The Tribuo Vita charm is generally believed to strengthen or restart the heart of a dying wizard or witch by infusing a measure of the donors' magic into the body of the recipient, before all of the recipient's magic has fled. It is most successful in those cases where the recipient's body has sustained little to no trauma or debility from disease.

Allthough one may perform the spell, at least two are required to perform the spell with some degree of safety and better for it to be three. The spell itself is dangerous for all but the most powerful of wizards. The addition of a third lends a stability that prevents the overdraining of...

A knock at the door startled Severus out of his book, as he sat drinking tea at his kitchen table. Normally, he sat in the living room to read, but this morning the kitchen had felt much more inviting than usual.

As much as he hated to admit it, Potter's thorough scrubbing had lent the room a coziness that Severus could hardly credit. He wondered idly if he should spell the floor to white, although the soft grey that the floor had cleaned up to gave the kitchen a sort of rustic character that was not unattractive. The only thing that jarred were the yellowing curtains that the boy had been unable to wash. They now soaked in the sink, in one of Severus' best bleaching potions.

This morning, he almost felt that Eileen's ghost might come in at any moment to press a kiss to his forehead and question him animatedly about his studies, or merely go about her business, singing softly while he read at the table.

As he got up to answer the knock, Severus felt for his wand, in the pocket of his dressing gown. It was unlikely to be anyone but Dumbledore, although what he could be doing here, at this time of day, Severus didn't know.

He took a moment to look out of the spy hole in the door. His elderly neighbor from next door stood patiently waiting on the doorstep.

The Cooks had lived next to the Snapes for at least forty years. Mrs. Cook was likely the only Muggle left on the street that remembered either Eileen or Toby. Therefore, she was the only Muggle who remembered the Snape house existed.

The charms Severus used to hide the house from Muggle eyes were complex. A combination of Muggle repelling and Notice-me-not charms that meant new people moving in wouldn't notice the place, and people like Mrs. Cook wouldn't think about either the house or him. Sometimes she'd seen Severus on the street. Naturally, he was polite to her and never did anything to make anyone gossip, so he just slipped out of her mind as a part of the local scenery.

When Mrs. Cook died or moved on, the house would be completely hidden from sight, as there would be no one to remember that it was ever there. Of course, since the boy had spoken to her, she'd remembered the house, because Severus hadn't thought to modify the charms or warn the the child not to speak to her.

No matter, she'd only remember them as her quiet neighbors in a week's time (or whatever it took to renew the wards on Hogwart's).

"I beg your pardon, Severus." said Mrs. Cook, as he opened the door, "I'm sorry to bother you so early, when you're ill."

Point of fact it was gone nine, but Severus was moving slowly this morning.

"No matter," he replied, as graciously as he could manage,

"Harry forgot his coat last night." she said, holding it out.

"Oh. Thank you." Severus reached out to take it. As he did so, he realized that in the soft fabric, he felt a thin, hard cylinder.

A wave of fury washed over him.

Potter had left his wand in the pocket of this coat that he'd so carelessly misplaced. The boy was going to find himself cleaning cauldrons every night for the next four years, at this rate.

"Ah, Severus," the woman was saying, "I wonder, could I have a word with you about Harry?"

Severus sighed, wrenching his mind back from the detentions he was planning to assign the child, "Yes?" he asked.

She looked pointedly past him, and then "Is Harry about?" she asked softly.

Harry would not be waking up until at least noon, given the strength of the calming draught Severus had given him the night before.

"Harry," the name felt strange and yet somehow right in Severus' mouth, "Is still asleep. He had a difficult night last night."

It was most worrisome that in the early morning, when Severus had woken, he had heard the boy muttering and tossing, in the throes of some unpleasant dream or other.

Severus had done the decent thing and shaken the child. Potter had sat bolt upright in bed, and thrown an arm up to protect his face. Severus had been reminded of those bruises he'd seen on the boy's forearms when he had done his screening exam.

"Sorry..." the child had whispered, "I'll do it over again."

"Shh, you're dreaming." Severus had told him.

Potter had blinked owlishly, "Professor?" he slowly dropped his arm.

"Yes. Go back to sleep."

The child had nodded sleepily and snuggled into his blankets. Severus pulled the quilt up over the boy's shoulder as if he had been one of Severus' Slytherin firsties having a bad bout of homesickness.

Severus might have to start giving him a potion specifically for anxiety if he was having nightmares after a calming draught.

"Did he?" Mrs. Cook asked, still standing there, in a tidy green sweater and jeans. She must have been gardening at some point this morning, she hardly ever wore jeans otherwise, Severus mused tiredly.

With an effort, Severus wrenched his groggy thoughts around to the here and now,

Mrs. Cook stood looking at him expectantly.

"Perhaps, you'd like to come in?" Severus asked, realizing that, short of Obliviating the woman, he'd never get rid of her. Unfortunately, the boy was likely to speak with her again, so that wasn't more than a short term solution. This was likely not a good conversation to have on his front doorstep, either.

"Thank you, Severus." she smiled. Severus waved her in. His wards remained quiescent, proving that she was indeed a Muggle, with no magic upon her. Severus still kept her in front of him, just in case.

"Oh, my. You keep everything just like Eileen did, dear." she said, entering the kitchen.

At least in the kitchen he did. He certainly wasn't about to take her into the living room where he kept his potion books.

She sat at the table and he took down another teacup, pouring for her and offering her sugar before sitting himself. He put Potter's coat on the back of his chair.

"I was so surprised when I spoke to him." Mrs. Cook began, "He's so like Lily. Same eyes and the same voice even, although I daresay that will change when he gets older. And you have custody of him, do you?"

Severus nodded.

"Ah." she shifted around, a little uncomfortably, "I know it's terribly personal, Severus, but as one teacher to another," Mrs. Cook had taught in the local primary school for years. Actually, Mrs. Cook had taught Severus when he had attended it. Potter must have explained to her that Severus was his teacher. She continued, "Well, the boy told me he'd been living with Petunia. The way he spoke about her seems...well...it appears to me that you've taken custody of the child because he was mistreated, somehow."

"You're quite right." replied Severus, softly. He looked her in the eye, "It's just come to our attention that Petunia and her husband were," Severus hesitated, then plunged ahead with as much of the truth as he'd dare tell this woman, "Abusing the boy." He sighed heavily, "Sadly, we didn't realize until just this year. I suppose that was partly my fault. I never imagined Petunia..."

Mrs. Cook was nodding, sympathetically, "It's so easy to ascribe their behavior to another cause, isn't it? We had a terrible scandal a few years ago at our school, you know. It was in all the papers. We had a child who was killed by their mother's boyfriend, and no one had ever even suspected..." She shook her head, "Well, some of us suspected, but often the children themselves go to some lengths to hide it."

Severus nodded soberly, for once not rebuffing the sympathy, "Yes, Mr. Potter was quite reticent about the whole matter. If it hadn't been for another case, we would have likely missed his as well. Even now, I fear we know little more than what the physical exam showed."

Her eyebrows rose, "So, there isn't anyone at school he's close to?"

Severus was fairly certain she didn't mean her words as an accusation, but it felt like that nonetheless, "He is quite wary of adults. Although, perhaps last night we had something of a breakthrough."

"That's encouraging to hear. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help." she said gently, "After our incident we had all sorts of special training. I also have the names of some good counselors that aren't far."

Severus suppressed a smirk. Getting Harry admitted to a Muggle psychiatric facility would probably be counterproductive, in the long run, "Thank you, but no, we've arranged counseling for the boy."

Mrs. Cook looked at Severus speculatively for a moment, before saying, "It's very good of you to take the child in. It can be healing to care for someone else with simliar...issues."

Severus did not want to have this conversation.

"I used to spend a lot of time with your mother when you were away at school, you know." she continued inexorably, "She was very proud of you, you know."

"I didn't know that you and she spoke often." Severus said, stiffly.

Mrs. Cook sighed, "I'm afraid we only really became friends after that time when we called the police on Toby."

"I beg your pardon?" exclaimed Severus, stunned.

"She never told you?" the woman sipped at her tea, looking both sad and discomfited, "I'm sorry. I suppose it makes sense that she wouldn't tell you, though. You were away at school; I suppose you must have been about twelve or thirteen. Your father and she were having a bit of a barney. Right out in the street, you see. Now, you know that we wouldn't ever call the police on a neighbor, normally," she sounded rather embarrassed, "But, we were afraid it would turn nasty. My Jack and Dai Evans tried to talk some sense into him, but you know your father. He wouldn't have any of it. He ranted and raved about Eileen and Eileen's family...and you, I'm afraid. Said horrible things. Well, Violet and I, we brought Eileen in here. He'd already given her a black eye. I have an idea that's how they ended up in the street, you know. I suppose the poor girl was trying to get out of his way." She reached over to pour herself some more tea, "We tried to get her to go somewhere, but she said she didn't have anywhere to go."

Severus nodded, "My grandparents disowned her when she married my father. They never considered her marriage legitimate. If she'd have gone back to them, she would have had to leave me with my father." he said, quietly, "The Princes were an old family and they felt she'd married beneath herself."

Mrs. Cook shook her head irritably, "Yes, Eileen said something like that. You'd've thought it was the 19th Century not 1973, the way she spoke."

Severus swallowed, not wanting to ask the question, but since they were talking, "Was this long before..."

"Before Eileen took sick?" Mrs. Cook said, sadly, "No, not long. It was maybe the following spring that she started having such trouble. Well, in those days, we didn't know much about depression, did we? Not as though you could pop a pill. I think maybe the doctor gave her some Valium to help her sleep," she paused and looked down, "But wasn't that...?"

"Yes. It was." Severus gritted, remembering his seventh year. The odd letter his mother had owled him. And then a week later, the horrible conference with Dumbledore, Poppy and Slughorn. A week after that, he'd joined the Dark Lord.

"I'm sorry, Severus, I didn't mean to bring up all this old business." the woman looked was bright red and looking down at her hands, fiddling with her wedding ring.

It was far too early in the morning to start drinking, Severus knew, although that had never stopped Toby. After Eileen's death, Toby had ended up on the dole and had drunk himself to death. After Toby's death, Severus had enhanced his status within the Death Eaters by intimating to the Dark Lord that the cause of the man's demise had been slow poison at his son's hand. In truth, it had been Toby's guilty conscience and a steady diet of whiskey that had done the man in. Although Severus was guilty of many crimes, murder was not yet among them.

"I fear a lot of old business has been stirred up, lately." Severus said, dryly.

She nodded, was silent for another minute, "Harry seems very self sufficient." she said, probably to change the subject.

Severus nodded, "Yes. I'll admit, my experience in other cases has children such as Mr. Potter notably lacking in life skills." It had never occurred to Severus that Harry was the one doing the housework because most thirteen year old wizards he knew wouldn't have been able to so competently care for a house. Hell, he'd have been impressed that Harry had managed to make his own bed.

The woman nodded again, "Yes. Harry seems of the kind to be overly responsible. And, he's not really accustomed to praise. I suppose you've noticed all of this, though."

Severus had to remind himself that the Muggle woman wasn't trying to twist the knife.

"Does he not have any family on his father's side?" she asked innocently.

Severus shook his head, "No."

"That's a shame." she said, sipping on her tea some more, "As I understand it, Lily made quite a good marriage for herself. Did you know him? What did he do?"

"I knew him." said Severus, striving to keep a neutral tone, "He went to school with Lily and I. Although he didn't need a scholarship. He worked for the government before he was killed. Quite high up."

"Oh, I see." the woman said, almost comprehending, "So he came from money?"

Severus nodded.

She made a little noise in her throat, "Well, that would explain some of the things Petunia said to Angie." She seemed to sense Severus' discomfort and finished her tea rather quickly after that, "Well, Severus, I won't trouble you any more. Please think about bringing Harry and yourself over on Sunday, won't you?"

To his own surprise, Severus found himself nodding, "Yes, if we're still here. Thank you, Mrs. Cook."

She smiled, "I'll see myself out. You look as if you're hardly well enough to be out of bed." she stood and walked down the passage

"Hello, Harry dear." Severus heard her say. The boy replied with an indistinct greeting, "You look a bit peaky. You should go get some breakfast in you. I'll see you later."

If the child had been sitting on the stairs, he would have likely heard most of their conversation. Severus used to listen to his own parents talk in the kitchen from the fourth step down. The fifth one down creaked,. The boy must have sat on the fourth one, in order to remain undetected. Not something he would have done accidentaly, Severus was certain. Yet again, Severus would have to readjust his estimation of the boy.

Mrs. Cook closed the door behind her.

"Come in here, Mr. Potter." called Severus, quietly.

Potter came hesitantly into the kitchen, his hands nervously clasped in front of him and his eyes wide behind the lenses of his glasses. He still wore the clothes he had on last night, having slept in them, by the looks of it.

"I swear Severus, if you don't start calling him by his given name..." Lily's voice was in his head again.

Severus purposely looked back down at his book that still lay open on the table, seeing the way the boy was avoiding his gaze, "I made you some breakfast." he said calmly, "It's in the breadbox. Sit down and eat something. Tea's on the table."

"Thank you." the child whispered, moving around the kitchen silently. No wonder the boy was able to sneak around the castle like he did, he didn't make any noise, at all.

Severus used to put that down to a child who was determined to sneak about. Now, he saw it as the mark of a child who feared to draw attention to himself.

"Can't imagine where he gets that from." Lily's voice said.

Shut up, Lily, thought Severus irritably, You're not helping.

Potter retrieved his breakfast and brought it to the table. Severus poured him a cup of tea, barely looking up. Potter muttered another word of thanks.

The child poked at his eggs, pushing his food around on his plate rather than eating it. Severus sighed. Without saying anything, he took a bottle of the appetite stimulating potion out of the pocket of his dressing gown. He put it on the table and slid it across, pushing it with one finger as though it were a chess piece. Keeping his face pointed towards his book, he raised his eyes to look at the child.

Potter's eyes went to it, then darted up to meet Severus', "What's that?" he asked fearfully, as if he hadn't taken this exact potion just days ago.

"Same as before," said Severus, turning the page of his book, "Slow poison, to rid the world of people who annoy their teachers. It takes...oh...maybe a hundred fifty or so years to work, but in the mean time, you'll manage enough OWL's and possibly NEWT's to finish school and then get out of my hair."

A long moment of shocked silence, and then, "Did you just make a joke?"

"The headmaster's visits have that effect on me." Replied Severus, affecting unconcern. Really, the boy was fun to tease. Severus engaged in this kind of banter with some of members of his own house. The ones who required extra attention were usually able to appreciate Severus' humor, eventually.

The boy picked up the bottle and drank it without complaint. After that, his breakfast disappeared rapidly.

Severus surreptitiously observed the boy, rather than read his book. The boy never looked up, eating in silence. There were still dark circles under Potter's eyes and they looked a slight bit puffy. The set of the boy's mouth and chin were firm though, wanting to betray no weakness. They had yet to discuss last night's little episode and Severus had a strong suspicion that Potter expected to be punished fairly harshly for his outburst.

When Potter was done with his food, he gave his plate one of those longing glances as though hoping it would magically refill itself. Severus had put only a small portion on the plate, not wanting to overwhelm the child's appetite. A certain witch he used to know had tended to lose her appetite completely, if she was stressed and faced with too much food. However, the boy didn't ask for more. A symptom of someone who was accustomed to only eating what they were given.

The child was headed to the sink with his plate when Severus said, glancing up from his book "There's more fried eggs in the cupboard, if you like. I put the rest of the pan in there. And some more bacon and toast. The stasis charm will have kept it edible."

Potter stopped halfway to the sink. He seemed to consider Severus, then came to a decision, going to the cupboard and helping himself to more food.

Severus turned his attention back to his book.

...prevents the over-draining of the casters' magic.

Some older authorities regard Tribuo Vita as a type of dark magic, no matter the purpose it is turned to, as it bears a striking resemblance to both Horcruxes and to the Dementor's kiss, insofar as the donors are concerned. In the former, a piece of soul is broken off and secreted in an object, in the latter, the soul is sucked out and presumably destroyed.

Like the Horcrux, during the incantation, a soul fragment is extracted from each donor. Rather than being hidden away, however, this fragment of soul is destroyed (although some more fanciful explanations have the three donor's offering a third of their souls to Death itself in exchange for the soul of the dying), resulting in a massive release of magical energy. This magical energy is directed by the incantor to restart and sustain the heart of the dying.

Because the soul fragment is destroyed, rather than merely disconnected from the main soul, the soul regenerates. It is a slow process that has numerous effects upon the donors.

A long list of side effects Severus could expect followed : weakness, emotional lability, drowsiness, nightmares and brain fog chief amongst them. Lovely. Well, that would explain the past two days.

Tribuo Vita creates a bond deeper than a life debt. In some circles, it is accepted as being as binding as blood. Again,we see the similarity to certain Dark Rituals, although Healing Oaths...

Wonderful. Severus was now an honorary Weasley. Minerva already was a distant Weasly cousin and Poppy had taken all of the Healer Oaths which negated life debts. Chances were, they nullified this as well.

Still too early for drinking, unfortunately. And more than likely contraindicated. The one glass he'd had last night had left him with a headache this morning.

On the other hand, the Weasleys were an ancient family. Adoption into their clan had benefits. Especially should Severus ever find himself on the wrong side of the Wizengamot again. He would not have to rely solely on Dumbledore's good will. Yes, that was something to consider, for the future.

The clattering of dishes in the sink pulled Severus from his reverie. Potter had rinsed out the now white curtains, wrung them out and was filling the sink with soapy water.

"Leave it, Potter." Severus said idly, looking up, "I'll do the washing up."

Another one of those comical looks of surprise, "Oh." the boy seemed confused, not sure what to do next. He glanced at the curtains that were dripping onto the floor.

Severus flicked his wand, muttering a quick drying charm and then had them rehung in about thirty seconds. Really, he should have done that a while ago, the white curtains really brightened the room. Unsettlingly, even that little bit of magic left Severus feeling as tired as if he'd done it by hand.

"Put the kettle on and come sit down," Severus told the astonished boy. .

Potter did as he was told. He stared at Severus with equal parts fear and defiance. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair, as though to be out of arm's reach of the man.

Severus pretended to take no notice, "I had meant to speak to you about this the first night we were here. Sadly, I underestimated how badly drained I am," he said, putting a book mark into his book and closing it, "As it is, I'm still not quite feeling like myself."

Potter gave a jerky nod.

"So, I thought it would be best if I laid down some house rules." Severus paused, pulled Potter's wand out of the jacket hanging on the back of the chair, and then continued darkly, "First and foremost, you are to remember that you have a dangerous dark wizard after your blood. Leaving your wand in the pocket of your misplaced jacket is asking for death."

Potter's eyes went wide, "Where did you get that?" he demanded, angrily.

"I believe I just told you." Severus said, coldly.

Potter opened his mouth and then closed it again, "I forgot I had it in my jacket." he muttered sullenly.

"I would suggest you do not forget again." Severus said, sternly, suppressing the urge to shout. He was too tired for it and it wouldn't help their current situation.

He held it out for the boy, who took it, looking sheepish.

"Now, while I appreciate your diligence, I would prefer you not spend your days keeping house." Severus said.

"So you want me to stay in my room?" asked Potter, rather petulantly.

Severus rolled his eyes, "Well, tell me, what do you generally do while you're away from school?"

Anger sparked in the boy's eyes, "What? At the Dursley's?" the child's voice took on an iciness Severus had never heard, "Housework when Aunt Petunia needed help." he said in monotone, his green eyes flat, "The rest of the time I spent pretending I don't exist. That's pretty much it."

"'Pretending you don't exist'?" asked Severus slowly, "What does that mean?" he had an idea, but he thought it would be a good thing if he got Potter to say it out loud

"Well," Severus could hear the boy fighting to sound matter of fact, "If anyone came over, they sent me to my room. I had to be quiet so no one would know I was there. Well, unless they needed me to serve things. Last summer they locked me in my room after Dobby the house elf dropped a cake on one of Uncle Vernon's clients." Potter rubbed his nose, "Why'd you think a house elf would be here, anyway?"

"They've done it before." replied Severus, but then pulled the conversation back to the point. Now that Potter was finally being a little forthcoming, Severus was going to take advantage, "That would be when they put bars up on the windows?" he asked.

Potter shrugged, "Yeah."

The kettle started to whistle. Severus summoned it to him and poured the hot water into the teapot, pondering what the boy was telling him, "And, fed you a tin of soup a day?" Severus asked the boy quietly.

Potter's cheeks burned and he ducked his head, "The Weasleys told you that?"

"Yes, they did. Locking a child into a bedroom is not normal behavior, either. How else were you to 'pretend you didn't exist'? It appears to be a skill they taught you early on."

The boy shrugged. That gesture seemed to be a large part of his vocabulary. He seemed to be waiting for Severus to move on, as if they were in class. He seemed to think, that any minute now, Granger would jump in with an acceptable answer.

The silence lengthened, with the boy fidgeting. It became so uncomfortable that the boy finally blurted, "Mostly they locked me in my cupboard when they were tired of looking at me."

"Your cupboard?" asked Severus slowly, that phrase came up so often.

Potter stood suddenly, as if finding being still too hard to bear, "My cupboard! Don't pretend you never knew!" he cried, visciously, "My letter was addressed to 'The cupboard under the stairs'.Obviously everyone thought that was okay. "

"Those letters are addressed automatically, Potter. We only knew that they kept being generated, meaning they weren't being received." Severus said woodenly. He didn't turn a hair, but his insides squirmed. Some of the ways Potter was reacting were beginning to make huge amounts of sense, "How often were you locked in the cupboard?"

"How often?" The boy laughed, that same high pitched, eerie laugh Severus had heard last night, "Professor, until I was eleven, that was where I lived. If I wasn't looking after the house or at school, I was in the cupboard."

Severus swallowed, this was more than he was expecting to hear. He'd assumed this business about a cupboard was more in line with Tobias locking Severus in the cellar, "Didn't anyone ever...?"

"The nurse and some social worker came by once, " Potter turned to look out of the kitchen window, "I suppose Uncle Vernon must have told them that Dudley's second bedroom was mine and that I was the one who was so careless with my toys." Potter snorted. Apparently the injustice of that rankled, "I got the hiding of my life for being noticed by the nurse."

"Being noticed?" asked Severus slowly.

"Well, you don't bloody well think I went and talked to her myself, do you?" the boy exclaimed.

"Language, Potter." Severus said, but without heat, "No, I can see that you probably went to some lengths to hide this abuse from outside eyes.

"I wasn't abused" Potter said, in a low voice.

"What else would you call it?" snapped Severus, then he sighed, "It's important to name the thing for what it is." he said, trying to speak reasonably.

"The Dursley's are right arses, but Vernon never got the police called on him by the neighbors, for hitting Aunt Petunia in the middle of the street." The boy said harshly, turning to face Severus with bright, angry eyes.

Severus clenched his fist

"Severus!" Lilly's voice said, sharply. Severus silently named the fourteen uses for unicorn tears, calming himself.

Potter stood with his chin raised and his feet planted. Determined that he wouldn't show weakness to his professor.

All at once, Severus felt himself sag, but he caught something Potter said, "Did Uncle Vernon make a habit of hitting your Aunt Petunia behind closed doors?"

"No!" exclaimed Potter.

"So, he only tended to hit you." Severus said dryly, He leaned his head against the wall, keeping his eyes on the boy, "But, that is besides the point. We were speaking of house rules." Severus was far too tired to really go into depth at the boy's treatment at the hands of his relatives, and he suspected that the boy was too fragile, right now.

"So, I'll stay out of your way." Potter leaned against the sink, his hands in his pockets, "What else do you want me to do?" his tone was a little aggressive.

"Do you have your homework done?" asked Severus.

Potter gave another one of those jerky nods.

"In the cabinet in the living room, there's a television, if you like that. I don't tend to, since they took Dr. Who off the air." Severus said, airily (well, as airily as Severus ever got), "There's also a stereo, but if you scratch my records, you will not like what happens to you afterwards. You may leave the house, as long as you stay within the wards, but do not go behind closed doors with anyone. I expect you to pick up after yourself and do the washing up after I've cooked for us. I generally wear Muggle clothes while I'm here and drop clothes off to the laundrette. If I need any wizarding robes cleaned I take them up to Diagon Alley, when I go."

The boy nodded, his mouth was hanging open.

"Now, regarding your behavior last night." Severus began, his voice a little more stern.

The trembling started again. Severus might not have seen it if he hadn't been looking for it, The child shut his mouth with a snap.

"Sit down, please." For some reason the child just reacted to that tone and those words. Severus felt like he was trying to talk down a frightened hippogriff-finding just the right combination of courtesy and care.

The child sat, "I didn't mean to shout at Professor Dumbledore." he muttered, shamefaced.

"I imagine." replied Severus dryly, "I think, perhaps, you owe the headmaster an apology. So, write a note this morning. Bring it to me at lunchtime and we'll send it along."

Potter stared, "Er...is that all?" he said, after a moment of seeming to wait for Severus to say more.

"No, but given that the floor would get holes in it, were you to scrub it any more, that would be sufficient."

The fact was, Severus needed some time to process this conversation. Probably, he did need to have one of Poppy's mindhealers look at Potter.