The surgery took two hours to perform, Poppy had another Healer assisting, just in case.  But the surgery went well, the spells managed to halt the bleeding and mend some of the damage, though most of it would have to resolve itself through Severus’ natural healing processes.  The brain was a very delicate organ, and sometimes the best healing was not magical in nature.  Once they had made sure the swelling was down to safe levels again, the two Healers closed the incision they had made and healed the area.  There wouldn’t even be a scar to indicate where the incision had been and Poppy had even set a spell to make Severus’ hair grow back quickly. 

“Well, that’s all we can do for him now.” Poppy said briskly.  “The rest is up to him.  I’ve heard he has a phenomenal immune system though, so that will help tremendously with recovery,” she told Lily and Lucy.  “Now let me check on Harry and then I’m going to take a long nap.  Doing brain surgery really wears me out.”

Finding that Harry was healing normally and should be waking up in a few hours, Poppy went and lay down in the guest room of the cottage.  She was soon fast asleep.

Lucy went to go and speak with Theo, he felt terribly guilty that both Harry and Severus had been hurt and was just miserable, curled up in a corner of the kitchen, his dragon form shedding frosty tears that left the floor in front of him coated with ice.

“Theo, please stop thy crying, tha art making the floor into an ice rink.  Do tha want me to trip and fall on my bum?” she began, slightly teasing.

The cold drake looked up at her, an amazingly human expression on his scaly face. *Mum, I’m really sorry that Healer Sev and Harry were hurt and I just . . . I don’t want them to die . . . or be retarded or something.  It was partly my fault they got hurt . . . I wanted to fly so bad and . . .*  More frozen tears clinked onto the floor.

“Theo, tha mustn’t blame thyself.  Yes, tha should have waited, but tha aren’t responsible for the risks Harry takes, understand? He made a choice too, a poor one, aye, but he made it himself, nonetheless. And now he pays the price for it.  As for Healer Sev, that was an accident, pure and simple, and naught to be blaming thyself for.” She spread a towel on the floor and then knelt and drew the cold drake’s head to her breast, stroking the scales even though their coldness made her shiver. 

*Then, tha aren’t going to punish me?*

“Theo, I think tha’s been punished enough.  But if tha insists . . . tha can help me scrub dishes and clean the kitchen for a week.” Lucy said, which really wasn’t much of a punishment, since her son helped her anyway with chores.

*Sounds fair.*

Lucy nodded and gave him a pat on his scaly hide.  He would change back in about a day or so and then she could give him a proper hug.  Now she was going to make some lunch, maybe bake a batch of blueberry scones or a cake. Baking always relaxed her, and there was nothing worse than waiting at times like these.

Lily sat in a chair inbetween the two beds, because she wanted to be close to both of her boys.  She wondered if Severus would be offended by her thinking of him that way.  Then again, she wouldn’t care one bit if he was, so long as he survived this ordeal.  She gazed at him from eyes swimming with tears . . . tears that she refused to shed because she knew if she did she’d never stop crying.  And they needed her to be strong, to be there for them, but she was so afraid! Afraid that she would lose Severus, or worse, that he would be so damaged he could never be what he was.  She was also afraid that Harry would have some memory loss and what if he forgot how to control his powers? Granted, he didn’t have as much control as she would have liked, but it was better than nothing.  She was sure that a memory deficient stormcaller was a danger to almost everyone.

Then she did something she couldn’t recall doing in years.  She prayed, silently and fervently, for Severus and Harry to get well. 

She reached out and grasped Harry’s hand and then Severus’ hand.  “Please . . .get well.  I love you both so much.”

She sat there for what seemed like hours, watching every breath they took.  She felt like she was suspended in limbo, in a place neither here nor there, surrounded by a gray fog with small bits of light.  When she looked at her watch, she saw that only twenty-five minutes had gone by.

She looked again at her sleeping men and felt her heart tighten, squeezing her chest.  She felt so helpless.  She wanted so bad to do something, something besides sit here and watch them breathe.  But there was nothing she could do, except wait.

Oh, Sev! Is this how you felt too, when you sat by my bed all those years? I feel like my heart is breaking, because you’re lost in your own world, asleep, while I’m here, hoping for the best, yet fearing the worst.  How did you ever stand it? You are far far braver than I am.

Despite her resolve, tears pooled in her eyes and trailed down her face.

She heard Lucy calling her for lunch and thought about remaining up here.  She didn’t really want to leave them alone.  But then she supposed it would be all right for twenty minutes. Poppy had said they would sleep for several hours, or at least Harry would.  Severus would probably sleep the whole day.

So she rose and went down to eat with Lucy . . . and Theo who was still in cold drake form. 

Around about four o’clock in the afternoon, Harry began to stir.  By then Poppy was up and checking her patients’ vital signs.  Harry opened his eyes and groaned.

“Ooh! My head hurts!” he reached up to touch his head but Poppy grabbed his hand.

“No, Harry. You mustn’t touch your head, you have a lump there.  My name is Poppy Pomfrey, I’m a Healer.  You’ve got a concussion, that’s why you have a bad headache.  I’m told you fell off your broom.”

“Yeah.  I remember,” Harry winced as his head throbbed.  “Am I gonna need potions?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. But before I give you a pain reliever, I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Okay.”

“What’s your full name?”

“Uh . . . Harry. Harry James Potter.”

“Good.  Where do you live?”

“Heatherton Cottage.”

“Good. How old are you?”

“Eleven.”

“Do you know what year it is?”

“1991.”

“Very good. How about today’s date?”

Harry answered all of the standard memory test questions correctly. Poppy was very pleased. Then she gave him a pain reliever and called Lily, who had gone to answer nature’s call and get a drink of water.

Lily Apparated straight into the room where the two patients were convalescing.  She was very near tears, and very relieved that her son was awake and talking and having sustained no memory loss.  She rushed over to Harry and put her arms about him, hugging him gently.  “Oh, Harry, you scared me to death! What is it with you and broom accidents?  How do you feel?”

“My head still hurts.” He admitted.  “I didn’t mean to scare you, Mum.  All of a sudden I just . . . lost control and I crashed into Healer Sev and then Theo grabbed me . . . I think.”

“Yes, he did,” Lily agreed, thankful that Harry was not saying that Theo was a cold drake.  That was something she thought Lucy would want kept private, and while Poppy was discreet, it still wasn’t something to be casually discussed around strangers.  “You were very lucky, Harry. You could have died or . . . or permanently injured yourself if you had hit the ground.” She stroked his hair and kissed his forehead.  “Thank Merlin you’re going to be all right with a few days in bed.”

“A few days!” Harry exclaimed.  “But Mum . . .!”

“Never you mind, Harry James.  You have a concussion and in order for you to heal properly, you must rest and take potions for your head,” Lily said sternly.  “The last thing I need is for you to end up like Severus.”

“What’s happened to Healer Sev?” Harry asked in alarm.

“When you two crashed . . . his head hit a tree and he . . . he developed a worse concussion than you.  He’s there . . . asleep.” Lily said, her voice quivering.  She pointed to the bed next to Harry.  “He had to have surgery on his brain because it was bleeding . . . and we don’t know if there was any permanent damage.  He hasn’t woken up yet.”

Harry turned to see a very pale Severus lying in bed.  The Healer looked awful. He had dark bruises under his eyes, and they looked ten times worse because of his parchment pale skin.  His chest rose and fell, but even so, Harry felt like he was looking at a corpse.  Guilt slammed into him with the force of a runaway train.  He had caused this.  It was because of him that Severus was lying there, maybe brain damaged, or in a coma.  Because he couldn’t wait to go flying with Theo. 

He felt sick to his stomach.  He turned his face into the pillow and began to cry softly.

“Harry? What’s wrong, sweetheart?” asked Lily anxiously.  Her son rarely cried, and she assumed he was in pain.  “Is it your head?”

Harry shook his head slightly.  “No.” He answered, his voice muffled by the pillow.  “It’s my fault!”

“Your fault? What are you talking about?”

“My fault Healer Sev got hurt so bad,” he cried.  “I shouldn’t have been flying alone with Theo. And I . . . I was playing around with . . . the wind again . . . and that’s why we crashed, Mum.  I didn’t mean to hurt him!  I wish he was awake so I could tell him so.  I’m really sorry!” he began to cry harder. If Severus was brain damaged, Harry would never forgive himself.

“Harry,” Lily put her arms about her child and began to rub his back.  “Harry, listen to me.  You were wrong to go flying without supervision, you know how we feel about that.  But what happened to Severus was an accident.  Yes, you shouldn’t have been fooling around with the wind, it was very irresponsible, but Severus’ injury was an accident.  He would not blame you for it.  Now please stop crying, you’ll make your head hurt worse.”

Harry managed to shut down the flow of tears.  Then he turned around and looked at his mother.  “I’m in trouble, right?”

“Harry, I am very upset with you for doing what you did, but you having a concussion is punishment enough for behaving so stupidly.  I think you’ve learned your lesson about flying alone, haven’t you?”

Harry nodded.  “But what about hurting Severus? And playing with my . . . abilities without waiting? That was wrong too.  You’re not going to spank me for that?”

Lily sighed.  Harry was right.  Not about hurting Severus, she could never punish him for that.  But deliberately playing with his stormcaller abilities was something he had promised to never do and he had broken his word.  But she was too tired and anxious to spank him and he was injured besides.  “Why don’t we leave the punishment for you using your abilities on hold until Sev wakes up.  Since it was him you injured with your recklessness he should have a say in how you’re punished for it.”

Harry nodded glumly.  “Will he wake up, Mum?”

“I hope so, Harry. I really truly do.” Lily said sincerely.

“Me too.”

Lucy brought up some broth and crackers for Harry to eat, as well as pumpkin milkshake.  “Tha just do as the Healer orders, Harry, and tha will be back on thy feet in no time!” she said, smiling. “Tha gave us quite a scare tha did!”

Harry apologized again, then he let Lily help him eat the broth and crackers.  Poppy came and re-examined him, gave him a Stomach Soother, and left several more Pain Relievers for her to give Harry.  “I need to Floo back to St. Mungos and do rounds.  But I’ll be back to check on Severus tomorrow morning.  Call me if something changes.” The witch told Lily.  “Also, make sure Harry doesn’t take the pain reliever on an empty stomach, it can give him a stomachache and constipate him.  Give him lots of liquids and fruit while he’s on it, if that doesn’t work, I’ll leave a laxative potion for you.  It’s gentle and should regulate him if he needs it.”

Harry went beet red and wanted to fall into a hole just listening to that conversation! He prayed he never needed that potion.  He continued eating the broth.

“I will, Poppy. Thank you for everything,” Lily said.

“Nonsense, Lily! I would have always come and helped you.  Severus is my good friend and so are you. Now, I have to run. If there’s any change with Severus, Floo me immediately.”  Poppy hugged Lily and Harry and then she Flooed back to the hospital.

Harry turned and looked up at Lily.  “Mum, I do not need that potion.”

“Not now, Harry. But Poppy was just making me aware of the side effects of it. And you as well.  So if you’re having trouble moving your bowels . . . tell me and you can take a potion for it. And there’s no need to be embarrassed, I dealt with that when you were a baby, you had a very fussy stomach and your dad was fond of giving you corn, which almost always backed you up and then I needed to give you---”

Harry placed his hands over his ears and cried, “Mum, please! I don’t want to know, and can we please stop talking about it? I’m fine!”  Mothers! He could swear they lived to embarrass their children!

Lily chuckled.  “All right.  Why don’t you finish this broth and then if you’re sleepy, take a nap.  How’s your vision?”

“Okay.” It was a little blurry, but Harry figured it would go away.  He began eating his broth again, managing to finish the cup.  Oddly enough, after having eaten, he was sleepy again.  He felt his eyes start to close and then he was asleep.

Lily gently covered him up with blanket and kissed him on the forehead.  “I love you, baby.” She knew Harry would have died if he’d heard her refer to him that way, but the fact was he would always be her little boy, even when he grew taller than her. 

Then she went to sit beside Severus and hold his hand.  “If you can hear me, Sev, and I get the feeling you may, please come back to me.  I don’t even want to imagine living my life without you.  Even if you don’t love me back, or we never marry, I just want you here with me.  Right here.”

She pressed his hand to her lips and cried, silent tears of misery.

But the Mind Healer did not wake, lying still in the bed, lost to the world and those who loved him. 

Three days later:

Severus still slept, though his brain was healing and his vital signs were normal.  Poppy was slightly concerned about this, though when she consulted a colleague who specialized in head trauma, he assured her that it was normal.  The body needed to rest in order to heal.  She spelled several potions into him, like ones that reduced swelling and hydrated and gave him certain nutrients.  She told Lily they were similar to ones she had been given when she was in St. Mungos.  Poppy used charms to relieve the sleeping Healer of bodily wastes and to bathe him.  She taught them to Lily, at Lily’s insistence. 

“If he remains asleep for longer than a week, there’s a chance he might not come out of it, right? And he did this for me, I can do it for him.”

Poppy found Lily an apt pupil and said so.  “You could go to medical school and become a Healer if you wanted to.”

“Not right now. I have Harry to look after. Maybe once Sev is well . . .”

“You need to decide what’s best for you, Lily.  It was just a suggestion.” Poppy said.  After checking Severus’ vital signs again, she left.

Lily rarely left the bedroom.  She took all her meals with Harry and sometimes Theo and Lucy did too.  She was the first thing Harry saw in the morning, sitting beside his bed.  Sometimes he wasn’t sure if she even slept.

She took his temperature magically and asked him how he was feeling.  He was improving and the confinement was difficult on him.  He played cards with Theo, read, and studied his schoolbooks.  Harry could walk short distances, like back and forth to the bathroom, but Lily refused to let him overexert himself.  He was still slightly dizzy and had headaches, but he made sure he drank enough water and ate plenty of fruit and whole grain bread, because he didn’t ever want to take that laxative potion.

Every morning he would look at Severus and feel despair that the wizard was not awake.  It made him feel so guilty he wanted to cry, but he didn’t.  One morning he woke and saw Lily weeping over Severus’ form and then he watched as she cast a few charms and bent and kissed the sleeping Healer on the lips.  His eyes widened.

“A kiss from your one true love,” Lily said softly, half to herself.  “Too bad none of those fairytales are true.”

At first, Harry wasn’t sure what to think about Lily kissing Severus.  Or the fact that she had called herself his true love.  But the more he thought about it that day, the more it made a certain kind of sense.  He had seen the way they acted around each other, they were comfortable together, like old friends, but more.  He recalled a few instances when they had held hands, or exchanged glances, and now he understood what those little details had meant.  Lily and Severus were falling in love.  Now that he realized that little fact, he could see how much his mother loved Severus.  She was beside him almost every hour of every day, watching over him and caring for him.  The only other person she was as devoted to was her son. 

Harry supposed he might have been a bit jealous, if things had been different. But he wasn’t.  Severus was injured because of his foolishness and it was only right that Lily care for him.  That was what you did when you loved someone.  And Harry knew that Severus cared for Lily, he had seen the way the other wizard sometimes looked at Lily when he thought she wasn’t looking.  It was kind of odd thinking about Lily being in love.  Though Harry knew she must have loved James Potter.  So maybe it wasn’t so strange that Lily loved Severus. 

The next time Lily went to check on Severus, Harry waited until she was finished before saying, “You love him, don’t you, Mum?”

Lily jerked up, startled.  “Harry, I . . . didn’t know you were awake.  Did you need something?”

He nodded. “Just an answer to my question.  You do, don’t you?”

“Yes.  Does that bother you, Harry? That I love Severus?” Lily asked, coming to sit on the bed next to him.

“No.  Does he love you?”

“I . . . I don’t know.  I think he might, but he’s never said.”

“I think he does.  I’ve seen the way he looks at you sometimes.”

“How does he look at me?”

“Like . . . you’re the best looking lady since chocolate ice cream,” Harry said honestly.  “And why wouldn’t he love you, Mum?  You’re smart, you’re beautiful, and you’re strong in magic.  And you love him back.”

Lily smiled.  “Harry, when did you get to be so smart?” She tousled his hair.

“After I almost bashed my brains out,” he answered, laughing.  “Are you going to start dating?”

“Maybe. If Severus wants.”

“Oh, he wants to. Trust me.”

Lily chuckled.  “Since when are you an expert, Mr. Potter?”

“I’m not. I just know Severus.” Harry smirked.

“Severus makes me very happy, Harry.”

“That’s good, Mum. You deserve to be happy.”

“And how do you feel about Severus and me?”

“Well . . .” Harry thought about it.  He found he didn’t mind his mum dating Severus at all.  He had never had a father figure, not one he could depend on, or go to when he needed advice.  After living with Severus for a few months and learning from the man, Harry found that he trusted the Healer.  “I think it’s good for you, Mum.  I like Severus.  He’s taught me a lot.  He’s a pretty cool wizard.  And I think he likes me.”

“Harry, Severus loves you.  He might not feel comfortable saying it, but I’d bet my wand he feels it.”

“How can you tell?”

“It’s just . . . the way he treats you.  The way he takes time with you.  He worries over you and gets scared when you do something foolish.  That’s how a father behaves.  Maybe when he wakes up, you can ask him.”

“Mum! I couldn’t! Guys don’t . . . don’t ask each other stuff like that. We’re not like girls.” Harry told her.

“I see.” Lily struggled not to laugh.  She decided that she would tell Severus about Harry and see what he did about reassuring the boy that he was loved.  Men! Three little words and it seemed that every man she’d ever known had trouble speaking them.  It boggled her mind why.  She hugged her son.  He drove her insane sometimes, but he could be so intuitive and sweet other times.  He was truly a remarkable boy.  “Would you like some ice cream?”

“You bet!  Can I have a sundae?”

“What kind?”

“Umm . . . a banana split with vanilla, chocolate, and butter pecan. With hot fudge and caramel sauce and whipped cream.  Only no cherries.”

“How about walnuts?”

“Yeah, those are good.”

“Sounds delicious.  Will you share it with me?”

“Always, Mum.”

“Be right back.” Lily said, and then she Apparated away to the kitchen.

Harry lay back on his bed, eagerly licking his lips, anticipating the sundae.  He loved eating ice cream, it was one of his favorite dessert foods.  He glanced over at Severus.

To his shock, he saw that the Mind Healer’s eyes were open.  Severus was awake!  Harry just stared at him for a few moments.  Then he slowly slid down from his bed and crossed the short distance to stare at the Healer.  

Severus’ eyes tracked on him.  

Harry’s throat went dry.  “Healer Sev? You’re awake!”

The Healer looked at him, his black eyes shining.  

“It’s me, Harry. Do you remember me?”

Very slowly, Severus’ eyes blinked.  Then he nodded.

Harry was overwhelmed with joy and guilt.  So much so that he could only express it in one way.

He burst into tears.  

“I’m sorry!” he sobbed, not even knowing if Severus could understand him.  Was the Healer suffering from brain damage? He still hadn’t spoken to Harry.  The boy was so upset that he knelt beside the bed and buried his face in the mattress. What if Severus could never speak again? He’d heard sometimes that happened with head injuries.  There had been a rugby player Vernon used to watch that had gotten kicked in the head during a game and he never played again because he had the mental level of a child.  If Severus never spoke again, how could he tell Lily he loved her? Or Harry? Though Harry doubted Severus would love him once he remembered who was responsible for his injury.  He cried harder.

All at once he felt a touch on his head.  A hand patting his head.  

“Don’t . . .” he heard a voice whisper.  “ . . . don’t . . . cry . . . Harry.”