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.

~*~

When Harry woke up, he was alone. He grabbed for his head and noticed that the bandage was still there. After a closer inspection, he realized that Poppy had healed his wound because it no longer hurt. However, it was itchy, and Harry could not resist scratching. His headache was not completely gone, but at least it was not splitting his head open like the last time he woke up. Maybe the potion was still working. Slowly, he sat up and looked at the alarm clock on his night table. It was nine in the morning. I will go to the bathroom, Harry thought and stood up. Immediately, he grabbed for his head because the headache increased and he felt a little dizzy.

He had barely entered the hall when Alastor's voice could be heard. "What are you doing out of bed, Harry?"

Harry's head snapped around to see Alastor closing Severus' door. Alastor came over to him while Harry leaned into the doorframe for support.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Harry explained.

Alastor looked tired, as if he had not slept at all. "Then come on, I'll help you." With that, he grabbed Harry under his arm and guided him to the toilet. "I'll give you four minutes. If you aren't out by then, I'll come in and get you. If I hear anything that sounds as if you have fallen down, I will come in. Clear?" Alastor looked seriously at Harry.

"Have I done something wrong? Something that made you angry at me?" Harry asked, puzzled by Alastor's serious tone.

Alastor sighed. "No, Harry, I'm just a little tried. Please watch that you don't overdo yourself in there, okay?"

Harry looked worried at the old man. His headache had become worse with each step, and he grabbed his head again to ease the pain a little. He tried hard to remember why Alastor was acting like this, but his brain did not seem to be fully awake at the moment.

"Everything all right, Harry?" Alastor asked, worried, and grabbed Harry's chin to peer closely into his eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't let you go in there on your own."

"Please, sir, I can do it alone. It's just a little headache." Harry started to panic.

"It's not, Harry. I can see it in your eyes. They are unfocused and glassy." With a little pressure to Harry's back, he pushed the boy into the bathroom.

"No, sir, please. You don't have to stay." Harry tried to argue with Alastor. The moment the old man removed his hand from Harry's back he started to sway. "I see that, boy." He guided Harry to the toilet and grabbed for his left hand and pressed it against the wall. "Steady on the wall while I'm not near you." With that, he turned and went for the door. "Call me when you are ready and don't move without me!"

"Yes, sir," Harry said and lowered his pajama bottoms.

Only seconds later, Alastor heard Harry calling for him. When he entered the bathroom again, Harry tried to flush the toilet and almost fell over because the dizziness overcame him. Only Alastor's quick reflexes saved him from hitting his head on the toilet. "I said don't move without me!" Alastor barked sternly while pressing the almost unconscious boy against his chest. After flushing the toilet, he went over to the sink, Harry still pressed against him. With his free hand, Alastor washed Harry's hand and dried them. "Back to bed now."

Harry only groaned. Nothing would be better than being in bed now. He felt horrible. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he closed his eyes.

"No, lad. You have to stay awake for a moment. You need to take your potions," Alastor said as he gently laid a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry fought to stay awake, but he hardly was able to swallow and started to choke. For a moment he did not realized what was going on around him and the next moment he was half over Alastor's lap while the old man patted his back. "Breathe, Harry."

Harry's chest burned, and when he was turned over and felt a vial on his lips, he tried to turn away.

"No, Harry. This will help you. Just one more and then you can go to sleep," Alastor said sternly and held Harry's head still.

The rest of the potion went down Harry's throat smoothly. He did not realize that Alastor had placed him on the bed again. He was already asleep.

The next time he woke up, his head was clearer. He could remember the events of the last day and immediately wanted to speak with Poppy or Alastor about Severus. Was Severus already back? Why did Alastor look so tired? Maybe they were worried about Severus because he had not come back until now. But where was Poppy? No, Severus must be back, and Poppy surely was looking after him. Slowly, Harry stood up. He felt no dizziness this time; just a heavy feeling in his head, but no pain.

Carefully, he moved in the direction of Severus' room. He could not hear anything from inside the room. After looking from one side to the other he laid his ear against the door. No voices. No breathing. Absolutely no sound was to be heard. Maybe a Silencing Charm? Harry thought before suddenly falling, head-first, into the room.

"Harry!" Poppy shouted and caught the falling young man.

Red like a tomato, Harry straightened up. He saw Alastor jerking up from sleep in an armchair to his right, and then his eyes fell on the Potion Master on the bed. He looked like a ghost. Before Harry could have a closer look, Poppy grabbed his chin and turned his face to her. "You will look at me, young man! What do you think you are doing here?" Poppy asked in a very stern tone.

"Ehm...I..." Harry stuttered. Again, he tried to look at the ghostlike figure on the bed.

"That's enough." Poppy pushed Harry unceremoniously out of the room. "You will go back into your room and wait for me." She closed the door in his face.

Harry still stood, open-mouthed, in front of the door. His face was burning from embarrassment of being caught eavesdropping. After a few seconds, he recovered and went quickly back to his room. He did not want to anger Poppy more than he already had.

After ten minutes that felt like hours to Harry, Poppy came into his room. "Harry, you should never do that again. I thought better of you. You should respect Severus' privacy," Poppy scolded him.

"I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Harry apologized and steadied himself on his elbows. "I was worried about him and wanted to know if he was back."

"Then you could have asked us when we came to check on you, Harry. Eavesdropping will not give you any information. As you already have notice, we have set a Silence Charm." She looked scolding at him, and he crouched.

"I'm sorry. Please tell me how he is? Was he at a meeting? Did Voldemort hurt him?" Harry asked feverishly.

"He will survive. That's all what I will tell you. It's up to Severus to decide what to tell you when he is healthy enough," Poppy explained. "Now hold still so that I can cast a Diagnostic Spell."

Harry lay back on the bed and sighed. At least Severus is back and alive.

After casting the spell, Poppy frowned and said, "I will check your bandage in a minute. There is something off. The potion is still working. When your headache starts again or you feel dizzy, you have to tell me. Otherwise, I would like to see if you can do it without another potion. You will have to drink a Calming Draught after lunch. We will eat in half an hour."

"Can I shower?" Harry asked against all hopes.

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "If you let Alastor stay with you in the bathroom," Poppy said.

Harry blushed. "A Cleaning Spell, then?"

Poppy smiled and waved her wand. "You just feel good because of the potion. Every time you think you can do something alone, you should remember what happened earlier in the bathroom, Harry."

"Yeah," Harry said grumpily.

"Watch your tone, young man. I only had a little sleep, and you don't want to cross me today."

Harry gulped. "Can I help with something? Alastor looked very tired as well."

"You have to stop worrying about adults, Harry. We know exactly how far we can go and when we have to rest. You have enough to do looking for yourself," Poppy said in a gentler tone and tapped Harry's nose with her finger. "You can help us by resting until we call you for lunch."

"Okay," Harry said, defeated.

"Now, I will check your wound. It should be almost completely healed, but the Diagnostic Spell shows something different."

Harry had a bad feeling that it was the result of his excessive scratching. Fearfully, he watched Poppy unwrapping his bandage. His fear spiked when she paused, frowned at the wound, and then pierced him with her ice-blue eyes. "Did you touch it?"

"No," Harry answered. When Poppy looked warningly at him, he said, "Just the bandage."

"What have you done?"

"I scratched it. It's very itchy," Harry explained miserably.

"You made it worse. It looks almost as if it is starting to become infected, Harry. I fear you will still need the potions, but we will at least wait until the pain comes back. You must not scratch it, Harry. That's important. If I catch you doing it again or if I see that you did it when I next check your wound, I will cast a spell on your head so you cannot touch it with anything. Not your hand, not a pencil, the wall, whatever," Poppy explained sternly.

Harry immediately remembered Severus words. There are some nasty spells that a Mediwitch can use on a patient that is a danger to himself, and all of them cut into your private life immensely.

"I will try," Harry said cautiously.

Poppy applied a salve to the wound, and Harry immediately relaxed. "Wow, that's great. It's so cool."

"This effect will only last for half an hour. Then you have to control yourself again." Poppy wrapped the bandage around Harry's head.

"When can I see Severus?" Harry asked eagerly.

"When he feels ready for it, Harry. He needs time to rest."

"Is he badly hurt? How long will he have to stay in bed?"

Poppy sighed. "He will be okay in a few days, Harry. You have to promise me one thing. It is very, very important, Harry." She looked seriously at the boy. "Don't ever go in Severus' room without his strict permission. Your little stunt at his door could have destroyed anything positive you two have developed. Severus hates to be seen weak and hurt, Harry. He would push you away and you would hardly have the opportunity to regain his trust again. Please don't make it harder for him."

"I won't do it again. And I won't go into his rooms uninvited," Harry said honestly.

"I hope so," Poppy gently stroked Harry's cheek.