Harry stumbled into his house at two o’clock, which surprised Ginny.

“Are you alright, Harry?” Ginny questioned. “Did something go wrong at work?”

“Dawlish sent me home.” Harry responded.

“He didn’t fire you, did he?” Ginny gasped.

“No…..No he didn’t. I fell asleep at my desk. He told me I looked sick and sent me home. He’s wrong though because I am not sick, just tired.”

Snape, who was sitting in the room and unseen by Harry, shared a similar look with Ginny. It was a look of confusion, but Ginny also had a hint of fear.

“Where are the kids?” Harry questioned, looking about the room.

“They are over at my brother’s. They are staying the weekend, remember?” Ginny reminded him.

Harry had a look of confusion on his face for no more than a millisecond, but Snape caught it.

“Oh yeah, I remember.” Harry told her, shaking his head in confidence. “I am going to go take a nap.” Harry shouted as he began to ascend the stairs.

“I will be up there in a minute with some tea for you.”

“I don’t need it. I am not sick.” He yelled as the door to his room slammed shut.

Snape moved the second that the door slammed shut. Ginny stood there frozen in shock and confusion.

“I will go check on him.” Snape whispered to Ginny as he passed.

Snape almost ran up the stairs and knocked twice on the bedroom door when he arrived.

“Potter, I am coming in.” Snape called as he opened the door and looked over to the bed. Harry was laying on his side, facing away from the door. “Potter.” Snape called again as he inched closer to Harry. Something clearly wasn’t right. It looked as if Harry wasn’t breathing.

Snape ran to the other side of the bed and saw Harry, who had a white foam oozing out of this mouth. Snape instantly jumped into action. As he pulled Harry to the floor, he dug in his pocket and his hand closed around a walnut sized object. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket, forced Harry’s jaw open and shoved it down the man’s throat.

“Come on…..Come on, Potter.” Snape whispered as his vision appeared to get darker.

Harry had to breathe soon or else he was going to die.

Suddenly, Harry’s chest gave a great heave and he gasped. Harry was breathing. Snape gave a sigh of relief as his vision began to return to normally, but Harry’s breathing was still very weak.

“Potter is not going to die today.” Snape reassured himself.

The door opened and Ginny gasped at the sight that greeted her.

“Ginny, we need to get him to St. Mungos now.” Ginny disappeared and left Harry with Snape.

“Come on, Potter. Hold on.” Snape whispered as he felt for a pulse. It was there but just barely. Snape had gotten here just in time. Ginny wasn’t even gone for thirty seconds before two mediwizards and took Harry to the hospital.

Snape stayed in the room for a little longer, taking a sigh of relief. Had he been any later….Well Snape didn’t want to think about that. He heard a sob come from the hallway and he walked into the hallway. Ginny was leaning against the wall, crying into her hands.

“Mrs. Weasley, look at me.” Snape ordered, waiting for Ginny to look up. “Harry will be fine.” Snape said when she looked up. “You need to call your brother and your parents. Tell them what happened and tell them to keep an eye out. I am going to Mungos. When you’ve made contact with your family, come.” Ginny wiped tears from her eyes as she nodded her head. “Harry will be fine.” Snape said as he slipped his bracelet on and apparated.

When Snape was gone, Ginny ran into the living room and grabbed the phone. She furiously dialed in the number and raised the phone to her ear.

“Come on….Come on, pick up.” She whispered as the phone rang.

She didn’t even realize that Snape had used her maiden name.

“Hello.” A woman’s voice answered.

“Hermione, it’s Ginny. Are the kids anywhere around you?” Ginny questioned, wiping more tears from her eyes.

“No. Would you like me to get them?” Hermione answered.

“No, but you need to listen to me. There are Aurors on the way to your house now.”

“They’re already here and no one is telling us anything.”

“Harry had this case and ….” Ginny began, but Hermione interrupted.

“I know all about it.”

“Harry thinks that you guys could be in danger.”

“What?!” Hermione inquired.

“He thinks that any major players in the war could be in danger. That is not why I called you though. Harry had been attacked.”

“What happened? Is he okay?”

“I don’t know. He was just taken to St. Mungos a few seconds ago. I think that he may have been poisoned. I am about to go over there now, but I need you to tell mom.”

“I will tell her when we are done here. Is there anything else you need?”

“Please don’t tell the kids. If they ask why some of Harry’s friends are over, tell them….” But Ginny froze because she could not come up with something.

“I will tell them something. Don’t worry about the kids. Go be with Harry.”

“Thanks Hermione. Tell the kids that I love them.”

“I will. Now go.” Hermione said, hanging up the phone.

Ginny put the phone down on the table. Within seconds, the Potter household was empty. Ginny had gone to the hospital to be with Harry.

When Ginny walked in, the hospital was crazy. This was normal because doctors were running everywhere. What shocked Ginny was how chaotic the waiting room was. There were Aurors crawling everywhere and that was all Ginny could see at first. It took her a few seconds but she spotted Snape and started in his direction, only to be stopped by Dawlish.

“What happened?” Dawlish questioned angrily, putting his hand up to stop Ginny.

“Wouldn’t we all like to know that. What the hell are you doing here?” Ginny questioned right back.

“One of my Aurors is hurt.”

“Is that all he is to you? An Auror, a solider against evil. He’s a human being. He’s a father and husband, damn you. I swear to God if he doesn’t make it, you will never hear the end of this!” Ginny yelled, no longer being able to contain her feelings.

“Ginny….Ginny, calm down.” Snape said, running to Ginny’s side.

“And who might you be?” Dawlish asked rudely.

“I am the one who saved her husband.” Snape answered.

“And how did you do that?”

“He was poisoned and I had a bezor on me.”

“Where did you come across a bezor?”

“I am an Apothecary. I had one with me from my shop as I normally do. I also have multiple healing potions on me.”

“Why?”

“Old habit die hard, Mr. Dawlish.”

A silence filled the room and Dawlish glared at Snape, as if he could kill with his eyes.

“Ginny’s husband is hurt and she is in great distress. I would suggest that you leave her alone right now. Next time, I won’t stop her from killing you.” Snape turned and led Ginny over to a chair.

The only time that he had looked over his shoulder was to see Dawlish’s expression. Dawlish was so angry that he kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to find words to say but he only managed to look like a fish.

Snape sat Ginny down in a chair, then knelt in front of her.

“I’ve talked to the doctors and told them what happened. Right now, they are trying to see how much poison is left inside him. Once they know, they will come and tell us how he is doing. Everything will be fine.” Snape reassured her.

Snape stayed kneeling in front of Ginny, reassuring her from time to time that everything would be alright. Snape was on high alert, looking over his shoulder from time to time. He was looking to see if there was anyone there who would try to finish Harry, but he saw no one. Snape could see and hear someone pacing. That person could only be Dawlish.

“Will you sit down before I stick my foot up your ass.” Ginny yelled after an hour of Dawlish’s pacing.

Dawlish snapped his head up to look at Ginny. Snape saw this and he moved away from Ginny, giving her a clear path from where she was to Dawlish. This movement caused Dawlish to quickly, and most unwillingly, sit down.

“Smart man.” Snape thought, knowing exactly what Ginny could do when she was angry.

Snape moved back in front of Ginny, once again, telling her that everything would be okay. He could see that she was very anxious. He could understand that. Her husband was seriously hurt, and Snape was starting to get anxious as well. It should not be taking this long. The last time that Snape had to wait this long, it didn’t turn out well. Last time, he had lost the only person in the world who meant something to him. Afraid that he was going to lose it, Snape pushed that thought out of his mind. He needed to be strong for Ginny, and could not afford to break down now. The door opened and a mediwizard entered the waiting room. Snape, Ginny and Dawlish all stood up that the same time.

“Sit down, Dawlish.” Ginny barked and Dawlish fell back down into his seat.

Ginny and Snape approached the doctor.

“How is he?” Ginny questioned with a slight waiver in her voice.

“We have managed to get most of the poison out of his body. Right now, he is resting comfortably. We want to keep him here overnight and keep a close eye on him. We’ve started him on a round of fluids, which will flush out anything that we may have missed. Hopefully, he can return home by morning.” The doctor explained.

Ginny had stopped paying attention. She was still thinking about the one important thing. Harry was alive.

“Do you know what type of poison was used?” Snape questioned.

“I have not seen this type of poison, nor has it matched anything in the database. We will have to wait and see. Maybe, Mr. Potter can give us some insight on what it was.”

“Can I see him?” Ginny questioned.

“Follow me.”

Snape and Ginny followed the doctor out of the room and down the hall for a few minutes. They stopped outside of a room after taking multiple turns through the halls.

“Go on in.”

Ginny turned quickly into Harry’s room, found the closest seat to him, held his hand and cried in relief at the sight of her husband alive. Snape crossed to Ginny and placed a comforting hand on Ginny’s shoulder

“Everything is okay, Ginny.” Snape comforted.

He stayed there until Ginny had stopped crying, then took a seat on the other side of Harry. Sitting there, Snape took a sigh of relief. Harry was still alive and Snape had been there to save him. Was this why Snape needed to be here, to save him from being poisoned? Or was something even worse going to happen? Snape still had that uneasy feeling, and hopefully it would go away when he saw Harry get back home.

“Ginny.” A weak voice whispered, pulling Snape out of his thoughts.

Harry had awaken, and even though he was weak, he smiled at the sight of Ginny sitting there.

“Oh, Harry.” Was all that Ginny could manage.

She stood up and kissed Harry with tears of relief still filling her eyes.

“Where are the kids?” Harry asked

“They are over at my brother’s. Hermione says that there are Aurors over there, so they are safe.” She answered, running a hand through his hair.

Harry relaxed when he heard that his children were safe. When Ginny sat down, he grabbed her hand.

“What happened?” Harry asked, turning to Snape.

Snape, who had been sitting there quietly, looked up. Harry could see that he had been thinking hard. His elbows were resting on the arms of the chair, fingertips touching, right leg crossed over left, and the faraway look in his eyes told Harry that Snape may have known what happened.

“I believe that you may have ingested a very weak poison. Not weak in the sense of the toll it took on you. No that was very, very strong. Had the reaction time been strong, we would have received a call that you were here. This poison took a very long time to attack your system but when it did, it was bloody strong. I believe that you may have ingested it, maybe, two to three hours before you were sent home.” Snape explained. “But I can not tell you what sort of poison you ingested.”

“How did I get here?” Harry questioned, looking from Snape to Ginny.

“You got sent home early and went to take a nap. Professor Snape thought something was wrong, so he went to check on you. Luckily, he had a bezor on him. Professor Snape saved your life, Harry.” Ginny spoke softly.

“Really.” Harry looked to Snape for confirmation.

“I made a promise to someone long ago that I would do my best to protect you. I don’t plan on breaking that promise until I am dead.”

The door burst open and Dawlish stormed into the room.

“Harry, how are you doing?” Dawlish questioned, leaning on the foot of Harry’s bed.

“I’ve been better, but I will live.”

“I need to know what happened at Azkaban.” Dawlish ordered.

Ginny spoke before Harry could explain.

“Azkaban!” She yelled at Dawlish.

Clearly she was more angry at Dawlish than she was at Harry, but how could she not be.

“We went to question the Death Eaters.” Harry explained to Ginny. “It was my idea, not Dawlish’s.”

“Who did you question Harry?” Dawlish asked.

For the next twenty minutes, Harry explained to everyone what had happened at the wizard prison. When he finished, the room was eerily silent.

“Why did you punch him!?” Ginny inquired incredulously, breaking the silence.

“He called my mother a coward, Ginny.” Harry stated, matter of factly, like that explained everything.

“That was a very unsafe thing to do.” Dawlish commented.

“Normally I would not agree with Dawlish, Harry, but I do. Rodolphus Lestrange was the most unpredictable person that Voldemort had in his ranks, after his wife of course. He’s part of the reason why Frank and Alice Longbottom are….unreachable.” Snape choose the last word carefully.

Harry knew exactly what Snape was talking about. Frank and Alice Longbottom were tortured by the Lestranges and other death eaters during the first war, causing the to become mentally insane. They still don’t recognize their son’s face. Doctors believe that their days are numbered and Neville is just waiting for them to die. He can do nothing about it, still believing that his real parents are in there somewhere. He knows that they know who he is, but the just don’t show it. Harry shuddered at the thought of that happening to him. It was bad enough that his parents had died. To think that his parents were alive, but unreachable….Harry couldn’t imagine.

“Do you think that Lestrange poisoned Harry?” Ginny questioned.

“I believe so. Back during the first war, Lestrange was second best at making deadly potions. He was even more mentally unstable back then and would lash out at death eaters who were fully committed, like himself and his wife, to Voldemort. The littlest comment could set him off. He wouldn’t do anything in front of Voldemort, though. He would wait till the meeting was over, then kill the person who wasn’t fully committed. Voldemort knew of course, but pretended like he didn’t. I believe that He and Lestrange set up some sort of code so Lestrange knew who to kill.” Snape answered.

“And how do you know this information?” Dawlish asked, suspiciously.

“When he was alive, my nephew told me a lot about Voldemort and his followers.”

“And who might your nephew be?” Dawlish inquired, still suspicious.

“Severus Snape.” Snape said defiantly.

Dawlish’s face turned white very quick.

“If he wants me to kill Yaxley, why would he poison me?” Harry pointed out.

“I do not know. Lestrange has a twisted mind.” Snape answered. “He may think that if he poisons you, Yaxley will try to attack you and you will kill him. Maybe he hopes that you will both end up killing each other. I can only speculate at this juncture. The only one who knows what goes on inside of Lestrange’s head, is Lestange himself.”

“There is no need to worry about Yaxley, Harry.” Dawlish said with a booming voice. “You have guards outside in the hallway and people in the waiting rooms. You relax, I am going to go deal with Lestrange.”

Dawlish strolled out of the door, passing Ginny who whispered under her breath. “Imbecile.”

The door shut and Snape turned to Harry.

“Why don’t you get some sleep, Potter.” Snape suggested.

“I don’t think I can sleep.” Harry whispered to no one in particular.

“Harry, the doctor said that you should rest. I’m still going to be here when you wake up. So will Professor Snape. No one is going to leave.”

And even though Harry was trying to fight it, he was asleep in minutes. Ginny was the next person to drift off to sleep about thirty minutes later. Snape stayed up for about another hour. Before falling asleep, He saw that the clock read ten. Harry was safe for now.