Potter. Harry bloody Potter.

Of course it would be him. If there is one person on this planet that would shamelessly start bleeding in my classroom it would be the Potter brat. Severus Snape was furiously taking the stairs up to Albus Dumbledore's office, replaying the incident over and over in his head. Why hasn't the boy moved? He can't be so daft and not realize that the cauldron was about to explode? What is wrong with the brat? Snape scowled and took a turn to the left. But when does the idiot ever do what he was told to? Always above the rules, the Golden Boy of Hogwarts.

And Longbottom! Snape couldn't bite back a growl. After a specific warning, that idiotic imbecile still managed to mess up the potion. And really, only that incompetent fool is stupid enough to cause a blast wave explosion. Couldn't go with the normal thing, could he?

If Snape had been honest with himself, he would have admitted that the anger he felt was really a way to drive away worry. Clearly, the wave had made some damage on the boy. The nose bleeding and the disoriented look in those familiar emerald eyes, the total lack of response to his questions and yelling afterwards - those weren't good signs. But Snape wasn't worried, no. Not worried about Potter's well-being. At all. Well, he had sent him up to the Hospital immediately. Granger and Weasley had been all too eager to help the boy.

After having dismissed the class, Snape had made his way up to the headmaster's office at once. Certainly, the man wanted to be informed at once, if there was something wrong with his precious world savior. Snape stopped in front of the familiar gargoyle. "Berty Bott's Beans", he muttered and the statue, coming to life, obediently jumped to the side. Sweets as passwords. Really, as much as he respected Albus Dumbledore, that man was simply ridiculous on occasions. On most occasions.

At the end of the moving staircase, Snape immediately knocked and let himself in, after hearing Dumbledore's call.

"Severus, my boy, sit down. I was just about to order some tea!", the headmaster of Hogwarts said cheerfully, his blue eyes twinkling with joy.

Well, Snape thought, my news will take care of his good mood. "Headmaster, this is not a social call."

Dumbledore blinked and took a glance at an old grandfather clock in a corner. "Ah, well, I suppose not. Shouldn't you be in the dungeons teaching your class, then?"

"There was an accident in said class", Snape explained impatiently, ignoring Dumbledore's repeating gesture to sit down. "I thought you'd like to be informed that Potter has been injured."

The twinkling was gone at once.

Like I thought.

"Harry is hurt? How badly?", Dumbledore said, clearly worried now.

"That, I do not know. He was hit by a blast wave due to a cauldron explosion, as he didn't get away in time. He was bleeding and seemed rather confused, but I am sure, Poppy will be able to provide you with more detailed information."

Dumbledore nodded and walked around his desk. "Well, then, we should go and inquire."

Snape gave him an incredulous look. "We? I don't see why I should go and watch Potter whining about a nose bleed."

But apparently, the headmaster had decided to ignore his wishes. Well, no surprise there. When did he ever listen to him?

"No no, Severus, I think you should accompany me. After all, this happened in your class."

Ha. Didn't that sound like the man blamed him? But what did I expect?, Snape thought, following Dumbledore out of the office. It's The-Precious-Boy-Who-Lived we're talking about, after all.

o0o0o

The infirmary beds were mostly empty when Snape and Dumbledore arrived. Poppy Pomfrey, however, was hovering over one bed under one of the big windows on the opposite side of the room, muttering spells and waving her wand. As soon as Snape saw black messy hair, he knew what student was getting the nurse's undivided attention. When they stepped closer, Snape saw her face, serious and covered in a worried frown. Potter, it seemed, was asleep with, he noticed, his shoes and robe still on. Probably fainted...

"Ah, Headmaster, Severus, I am glad you're here", she exclaimed as soon as she noticed them. "I am very concerned about Mr Potter. Just what happened in your class? Miss Granger and Mr Weasley said something about a potion accident?"

Snape nodded. "Yes, a blast wave, actually. Potter did not move away in time and was hit."

A grim expression settled on the nurse's face when she nodded. "I was afraid it'd be something like that." She turned back to the boy whose face still bore marks of dried blood.

"What do the diagnostic spells say, Poppy?", Dumbledore asked, concern obvious in every syllable.

"I can't be entirely sure until he wakes up", the medi-witch answered while transfiguring Potter's clothes into a hospital gown, "but I have reasons to assume that his hearing has been damaged."

Snape's eyes narrowed: "Damaged? How?"

Poppy sighed and covered the boy with the blanket. "He might have lost a good amount of his hearing ability and... there is a chance he might be deaf."

Something seemed to stab into Snape's stomach, a feeling he had learned to ignore. Concern mixed with fear.

"Is that damage... permanent?", Dumbledore asked, his voice tense.

The nurse sighed in reply. "I am afraid so. There are remedies for cracked tympanic membranes, but that shock wave has probably caused damage to the internal ear as well, I am afraid. If the stapes are damaged..." She sighed again, shaking her head in defeat. "The nose bleeding is a sign that the pressure has caused the nasal mucosa some trouble, too." She looked up again. "All we can do at the moment is give him some time to rest and hope that he can still hear something when he wakes up."

Snape couldn't help but gulp. Well, Potter has finally done it!, he thought, After all those Quidditch escapades and fighting with Basiliks, the boy has managed to become deaf. Not that the boy ever seems to listen, anyways. At least now, he has an excuse... Snape shook his head, a tad disgusted with himself. Yes, the Potter boy was an arrogant, conceited and spoiled little brat but it was Lily's boy, too, after all. His duty was to protect him. Snape's jaw clenched.

He had shuddered, seeing those green eyes looking so lost, so confused. And he didn't want to imagine the look on Lily's face if she knew her son had maybe lost his sense of hearing. At once, Snape shook his head, trying to rid himself of the image, banishing red hair and accusing looks to the back of his mind.

"You seem quite concerned, my boy." Dumbledore's voice so close to his ears startled the Potions Professor.

"I am not", he pressed, turning away from the hospital bed, "I am merely aware of the problems that might be raised by this."

Dumbledore nodded, his face showing severe concern about the boy's well-being. "Let's hope for the best, then, and let the boy rest. We will know more when he wakes."