Snape couldn't comprehend what had happened. He had walked away in a shell-shocked state, but he was still alive. The scene seemed to be on a continuous loop in his mind.

"You wanted him to survive and he was going to die if I didn't take him." Snape explained breathlessly when Voldemort released the cruciatus curse. "You were not going to be able to destroy him yourself, and I would never deny you of that right."
 

Snape was sure that Voldemort was going to torture him again, so he prepared himself for that pain. It never came.
   

"Stand, Severus." Voldemort commanded.

Snape stood up, slowly. His knees were shaking from the torture, causing him to use a chair for balance.

"You are correct, Severus. I wanted too many things for this situation and you kept my main goals in mind. How do you know that the boy will not attempt escape?"

"I have taken his wand from him. He is being treated by Anderson and there are guards posted at his door. There is no way that he can escape."

"I will allow this to play out, but remember that you are still on thin ice. Leave."

"My Lord?" Snape questioned, still confused by what had just transpired.

"Leave now, Severus, before I change my mind about killing you."

With that, Snape took his leave from Malfoy Manor.

It still didn't make sense, but Snape knew that he would have to tread carefully until this was over. That meant that the plan he was about to convey to Albus would have to be flawless. Snape pushed his way through the door.

"Severus, I am glad to see that you are alive. I have been scouring the papers for any kind of hint of your death." Dumbledore spoke as he shut the door.

"You have no faith in me, old man." Snape sneered.

"I would trust no one else with the task that you currently have."

"And speaking of this task I have most unwillingly and forcefully had to take." Snape said, switching subjects. "The boy is alive. I took him to St,. Mungos this morning. He has been put into a coma and is, as we are speaking, having a piece of his skull removed in order to relieve the pressure that is building up in his skull."

"Who is taking care of him?"

"A former student of mine. Anderson came into my house about eleven years ago."

"This is the student who became a death eater?"

"Unwillingly? Yes." Snape argued.

"He is still a death eater." Dumbledore pointed out.

"He only did it to protect his family. Where his loyalties lie is no what we need to be worried about."

"How much do you trust this healer?"

"Obviously enough to leave the boy with him. I would trust him with my life."

"What do you believe that we should be worried about?"

"How to get the boy out of Voldemort's clutches when he is healed. We both know that he will want the boy back when he is healed."

"What do you propose, Severus? I assume that you have some sort of a plan or else you would not have brought it up."

"I do have a plan, but it is mad."

"Let's hear it." Albus said as he sat behind the desk.

"When the boy awakes from his coma, we will make sure that he is healed. We are going to keep him there for a few days. When it comes time to move him, you will hex me then hex Anderson. You will remove the memory about this meeting from my mind. You will then take Harry to Grimmauld place. When Anderson and I become conscious again, we will go to Voldemort and tell him that you attacked us. If he tries to look into our minds, he would knew that it was true. When he asks where you've taken the boy, we would tell him that we have no idea where you are. The boy would be safe." Snape explained.

"That is a viable plan, but..."

"But what? There is no way that this plan can go wrong."

"I am just making sure that you have thought through everything. What about the connection between the two of them?"

"What about it?"

"How do you know that he will no attempt to find Harry with it?"

"You told me yourself that Voldemort fears this connection. If he did want to find Potter using that connection, he would have done it when the boy was not with wizards over the summer. If he did not do it then, he will not do it now."

Albus sat in a contemplative state of a while.

"Very well. Let me know when the boy has woken up."

What? There was no argument from Albus.

"Is there something that I need to know about?" Snape asked.

"Severus, I would have told you if there was something that you needed to know."

Snape left the office, his blood boiling from anger. He knew that the old man was hiding something and it was most likely beneficial to the situation.

 Walking down the hallway towards Harry's room, Snape saw Anderson approach.

"Professor, let's go talk in my office." Anderson attempted to usher Snape down an adjacent hallway.

"Why not the boy's room? That is find for whatever you wish to discuss." Snape argued, making a move toward Harry's room.

"No!" Anderson shouted, placing his hands on Snape.

"What's wrong, Anderson?"

"I just feel that our conversation is much more suited for my office."

"And why is that?"

"Well, I...it's..."

"Why won't you let me see the boy?"

"I will let you see the boy, but we need to talk first."

"Then let's talk in the boy's room." Snape reiterated.

"No!" Anderson insisted.

"You listen here." Snape growled as he grabbed Anderson by the collar and held him against the wall. "I am going to see that boy right now. Before I do, I will let you go. You have a choice to make. You will let me walk into the room. If you don't, so help me god, I will do something regrettable. So what is it going to be?" Snape growled as he let Anderson go.

The healer stayed with his back plastered to the wall and he gulped nervously before giving a nod.

"I knew you were smart." Snape thanked, slapping Anderson on the cheek lightly. Snape turned away and stormed down the hallway. He nearly tore the door off its hinges as he raced through the entrance. A curtain separated sight of the boy from the outside. Snape took three long strides and almost collapsed.

He stared at Harry, steadying himself against the edge of the bed because his knees were shaking so bad. Harry's head had been wrapped in a bandage covering everything from his eyebrows up. that was to be expected after an operation like the one the boy just had. What caused Snape's knees to shake was the fact that Harry looked like he was almost dead. Harry was so pale.

Snape took a seat next to Harry, knowing that his legs couldn't bear his own weight. He was shocked. What had happened while he was gone? Look at the vitals monitor, Snape got a little insight. The boy's heart beat had gone up a little, only three beats higher, but his blood pressure was dangerously low. In his shock, Snape had reached forward and grabbed Harry's hand. He was cold to the touch. Footsteps entered the room, causing Snape to withdraw his hand quickly.

"What happened?" Snape questioned Anderson, who had walked into the room.

"There were some...complications."

"The boy is cold to the touch and deathly pale. How bad of a complication was it?"

"There was more bleeding than expected. He made it, but lost a lot of blood in the process. We've given him blood replenishing potions and his blood pressure is slowly rising."

"How likely are the chances that he survives?" Snape's voice sounded hollow, even to himself.

"If he makes it through the next forty-eight hours, I have high hopes."

"What about impairments? Will he be one hundred percent when he wakes?"

"The fact that his brain was involved is not a good sign. We can not see anything at the moment, so we will have to wait for him to wake."

Snape felt like he was going to be sick. This would have broken a normal man who had feelings. Snape was not normal and he did not have feelings. They were buried deep inside of him after Lily died.

"Leave." Snape ordered Anderson, who obediently left the room.