Harry moved close enough to the bed that he could reach out and grab his father's hands if he wanted to. For the next stage of the cure, Severus needed to drink the cure in and there breathe through a mask filled with the cure. His lungs needed to be brought back to life.

While Harry was watching he noticed colour beginning to return to his father's face and tiny spasms take place in his fingers. The first signs of life were starting to appear. “Hermione! It's starting!”

“I know. Come Harry. I'll lift, you pour.” Hermione arranged herself and lifted Severus up into a semi-sitting position. “Come on Harry. I can't hold this forever.”

Harry squeezed Severus's jaws apart and let the cure potion dribble into his mouth and down slowly into his stomach. He took the mask that Hermione had set out next to him and clamped it over his father's mouth and nose, watching as the mechanism started to send a fine mist into Severus's lungs.

“Good work Harry.” Hermione set the man back down and walked over to stand next to Harry. “We've got to wait now. But it should work quickly.”

Harry nodded and conjured a stool to sit on, making another for Hermione. “I plan on waiting right here.” I want to see my father first! It's been so long since I saw him in the flesh!

Slowly, as the day passed and the containers of cure potion grew closer and closer to being empty, Harry became more and more impatient. But he refused to leave the room and take a break. Hermione's pleas did nothing. Even her bribe of flying with him was ignored.

“Hermione!” Harry jumped excitedly off his stool. “Look!”

Hermione whipped her head around. “I told you it would work. Come on.” She moved closer to Severus and ran a diagnostic spell. It came back normal, perfectly normal. Hermione removed the mask over his face and took the IV from his hand.

“Harry? Miss Granger?” Severus's voice was dry and raspy from lack of water and disuse. “It really worked?”

Harry couldn't stop beaming. He got water and nutrient potions, anything Severus needed or wanted. He even submitted to another series of tests that Madame Pomfrey wanted to run because he'd escaped the Hospital wing so early and hadn't exactly taken care of himself after he'd left. That made her angrier than his early departure.

But the important thing was that the entire affair was over. His father was back and the wedding date was going to be set. For a moment, the world seemed separate from all his worries and problems. There was no Voldemort, no war. Just Severus and Hermione and Harry. All the world in a room.