~~~~AU SS~~~~

"It's dragons," Harry said, throwing himself onto the stool at the bench top where Severus was brewing; he was working on the antidotes for the next week's classes. No one seemed to recognize that the antidotes had to be brewed prior the classes they would be needed for and they always ended up being something most students took for granted until their eventual use.

Much to Severus's displeasure, no matter how many loopholes he had searched for, he had not yet gotten Harry out of the Triwizard Tournament. He was still working towards that as their ultimate goal, but with the first task practically upon them, he had changed tactics and decided to help Harry expand his spell knowledge to prepare. However, if Dragons were the first task, he wasn't exactly sure if he'd been focusing on the right spells this whole time.

"Are you certain it's dragons?" The Potions Master asked his 14-year old son trying to stay calm even though he was having a small panic attack inside. Who decided bloody dragons would be perfect for three 17 or 18 year olds and a 14 year old to battle?

"I'm pretty sure on this one Severus," Harry replied sarcastically, "even I can identify a dragon."

"I was merely checking," the professor placed a stasis over the cauldrons he was working on to give his full attention back to Harry. "Do you know what you'll be doing in the task?"

"I love how you don't even care how I found this out," the young wizard commented nonchalantly, giving a small chuckle.

"As the head of Slytherin, this should not surprise you in the slightest. It works in your benefit, so I hardly care how you went about getting the information; only that you now have it," it was absolutely true, though he guessed Hagrid had something to do with it only because Ron and Harry were still not speaking - especially after their muggle fight - so he doubted Charlie was involved.

Harry rolled his eyes pulling a mortar and pestle that his guardian had set out in front of him to help with the antidotes. Now that Severus was spending his evenings training Harry, then his son had to help with his "office work".

"They're nesting mothers and we need to steal an egg from them," Harry shivered at the thought, and Severus questioned to himself if the Gryffindor was thinking about what his own mother did when her child's life was threatened. This would not be an easy task in the slightest.

"Perhaps you can simply refuse to show up to the task," the professor said, knowing Harry would refuse; he was a Gryffindor after all.

"Absolutely not!" Harry expectantly replied fiercely, "and let the rest of the school think I'm a coward? They already think I cheated to get into the tournament in the first place!"

"I'd rather them think you a coward than you getting yourself killed. You were aware students have died in this tournament correct?"

Meeting Severus's eyes, Harry nodded and said, "Yeah, I've heard that a couple of times actually."

Changing tactics, the professor started to think about all the different ways Harry could go about getting an egg from an angry mother dragon. He landed on only one that was both easy enough for a fourth year and played directly into Harry's strength - flying.

"Alright," he said, picking up the mortar from in front of Harry, "tonight you start mastering accio."

Severus was sitting in the stands of the converted Quidditch pitch waiting for Harry's turn to battle his dragon. He'd barely been able to eat all day with the nerves building up in his stomach and everyone had intelligently stayed out of his way - students and professors alike. Against all luck, his child ended up being the last to go and would be up against the fiercest dragon of the lot.

When Harry walked out, Severus wanted to do nothing else besides jump onto the pitch and help him, but he was stuck here... watching... waiting... hoping the teenager would come out of this alive and unharmed; his stoic exterior was firmly in place to hide his nerves. Severus watched with the other spectators as Harry called for his Firebolt, something they'd planned the other day, and once it arrived Harry appeared much more comfortable with the task at hand. It was obvious when Harry quickly realized that the mother dragon was not going to simply leave her nest unprotected, so he adjusted his tactics and coaxed her away from the nest, then he swooped in to grab the egg. Unfortunately, Harry didn't make it out completely unharmed as his shoulder took a bad cut from the tail of the dragon early on in the battle.

The crowd erupted in cheers once he finally landed safely on the ground. Severus stood and exited the stands making his way to meet Harry who was already surrounded by Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and Sirius Black.

"That was some great flying Kid," Sirius called out running - like a child - up to his Godson, ruffling Harry's always messy black hair, "Your dad would have been so proud of those maneuvers!"

"And Lily would have had a heart attack," Severus interrupted, approaching the group surrounding his son, "as I almost did."

Harry smiled, "Sorry Severus. I promise you that once I had my broom, I was in complete control at all times."

"Contrary to your belief, that does not make me feel much better," he replied examining Harry's injured shoulder as the Gryffindor winced in pain, "You'll have plenty of time to celebrate, but first you need Madam Pomfrey to have a look at this shoulder."

Harry turned towards Severus as if he were about to complain, but surprisingly Black interrupted him, "He's right Kid. Go get that cleaned up and then we'll get your score and celebrate. I bet you creamed the others!"

That made Harry smile even more and the Potions Master shook his head in defeat as he led the Gryffindor champion over to the first aid tent.

"Were you really that scared watching me out there?" Harry asked once the medi-witch had gotten his shoulder mostly healed and they were getting ready to head back out to the stands.

"Of course I was," Severus replied only half paying attention as there was some kind of commotion coming from outside of the tent, "I love you."

Time seemed to stand still between the father and son. While Severus had no doubt that Harry knew how he felt about him, it was the first time he had said those words out loud. There had been plenty of times he'd wanted to - like after the Basilisk in second year or the dementors last year - but never in his life had those words come naturally to him and given everything that Harry grew up with, the young wizard understood that. He was amazed now just how easily they were said in that moment; he hadn't even been thinking... simply reacting.

Even more surprising than the words he said, was when Harry stood up before him, gave Severus a hug and just as naturally replied, "I love you too."

Before either could make another move Hermione and Ron came running into the tent surrounding Harry with details on how he had done as well as the other three champions. In that moment, Severus realized two things - the row between Harry and Ron had officially ended, and he was going to work twice as hard to get Harry out of this tournament before the second task.

~~~~SS~~~~

Severus had no idea how much time had passed, but it seemed like several more hours before Healer Smithe finally stepped into the sitting room where he and Minerva were still waiting. His friend's face was more grim than the professor wanted to see at that moment and immediately he knew this was going to be bad news. He ran his hands through his long black hair waiting to hear the inevitable.

"Harry is stable," the healer started, knowing from the times he's had to give bad news that stating the good first helped ease the anxious family, "The muggle medications take time to work, so we tried a fever reducing potion, which unfortunately, didn't last long enough to make any difference.

"He has what's called tachypnea - basically the medical term for having a hard time breathing - most likely due to pneumonia, but I won't know for sure until I get the samples back to the hospital for processing. Once we can identify what caused the pneumonia we can start a more targeted treatment against it."

Alton paused allowing his friend to take in what he had just been told. Severus hadn't looked up yet, but when he did, his onyx eyes showed pain deep into the depths of them.

"I've stared him on oxygen, to help his breathing, along with a stronger antibiotic than he normally takes, a medication to help increase his white blood cell counts, and fluids because he's a little dehydrated and we don't want that to get worse," Alton continued as the headmaster entered the room. "I think the best course of action is to admit him to the hospital where I work. His magical core is too taxed right now to handle any potions or anymore magical healing - likely due to his magical depletion - so St. Mungo's won't be much help. He needs supportive care at least until he can breathe regularly on his own and the fever is down below dangerous levels."

"He cannot leave Hogwarts," it was Albus who made this statement, not that Severus disagreed, it just was not his place to make it. "It is my understanding that you do not live within the wizarding world, but surely you are aware of whom your patient is?"

Alton looked insulted and furious, "Yes I am, but frankly I don't care one bit. I'm trying to save a child's life here."

"Then we are in agreement," Albus cryptically said narrowing his eyes, frustrating the healer even more, "taking Harry off the grounds at this time, to a muggle hospital no less, would most certainly kill him."

Healer Smithe huffed in annoyance, "I have to disagree, headmaster. Yes, there's a chance the Death Eaters will get to him at some point, but there's a greater chance of him dying from pneumonia complications right now. I cannot stay here around the clock, and even if it were feasible, it's definitely not advisable especially because he needs constant muggle medications. Severus, he needs to go to the hospital, and the sooner the better."

Severus's head was aching from the bickering. While he fully understood the healers' concerns, he also knew it wasn't possible to take Harry off of Hogwarts' grounds, especially with someone on their side feeding that type of information straight to the Dark Lord. He wouldn't last a day there.

"Alton," the defense professor said, standing to appear as if he had more control of himself than he felt he had, "Harry needs to stay here. I understand your concerns, but he won't make it outside of these wards right now. Between you, Poppy, and myself we will have to make it work."

"I'll compromise," the healer said after appearing to contemplate the situation a little more. His face made it clear to everyone in the room that he vehemently disagreed with them. "He can stay in the wards, but he has to go to the hospital wing. This way at least Madam Pomfrey will be right there should any emergency occur."

It was less than ideal, but the best he would get. The whole situation was sad that they needed to make a decision like this in the first place; that a teenage boy who was in desperate need of medical care he couldn't get all because he's being hunted down by a dark wizard for something that happened before he was two years old. Severus shook his head in disappointment, both with himself and his counterpart that used to be here; he had the chance to prevent Voldemort's return and he had failed at it.

"I can agree to that," Severus eventually conceded, still wary but it really was the best option in a bad situation. Worst case scenario in the hospital wing was that all of Hogwarts would likely know about it and it's only a matter of time before they find out about the cancer too. Losing some privacy was infinitely better than losing his life.

Minerva stood drawing the attention to her presence for the first time, "What does this do for his cancer treatment schedule?"

It was a good question, but one Severus did not need to ask after all the research he had done about chemotherapy. It would simply have to wait until he was healthy enough to continue. They would have to hope he would recover early enough not to be set back too far. The defense professor could only imagine what would happen if they had to restart from the beginning; he didn't think Harry had enough strength for that.

"We'll have to readjust once he's better. After the infection has cleared, I'll do another bone marrow biopsy to see if we've lost any time and then adjust the schedule as needed based on his cell counts and cancer level," Alton explained to the witch. "If we continue while he's sick his white blood cells will completely bottom out and he'll die from the infection. The best we can hope for now is that we can kill off the bacteria or virus causing the pneumonia quickly before we lose too much progress."

Minerva nodded her head, but didn't try to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. Severus had the urge to either throw something or fall to the floor himself. Somehow he'd managed to maintain his decorum in front of his current company.

"Can I see him?" The professor asked as the headmaster and healer were discussing the details.

Alton nodded slightly distracted by something Albus was telling him, "Madam Pomfrey is getting him ready to move to the hospital wing, but you'll be fine to go in there."

In almost a trance, he walked slowly through his sitting room and into the hallway where he peeked in through the cracked bedroom door. His heart sat heavy in his chest as he was reminded of Harry's last day in his old reality; when his son barely had enough energy to open his emerald green eyes and Severus didn't want to leave his side for even a second in case something happened while he wasn't there. Gently, more so then he'd been lately, he opened the door and walked in.

Harry was laying in his bed, covered in the soft green bedspread with several IV tubes running into his body, both through his port and into a separate IV in his arm. The oxygen that Alton mentioned was running through a different set of tubing into Harry's nose. He was flushed with the fever and appeared so small laying there underneath all the tubes, still completely unconscious, nothing like the bright, energetic Gryffindor he'd known so well. Madam Pomfrey was tutting around him using her wand to secure everything preparing to move him.

"How will he be moved?" It seemed like too simple of a question with everything else going on - like something he should not be focusing on - however he really didn't know what else to say.

"He cannot travel by floo," the matron explained, fussing about his bedroom, "so we'll be moving him through the corridors while the rest of the student body is in classes."

It was only Thursday. He should be getting ready for class; he had third years this morning and he was supposed to be introducing boggarts. Except classes were so far away from his mind as he pulled a chair over to Harry's bedside, making sure not to tangle it in any of the medical equipment.

As he set the chair down onto the floor, he saw a red glow coming from underneath the bed. Kneeling down - with the hard reminder from his body about how much older he felt than his 36 years - he reached out and grabbed the glowing red sphere; it was still burning hot. Using his wand, he levitated it up to the bedside table so he could examine it. The sphere was never originally spelled to alarm nor burn, but he now suspected it had to do with Harry's unintentional magic. Had it somehow reached out while he was unconscious to alert Severus of his potentially fatal illness? With Harry sick, they would not be testing his magic on Friday, however the professor was getting impatient for some answers about the Gryffindor's magical core levels and what it could mean for him going forward.

Severus spent most of the day at the hospital wing, in a chair he eventually transfigured into one more comfortable to sleep in, by Harry's bedside. This was where he was when Alton shook him awake right before suppertime.

"Good Evening Severus," the healer said, pulling out a wide variety of medications from his black bag as the professor, still waking himself up, stood next to him. "How's Harry been doing?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the one telling me that?" Severus narrowed his eyes at his friend. It had been a stressful week, starting with the vision on Friday, but he'd been a little frustrated with Alton's attitude lately overall.

"Of course," the healer gave a strained smile, he's had plenty of mourning parents to deal with in his days at the hospital, so this was nothing new to him, "I'm just asking if you noticed any changes since this morning. Has he been awake at all and if so, was he lucid? I can certainly pull all his stats with a diagnostic spell."

"I'm sorry Alton," he replied, feeling ashamed with himself. Severus ran his hand down his face and continued, "No there hasn't been much change today. He opened his eyes twice, but had no idea what was going on."

Those two times Harry had woken up, Severus took note of how glassy his emerald eyes were with the high fever and how confused he seemed. While the Gryffindor didn't say anything before falling back asleep, he was peering around the room having either no idea where he was nor how he had gotten there. Severus could imagine how scared the teen had to feel on top of feeling sick.

"I was able to confirm the pneumonia," Healer Smithe soberly explained as he swapped out bags from Harry's IV. Severus took note of the names so he could look them up later. "It's a type of strep that's very common and normally easily treatable, but given Harry's low immune system it took over very quickly. The antibiotic I'm starting now is targeted for this specific strep bacteria and should kill it off before too much other damage can be done."

That sounded far too foreboding for Severus's liking and he nervously asked, "What other complications could there be outside of this?"

"Well," Alton turned towards his friend and the professor knew he didn't want to go down this path. "If left untreated, it could end up in his bloodstream and cause septicemia or in his brain and cause meningitis both of which have a wide range of effects I will not be going into. But we caught it relatively early, Severus, even if it doesn't seem like it to you."

"He's barely conscious," Severus pointed out getting angry with himself, "had I caught it earlier he would not be here."

He'd thought about this a lot throughout the day. It had been an oversight on his part; a very bad and potentially deadly oversight. He should have expected and been better prepared for it and now Harry was paying for his mistake. All it took was one student or professor to bring in the pathogen that caused Harry's pneumonia and while he had been exceedingly careful about Harry leaving, he had not considered the people coming into his quarters for the last week and a half. Then there was Severus himself who was teaching all day and by the end of the week saw almost the entire student population at least twice. He was bound to pick up something and bring it back, unknowingly, into their quarters.

"Don't say that Severus; you're doing the best you can. If it makes you feel any better, during the most dangerous parts of chemotherapy - when a patient's blood cells can be at their lowest - most children are hospitalized as a precaution; going as far as full quarantine protocols if necessary. As we discussed this morning, unfortunately that was not an option for Harry," the healer explained sitting down in the other chair besides the professor. That did not make Severus feel any better, if anything it made him feel like if he could, he'd take Harry far away from here until the Dark Lord could be beaten for good. Unfortunately, Harry was too proud and too courageous for that; he'd never leave afraid.

"Is everything alright Alton?" The former spy asked thoughtfully noticing his friend staring off into the distance.

"Just tired," Alton yawned as he answered as if to prove his point and pressed his palms into his eyes, "even us healers feel the pressure sometimes too. Go get some dinner Severus, I've got an eye on him. He'll be alright while you're gone."

The professor turned back towards the bed at the small teen who wasn't going anywhere, and with the new antibiotics having just started there was no way they'd work before he got back. One of the most frustrating things about muggle medication was how slow it worked and it seemed even slower in a wizard, only that was probably just his impatience for wanting Harry to get better. Unable to find his voice, he simply nodded and stood up to leave - passing his wand across his robes to straighten out the wrinkles - as Madam Pomfrey walked in and ended up taking the seat he had just vacated. Harry was in good hands, and ultimately Severus knew he needed to at least make an appearance in the Great Hall for his Slytherins.

Leaving the hospital wing on his way to the Great Hall, the defense professor couldn't ignore the students' whispers and murmurs throughout the corridors. No matter how hard they had tried, keeping Harry's stay in the hospital wing a secret was nearly impossible and Severus was trying to overhear the conversations as he passed to find out just how much the student body knew.

"... heard he's staying with..."

"Can a wizard even..."

"... he can't even use magic anymore."

"...got something muggle..."

After the walk from the hospital wing to the Great Hall, Severus was beyond angry with the amount of gossip going around. How could people not respect the privacy of one of their fellow students? He didn't remember hearing so much going around about Ginny Weasley and she's still in the hospital wing recovering. Of course, Harry has always been the exception to every rule, something his counterpart had held against the Gryffindor instead of working to help him overcome it. For the second time that day, Severus was angry with the other man.

The professor tried to ignore the stares that were pointed directly at him as he walked into the Great Hall and took a seat next to where Minerva usually sat. The elderly witch was over at the Gryffindor table trying, unsuccessfully it seemed, to settle her lions; likely from the news about Harry. Minerva had called select students to her office this afternoon - primary Hermione, Ron, and Neville Longbottom - to tell them the news in person and Severus was grateful she had been the one to tell them. He feared if it had been left up to him, he would not have been able to do it as gracefully as she likely had.

It wasn't until he saw Pomona and Filius speaking to the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws respectively, that it even crossed his mind to talk to his Slytherins about it. While his snakes were just as likely to gossip among themselves, they were more likely to do it in the privacy of their common room than in classes or the corridors. He headed over to the table as swiftly and commanding as possible so as not to show them an ounce of the weakness he was feeling inside of himself.

Without any preamble, he called out towards the table, "I expect all of you to be in the common room immediately after dinner tonight for a brief house meeting. If somehow you have managed to get a detention in the first two weeks of term that was supposed to be served at this time, see me before the end of dinner and I will arrange for you to serve it on an alternate date."

Without waiting for a response or reaction from any of his students, he turned and walked back to the head table where Minerva had just taken her seat.

"How's he doing Severus?" The transfiguration professor asked with a quiver in her voice.

"Alton is trying another medication now, which will hopefully work better than the previous two," he carefully worded his reply so he did not exactly answer the question she asked. How was he supposed to answer how Harry was when he didn't even know himself?

"Can I have your attention please?" The headmaster stood at the front podium and called the room to attention once most of the houses were seated; stragglers ran into place at the last possible second. "Thank you all, I promise this will only take a moment.

"As most of you have heard by now, in the early morning hours today one of your fellow classmates was taken to the hospital wing gravely ill. I would like to assure you all that his particular illness is not one that poses any risk to the rest of the student body, and therefore I ask that everyone continue to respect his privacy in the matter. Should you have any concerns or questions, please bring them up privately with your Heads of House and they will address them in the manner in which they each see fit. Thank you."

With a wave of his hand, the food appeared on all the tables, but instead of the vibrant conversations that normally surround dinner time, the hall was unusually quiet and somber. Sets of students from all the houses - who either had not heard the news before now or hadn't known it was Harry - were looking around trying to see if they could identify who was missing from the Great Hall. At the staff table, there was very little conversation about it outside of the fact that until further notice, Harry's classes and tutoring had been cancelled.

Severus himself could not remember a time when the Great Hall was this quiet during a meal, however in searching through his memories he came across the one after Cedric Diggory's death. That was something that had not occurred in his old reality and that day had been quiet and somber too. It was another death that did not have to happen had things in this reality gone as they had back where he came from; something that was becoming overly frustrating for the professor today.

Once dinner ended, Severus stormed into the Slytherin common room in his normal powerful stride, robes billowing all around him, and the door slamming shut in his wake. He did not want to have this conversation with his students, but unfortunately something like this was needed.

"Please collect the rest of the students from their dormitories," he said to both of his seventh year prefects and then went to the front of the common room to wait. He could hear the murmuring around the room as the students assembled while he was peering out the window into the black lake. Once the commotion behind him quieted down, he turned to address his house.

"First and foremost," he started demanding the attention of his students. Everyone knew he was a difficult professor and as a Head of House he expected only the utmost respect from them, "I do not care how the rumors and gossip started, I do not expect to have any of you partake in spreading any more across the school, understood?"

"Yes Professor Snape," was mumbled throughout the room as students stood uncomfortable before him. Admittingly, he had not been as present to his house this year - and many of the first years were looking terrified - but he made a promise to himself that once Harry was back in classes things would get back to normal. Hopefully, this set back wouldn't put that time much further than Halloween.

"You all heard the headmaster's announcement," he continued, unsure how much detail to go into, but wanting to leave it as vague as possible. "I expect you all to respect the privacy of the student in quest-"

"It's Potter," Blaise Zabini interrupted, leaving the rest of the house speechless.

"And you know this how?" The professor challenged wondering if it was simply a good guess or something with more solid evidence that he should be investigating.

"It's obvious," the boy continued arrogantly, "Potter's the only one missing isn't he?"

Severus resisted the urge to show just how tired he was by that asinine comment. The teen would get nowhere in life with blanket statements like that.

"And you know every student... from every house," he paused for dramatic effect, "and every year? I highly doubt that Mr. Zabini. Of course Potter was absent, if you were that observant you would know that he has been missing since the start of term."

"Too bad he's not really missing," Pansy Parkinson laughed, hitting Draco on the chest in a bantering, borderline flirtatious, manner. To his credit, Draco gave a convincingly good smirk, but the professor could tell it was not genuine. It was time to reign in the students before it seemed like he was losing control.

"The identity of the student in question will not be released per the headmaster's orders," he practically yelled in a firm, confident voice, "The only thing you need to know is that the illness that has struck this student has no risk to any of you. Are there any questions?"

He stood before his house waiting to hear if any of them dared to ask the question he knew was in all of their minds. As he was about to dismiss them, Daphne Greengrass spoke up.

"Is it true Potter's staying with you?"

If the professor had been in a better, less exhausted mood he would silently commend her on her bravery. As that was not his current mood, he did what he thought was the most appropriate reaction and ignored her, but not before he caught a look in her eyes that made him question if she was seeking the answer for other reasons than to gossip.

"Should any of you wish to speak privately," he spoke in a careful tone making eye contact around the room, stopping an extra second longer on both Draco and Miss. Greengrass, "I will be in my office for the next half an hour."

Without another word, Severus walked passed the group of Slytherins and out the door.

He didn't particularly want to spend the next thirty minutes in his office, but it would be worth it if his suspicion was correct. With all his books on magical cores and muggle medicine down in his quarters, he decided to get started on some of the marking he was too far behind on. Until either a student showed up or his half an hour was over, he didn't have anything else to work on anyway. It took longer than expected, but twenty minutes after arriving at his office there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called out in a short tone. Having only napped in the armchair beside Harry's bed, he was now completely exhausted and it showed. As he had anticipated, Daphne Greengrass opened the door, but what he had not expected was Draco following in right behind her.

"Miss Greengrass... Mr. Malfoy," he said in a friendlier tone as he gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk, "please take a seat."

"Actually..." Draco said, turning to leave as Daphne sat down in one of the chairs, but one look at his classmate caused him to change his mind and the blonde sat down in the other chair; closing the office door behind him.

"Is there something I can do for you Miss. Greengrass?" The former spy didn't want to make any assumptions over the nature of her visit, however if Draco came with it could only be about the Dark Lord.

"Draco says you can help me," she started, her voice confident and nervous at the same time. Could it be what he was thinking?

Severus bought himself some time by organizing the papers he had finished marking on his desk. He didn't know much about the Greengrass family except that they were an elite pureblood line going way back; similar to the Malfoy's.

"That depends on what you need assistance with Miss Greengrass," he treaded lightly, not wanting to give his hand away too soon. "Is there something specific you are looking for?"

"Potter..." she looked down at her hands as she trailed off for a second before starting again softly, "Harry... He's staying with you isn't he?"

There was no way he was giving that information out to just anyone. The professor met Draco's grey eyes and the blonde nodded his head almost imperceptibly, just enough for the former spy to notice.

"And what if he is?" One of them would have to give in first and normally he had plenty of resolve; except right now half of his mind was still in the hospital wing wondering how Harry was doing. "If you could get to the point Miss. Greengrass-"

"I need help Professor Snape," she interrupted him, her voice thick with pleading, "I don't want to be a Death Eater and Draco says you can help me."

"And why do you think you have to do any such thing?" While Severus had never heard of any Death Eaters by the name of Greengrass, it didn't mean they didn't exist elsewhere in the Dark Lord's ranks. Daphne was the eldest of only two daughters and as part of an elitist family without a male heir, anything was possible.

She looked embarrassed and turned to Draco as if needing his support before eventually admitting, "This summer my dad has been talking with Draco's aunt... they want to get me marked when I turn 17, to give more honour to our family."

If the Order did only one thing other than take out the Dark Lord, it would be to eliminate Bellatrix LeStrange. Why do they keep recruiting younger and younger children? He could guess the answer; most likely to get easier access to Harry. Daphne was in Harry's year, her family likely wanting to appeal to the Dark Lord, add in Bellatrix and any number of scenarios were possible. Putting that aside, this was what he had sent Draco out to do; help the students who found themselves in an impossible situation like Daphne.

"Draco and I can help you," he said slowly then added skeptically, "Why are you so interested in Mr. Potter's living arrangements?"

Daphne looked down at her hands that were all twist tied in nerves and worry. "I just... I didn't believe what I'd heard; that you fought against the Death Eaters... and well... The rumors started that you're protecting Potter... Frankly sir, if they trust you to do that, then you must be good."

There's that word again... Good.

"You don't turn 17 until after the Christmas holidays, correct?" He asked quickly considering how much potential time they had. It wasn't out of the realm to have a Death Eater marked as soon as possible, but if the Greengrass's wanted to wait until their daughter was 17, then he would work within that time frame just in case.

"Yes sir, not until the 23rd of February," she sounded nervous as if there was a chance her Head of House not only couldn't help her, but would instead turn her over to the Death Eaters as a traitor.

"I'll speak with Professor Dumbledore and see how we can help you," he said confidently, not exactly sure how they would go about it. "Understand, this will not be an easy process and it will take time, but we will protect you."

"Thank you sir," for the first time that night, Daphne smiled at Draco, who in turn met Severus's eye in gratitude. The professor could see this deeply moved Draco - to be able to help someone out of a bad situation - and Severus hoped this could be the start of the blonde thinking of people outside of his own interests.

"If that is all," Severus ended the meeting by standing and letting his statement stand on its own.

Draco turned to address Daphne before she could say anything, "I'll meet you back at the common room, I need to talk to Professor Snape about something."

Daphne only nodded and immediately got up and left the office, closing the door behind her leaving the two male Slytherins standing alone together.

"Great work Draco. Keep a close eye and ear on her to make sure she's genuine," Severus complimented his protégé as he walked past the blonde towards the door, "We'll talk later; I have somewhere to be."

"What's wrong with Potter?" Draco asked in a more curious tone than the last several times he'd asked about Harry.

Holding on tightly to the door knob, trying to calm his nerves and ready to frantically swing the door open, he simply said, "He is sick."

Draco gave a small chuckle, "I know that already, but what's wrong with him now?"

"He is sicker," it was a petty answer, but his patience had been pushed beyond his tolerance level already.

The professor had just opened the door when Draco called out, "I know about the cancer... The Leukemia."

Severus was tired and he wanted to simply go, see Harry, and be done for the night, yet something inside of him said he needed to do this.

"Follow me," Severus called out over his shoulder. If he was going to talk to Draco, he might as well do it from the hospital wing. Maybe then he would be able to focus on the conversation when he wasn't feeling the worry in the pit of his stomach.

Healer Smithe and Madam Pomfrey were still around Harry's bedside, which seemed a bit unusual to Severus, however they both had spent an abnormal amount of time with the teen lately. Alton was changing out bags on Harry's IV stand, while Poppy was still seated in the chair Severus had napped in earlier that day.

As Severus and Draco approached the bed, the professor took note of Draco's gait slowing down and his posture stiffening. Turning towards the blonde, Draco's eyes were shifting to take in not only Harry's outwardly ill appearance, but all of the muggle medications surrounding his bed, the tubing going into the Gryffindor's nose, the port in his chest, and multiple lines going into the IV in his left hand. Had Severus not studied muggle medicine previously, it would be a lot to take in especially if he had come from a pureblood wizarding family like Draco's.

"It's alright Draco," Severus called out, gesturing for him to take the other open chair besides Poppy.

"Everything should be all set for tonight Severus," Alton explained sounding more worn out than before, "Poppy has everything she needs to take over and I'll be back sometime tomorrow."

"Thank you Alton," Severus replied quietly, walking up to the bed and picking up Harry's right hand. He didn't notice Draco watching Alton as the healer left for the floo in Poppy's office with the matron following shortly behind him.

"How did you find out about the Leukemia?" Severus asked the teenager next to him as he sat in the chair Poppy had vacated.

"Granger had a book I borrowed last week," he gave a disgruntled face, "but Potter told me the word Leukemia on Tuesday and I went from there."

Severus nodded. There really wasn't much else to say, so why did he feel the need to bring Draco here to talk?

Biting his lower lip, in an extremely un-Malfoy gesture, the teen added, "I don't really understand it though. Is that why he's here?"

The professor closed his eyes willing any of his Occlumency shields still intact to help him through this. "No, he's got something called pneumonia. His cancer, and the many medications he's on, make him more susceptible to illnesses, which is why he cannot attend classes. He likely got this from all the different people coming in and out of our quarters."

"He can die from it." It wasn't a question Draco asked. He had understood enough of the book to know what could happen. "He's supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world, what happens if he dies?"

At first Severus was angry with the selfish thought process from Draco - right at a time the professor thought he could be changing too - except the more he played the question in his mind, the more he realized it was Draco's way to distance himself from emotions he had no idea how to process.

Would Severus be as upset as Draco was if - back in his own Hogwarts days - James Potter or Sirius Black was laying in this bed? Probably not, but Severus already knew he was not a good person no matter what anyone else said about him. Draco and Harry though, even given everything they were up against, were good people; it might be harder to find for Draco than Harry, but he was getting there.

"He's doing everything he can to stay alive, and at least until now, things were looking positive. At this point, we have to wait and see." It was unfortunately the best they could do.

"Talk about some rotten luck, " Draco tried to joke, only Severus could see right through him, "first he's an orphan, then he's got a connection to an evil dark wizard, and now he gets a muggle disease. Is there anything else Potter can manage to get himself into?"

You have no idea.

The two Slytherins sat next to each other listening to the pouring rain that had started sometime since they arrived back at the hospital wing. Severus did not know how to answer Draco, so instead he decided to talk to the blonde about the Leukemia. Of all the things he was dealing with in relation to Harry, that was actually the most innocuous to discuss. He answered Draco's questions - about cancer in general, Harry's chemotherapy with the side effects he's facing, and the pneumonia - to the best of his ability, both of them keeping in mind what he could not say because of the Order. Overall, it seemed enough to satisfy the blonde's concerns. When it was almost curfew, Severus sent Draco back to the common room for the night.

When the professor had been left alone with just Harry, he had a million thoughts racing through his head. Even if - no, when - Harry recovered from the pneumonia infection, they still had to deal with what Harry had heard him say the other night. No matter how much he tried, there wasn't a scenario he could come up with that had Harry forgiving him for what he said without explaining the Horcrux situation. If he could figure out how to kill the Horcrux without killing Harry in the process, then he'd feel better explaining it to the Gryffindor.

"I don't know what to do Lily" Severus heard himself say randomly, leaning over to rest his arms on his knees. He's never been one to talk to those beyond, however tonight it was needed and before he knew it he just started talking, "I know it's selfish of me but... I'm just not ready to give him up yet. I'm going to find a way to save him; I have to. I'm not going to stop until he's safe and healthy.

"I promise you I'm trying to fix things here for him, I really am. I'm ashamed of what my other self has done both to Harry and the rest of the wizarding world. So much has happened here that didn't need to... I don't know if you know about the other reality I was in; I can't see how you possibly could... After everything I've done to get here, I fear I haven't managed to make anything better for him.

"I lost control. It's just been too much. I want to do something, I want to help him, I want to fix this, but I cannot do a damn thing besides sit here and wait. I have to trust that everything we're doing will save my..." Severus paused for a long time running through all the thoughts racing around his head; all of them leading to one single thought he'd never said out loud in this reality, "I love him Lily... Like he's still my son."

Severus pulled out his wand and transfigured his robes into a blanket, then settled into the armchair beside Harry's bed to sleep. He thought it was unlikely he would get any actual rest sleeping there all night, however the lack of sleep the night before, plus the draining emotions of the day had him snoring almost immediately. Sound asleep in the armchair, the former spy was completely unaware that Draco had come back to ask his Head of House a question about Daphne's situation and overheard everything Severus said from the other side of Harry's curtain.