"What do you mean?" Charity demanded. "What's your problem, anyway? I've been so nice to you and Harry for ever so long-I try to comfort you and you tell me what I'm playing at?"

"I am not interested in you," Snape snapped, right at her face. "How can you even think about such a thing in such a situation? Harry's dying and all you want to do is-"

"Urgh! Give it a rest! It's always Harry this and Harry that! You can't stop talking about that brat! I'm tired of you, Severus Snape! You never want to talk about anything else but him!"

"Do you even car-?" Snape was cut short as a hex, aimed at him, nearly hit him. He blocked it, his wand out. He glared at Charity and sent a hex flying back at her.

Charity was sobbing and shouting at him. "I hate you! I should have realised that all men were like this! You're an insensitive git, Severus! No wonder Lily Potter left you! You're good for no one!"

"Get out of my house!" Snape shouted.

"Fine!" Charity rushed out of the room and stopped short when she reached the door. Her wand still out, she said harshly, "I've been so nice to you. And-and you've repaid me like this!"

"I was fine with us being friends," Snape said coldly. "But you should have known that I didn't want to be more than that."

Charity cried even more. "I thought you cared about me!"

"I did, but it was never more than a friendship-why can't you understand that?"

Charity wiped the tears from her face. "I understand now. Thanks for everything, Severus," She opened the door and slammed it.

Snape glared at it. He didn't feel guilty, not really. He was just...shocked.

He wiped his lips unconsciously, trying to get the taste off. He walked slowly back to Harry and wondered if Charity had been right. Was he really obsessing over the boy? The son of Potter...

Snape shook himself. He shouldn't think like that...he should move on...

He began to walk out of the room when he realised that Harry was making a noise.

"Nape!" Harry was crying, awoken by all the shouts.

Snape half-heartedly shushed him. Harry stared at him and suddenly cried out: "Wha's wong Nape? 'Set!"

Snape was confused. Harry began crying even more. "No be 'set! Sowwy Nape!"

"I'm not mad at you," Snape said hurriedly. "Come here," He pulled Harry into a hug but the baby couldn't stop crying and eventually cried himself to sleep.

Snape had never felt so depressed in his life. First Harry, then Charity.

XXXXX

Snape passed the time by brewing Harry's potion. He needed to get it just right. He didn't even use any techniques to make the potion more effective-he just stuck to the instructions.

When the potion had started to simmer, Snape heard the doorbell ring. He trudged to the door and opened it.

It was Dumbledore and McGonagall. Snape sighed.

"What's wrong with you, Severus?" Minerva looked at his sullen face.

"Nothing. Just worried about Harry."

Dumbledore suddenly smirked knowingly and Snape felt an urge to punch him.

"We'd like to see Harry! I can't believe he got cast!" Minerva cried. So Snape led them inside and took them to Harry, who was still sleeping, tears sparkling on his cheeks.

Tears sprung to Minerva's eyes too. "He will get better, won't he? I feel absolutely awful about this,"

"Hopefully. I'm brewing the antidote," Snape said in an expressionless voice.

Minerva immediately sussed out that something other than Harry was bothering him. She glanced at Dumbledore who looked in an oddly good mood, which was rather indecent viewing the circumstances.

"I heard Charity Burbage came to visit, Severus," Dumbledore was smirking. Minerva stiffened and looked at Snape. The man looked blank.

"She did," He said slowly.

"How did the meeting go?" Dumbledore asked slyly.

Snape looked at him and suddenly glared, "I'm sure that you know. Since you were the one who sent her,"

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore looked shocked.

"I knew that she liked me from the start-but you encouraged her, didn't you? You asked her to come here and 'comfort' me-didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you are saying," Dumbledore looked affronted.

"I'm sure you do," Snape snarled. "She would never dare to-to do what she did if you hadn't-"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what's happening here," Minerva cut through. "What did Charity do?"

Dumbledore glared at Snape who flushed and then said, "She...she tried to..." He flushed a deeper shade. "Er...kiss me,"

Minerva seemed to be thrown off-balance. She gasped, frozen. "What?"

Dumbledore tried to look surprised too.

"Well!" Minerva looked around the room as if hoping for a contradiction. "This is rather shocking. How did you react, Severus?"

"I...well, I told her to stop. She got angry, telling me that I was always obsessing over Potter and that it was no wonder that...well, anyway she told me that I was insensitive and tried to hex me. I told her to leave and she left. That's it."

Minerva blinked and Dumbledore listened curiously, like this was his favourite soap opera come on.

"Very pitiable," He said, finally. "But I assure you that I had no hand in this,"

Snape wasn't completely convinced. "Anyway," he said. "I need to finish brewing Harry's potion."

"We'll just leave you to it, then," Dumbledore said. Minerva looked reluctant but she followed the Headmaster out of the house when they left.

XXXXX

"Here, drink all of it, good boy..." Snape poured the murky grey potion down Harry's throat. The boy shuddered and struggled.

"N-no..."

"Hush, drink it, you'll feel better." Snape insisted.

Harry drank it all and then scowled. "Go!" He batted his hand at Snape.

Snape sighed and went to the door, intending to leave the room.

"No Nape! Huggie!" Harry insisted. He started crying.

"You should be resting. Stop aggravating me. I have to brew the next supply of your potion,"

Harry didn't understand and kept sobbing. Snape eventually picked him up and consoled him. The baby clung to him like a limpet.

"You'll get better," Snape said pleadingly. "You have to,"

Harry nodded sleepily on his shoulder, yawning and crying at the same time. Snape didn't think he could bear anything more just yet. Things were bad enough as they were.