And now there is Harry as well. I hope I will have enough time to teach him. He must survive. When he is here with Alastor and Poppy they don't feel so alone and will be better able to cope with my death. Harry has to win so that he can live a free and happy life. He deserves it. Poppy and Alastor will help him like they did with me. Please, Merlin, give me time.

But life never was easy on Severus, and so his left arm started to burn. The Dark Lord was calling for him.

~*~

The first thing Harry saw when he woke up was Poppy's worried and sad face. She was lost in thoughts, staring at the wall beside his bed. She didn't even realize that Harry had woken up. Her eyes were still red from crying.

"Everything okay, Ma... Poppy?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Oh, you are awake. How are you?" She went straight into Healer mode and ignored Harry's question.

"Just a little headache. What happened?" Harry asked again.

"Let me cast a diagnostic spell, and then I will give you a potion against the pain. You hit your head very hard yesterday at supper," Poppy explained. "Can you remember it?"

Harry thought hard. First he could just remember brewing with Severus, but after a few seconds he remembered the events at supper as well. "Yes, I do." He reached for his head, but Poppy quickly stopped him.

"Don't touch your head, Harry. I will change the bandage in a few minutes."

"It's itchy," Harry complained.

"I know, just hold still for a moment." She waved her wand over Harry and gave him the headache potion after the diagnostic spell. "Now, I will change your bandage and have a look at your wound."

The pain was gone, but the itchiness was still there. It felt much better when Poppy unwrapped his bandage.

"I will just apply the healing salve again, but I think I can heal it completely in the afternoon. So, it is just a few more hours, Harry," she sadly stroked his cheek.

Something is odd, Harry thought. She seems to be somewhere else with her thoughts, and she looks so sad. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course," she said softly while wrapping the bandage on Harry's head again.

The door opened, and Poppy jumped. When she saw it was Alastor she looked pleadingly at him, but Alastor just shook his head sadly.

There is definitely something wrong, Harry thought, getting more and more worried.

"So how is our patient?" Alastor asked and tried to overplay the worried expression he had on his face only seconds before.

Harry looked confused between his two guardians. Poppy looked as if she was trying to fight tears down. "What's wrong? Don't tell me everything is okay. I can see that it isn't."

"Nothing you should worry about, Harry. Just concentrate on healing. One day of bed rest and you will be as good as new," Alastor said as he sat down on a chair near the bed.

"You are holding something secret from me. I'm not a child. What is it? Voldemort? Has he been seen again?" Harry asked, agitated. But no, they wouldn't look so sad about something like that. Finally Harry looked shocked at the adults. "It's Severus, isn't it?" Oh, please, no, don't let him go back to Voldemort, Harry thought desperately.

"Harry, calm down," Poppy said and laid a calming hand on his chest. "You have to sleep. Your concussion is still healing."

"No, I can't sleep. Please tell me. What's wrong with him? He... he... oh god, he isn't dead, is he?"

A tear ran down Poppy's cheek. "Harry, please, go to sleep." She struggled against the agitated boy.

"No, please tell me. I have to go and get him. I will kill Voldemort." Harry tried to stand up, but Poppy pressed him down in his bed.

"Let me do it, Poppy. Just get yourself a little sleep." Alaster ushered Poppy out of the door and when he turned, Harry already was standing and was rummaging in the drawers of the night table for his wand.

"I need my wand," Harry said almost in panic.

"You need nothing, lad. Just your bed and sleep," Alastor said calmly as he went over to the boy.

"No, I have to help him. Where is my wand?" Harry said without turning.

"Harry," Alastor said this time in a strict voice. "I will say it once more. Go to your bed!"

Harry turned around puzzled about the unusual strict voice of Alastor. "But Severus."

"Severus will lookout for himself, and that's what you should do now as well." He guided Harry back into his bed firmly.

"That's not fair," Harry said annoyed, but struggling against the Ex-Auror was useless.

"Not fair? You think I should let you go face Voldemort with an unhealed wound on your head and hardly able to fight against a seventh year?"

Harry felt that he was starting to cry over these words. He knew they were true, but hearing them from Alastor was just hurtful. Harry turned his face to the wall so that Alastor at least wouldn't see his tears.

"No, you will look at me, Harry! You aren't ready to fight, and if you would go and try to face Voldemort now, it would only mean that Severus has to see you die. He would not just watch but would try to help you. Outnumbered by the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself you would both die. And I'm positive that they would make sure that one of you has to witness the painful death of the other. Do you want this?" Alastor looked sternly at Harry and held his head to force Harry to face him.

"No," Harry said miserably. His voice sounded odd, and he had to fight the lump in his throat down. "But I can't leave him alone there. He shouldn't have gone to him."

"Severus always was alone when he went to the meetings, Harry. And it was his choice that he went back to Voldemort. He knows best what to do around them. You would know nothing. Fighting in their territory would be just stupid." Seeing Harry's tear-stained face, Alastor added calmly, "Severus will come back, Harry."

"You don't know." With that Harry jerked his head out of Alastor's hand and turned to the wall. First he was angry about Alastor's words, then about that he hadn't trained enough to fight Voldemort and then there was only fear for Severus in his heart. Oh, please let him come back.

"I know how you feel, but everything we can do is waiting. As hard as it is. He wouldn't want you to do something stupid." Alastor drew calming circles on the back of the crying boy until Harry finally fell asleep.

Alastor went over to the desk and pulled the drawer open. He let Harry's wand vanish in his pocket. I better keep it for some time. He waved his wand for a monitoring spell and left the room. The spell would let him know when Harry awoke.

Poppy was sitting in front of the fireplace and stared into it. Alastor paused for a while, leaning in the doorframe and watching his wife. After a few minutes, he sighed and went over to her. Gently he drew her head against him. "It will all be fine, Poppy. You will see. He always found a way to come back, and he still has his emergency Portkey."

Poppy didn't answer. She just sobbed and buried her face in Alastor's robes. Alastor waved his wand and the armchair changed into a couch. "Come on, sweetie." Gently he drew her up on his lap as he had sat down. After ten minutes of softly humming from Alastor, Poppy was asleep. Five minutes later, Alastor followed her.

They still were in this position when a frantically waving house-elf popped into the room. "Master Moody, you have to wake up."

Alastor was up in a swift movement. Poppy sat still on the couch, shocked.

"Master Snape is bleeding in the forest, Master Moody. Winky is with him but we need your help," the House-elf squeaked.

"Inform Albus, Poppy," he said while already heading out of the door.