Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Chapter 35

The morning sunlight of the early new day shone brightly into the neat and tidy Hospital Wing. One Harry Potter lay, asleep, on one of the beds.

The boy whimpered lightly as the sunlight hit his face. He wanted to roll over, but felt too weak to do so. When he attempted to open his eyes, his body refused to obey his actions: his eyelids felt as if they had been glued together.

He pulled with all the strength he had and managed to roll over. Now, however, the blanket covering his body had fallen to the side. He attempted to reach out and get it, but was too weak to do so. He curled himself into a tight ball, shivering, teeth chattering from the cold.

"Harry?"

The sound of his name made him freeze. There was something about the voice that was so very familiar...

He felt the covers being pulled back around his body as someone tucked him in tightly.

"Harry, can you open your eyes for me?"

For some reason, Harry felt compelled to obey. Struggling and with much difficulty, he finally managed the feat.... and found himself looking into a pair of worried onyx eyes.

"Sev'rus?"

His voice sounded dry and cracked and his throat hurt. A lot.

"C-Can I have s--s--some water?"

Slurred as his voice was, the other obviously understood, as a second later, he found himself gently sat up and a cup held at his lips.

He tipped his head back weakly and felt water being tipped into his mouth. However, try as he might, his throat felt too sore to swallow.

The other, as if sensing his problem, began making comforting circles on his back while fingers danced at his throat, trying to sooth it enough for him to swallow. Finally, he managed it, sighing as the wet drops made their way down his dry and cracked throat. He leaned back into the comforting arms that held him, burrowing his body into the warmth.

Severus sighed when he felt the child in his arms lean against him. He held the boy tighter, pulling him protectively into his arms. He sat there for a while before realizing that he should probably notify Salazar or Helga. He started to lower the boy back into bed, but to no avail. The child whimpered at the action, holding onto his robes in a vice-like grip.

Seeing no other option, he stood up, Harry in his arms, as he headed out to search for one of the Founders.

Thankfully, he bumped into Helga, who just happened to be walking into the room. "What's wrong?" She asked quietly, seeing Harry in his arms.

"I just thought I'd tell you: Harry's woken up."

"Oh?" Helga raised an eyebrow in question when she looked at the boy in Severus' arms.

Severus flushed slightly as a light snore could be heard from the child. "At least, he was awake." Sometimes, the two Founders just made him feel like a school boy again.

Helga nodded. "I'll just go tell Salazar and the others," she said quietly before she left the room.

Severus, not knowing what else to do, just settled down in a nearby chair, pulling Harry closer to him, his arms wrapped around the sleeping body protectively.

Helga stepped out of the Hospital Wings before apparating into the Chamber of Secrets. She found the man sitting in a conjured chair, speaking with H's pet snakes. The male Founder looked up at her entrance.

"Harry's woken up for a few minutes. I believe he's gone back to sleep though."

"How's his condition?"

"He seems to be doing fine: he should be awake again in the next two to three hours. Severus is currently with him at the moment."

Salazar nodded before he stood up. "I'll just go make sure that that bastard hasn't done anything to Harry." With that, he swept out of the room.

Helga just shook her head. Really, Salazar was just as bad as Godric at times. With a sigh, she decided that she'd better tell Eliza and the rest of Harry's friends. With a soft crack, she disappeared into nothingness.

Eliza sat in the Slytherin Common Room, her eyes scanning at the potions text as she tried valiantly to study. After a few more fruitless minutes, she threw the book aside, sighing in defeat.

Next to her, a certain blond smirked. It amused Draco to no end to see the usually calm and composed girl looking so restless. However, his smirk turned into a worried look as he remembered the reason for her restlessness. Harry.

The last he'd heard of the Gryffindor-turned-Slytherin, the two strangers had appeared out of nowhere and had announced that they were helping the boy. Eliza obviously knew the two, although she had bluntly refused to give him anymore information. All she would tell him was, "You'll find out when you need to know." Which annoyed Draco to no end. He hated not knowing what was going on around him.

At that exact moment, the door of the Slytherin Common Room banged open, making everyone looked up. The lady in the yellow robes (Helga, was it?) entered the room, making Draco wonder how she had acquired the password to the Slytherin rooms. Ignoring the looks people were shooting her, the female turned to Eliza. "He woke up momentarily, but went back to sleep. He should be awake again in a few hours."

Although the students looked at one another in confusion, it was very obvious to Draco who they were talking about. Harry. He followed quickly as Eliza leaped up, but stopped when he noticed that the lady had motioned for them to stop.

"You can go see him in a few minutes. Eliza, I need you to gather up his friends from Gryffindor and someone needs to notify the Headmaster. That'll be all."

"Is there anyone in the room with him?" Eliza asked.

"Severus is currently with him." Seeing the Slytherin girl's frown, Helga sighed. "Child, you know as well as I do that it wasn't his fault: at least, not entirely. I need all of my reserves to deal with Sal, no to mention Godric's going to be anxious for 'revenge' when we get back, so please try to calm down, alright?"

Eliza nodded finally. "Alright, I'll try, Helga. I'll just go get Ron and 'Mione now..." With a crack, she disappeared into a ring of fire, making Draco jump back.

The blond sighed. It seemed that no matter what he did, he would never find out what was going on around here.

Helga looked down when she heard the other boy sigh. Her heart softened as she realized how frustrating it must be for the other to not know what was going on. Looking down, she spoke.

"Draco?"

The boy looked up, fidgeting nervously. "Yes, my Lady?"

Helga smiled at the title. "Do you have any questions?" She asked gently.

Draco's look of surprise was evident in his expression. "Err.... um, not to be rude or anything, but... who are you and the other guy?" Seeing her look, he faltered. "Um... I meant... Lord Salazar?"

Helga shook her head in amusement. "There's no need to be so nervous around me, child. Come on, we'll go somewhere where we have more privacy to talk." Raising her arm, she swept the boy closer to her before she apparated.

They appeared in a small but elegant room. Draco was surprised by its appearance. Misty yellow curtains hung around the room in a graceful fashion and yellow roses randomly decorated the room. He looked up in shock as Lady Helga lifted her arm -- a second later, the fireplace burst into merry flames.

How was it that all of them: Harry, Eliza, and now Helga and obviously Salazar, all knew how to do wandless magic? Wasn't it supposed to be a long-forgotten form of magic?

When he finally regained the use of his voice, he asked, "Er.... where are we?"

"We are in my office, child. You can speak freely here."

Draco looked up. "Office? You have an office at Hogwarts? Do you work here?"

Helga smiled. "I--- Yes, you could say that I do. I, along with Salazar, Godric, and Rowena, founded the school after all."

The blond Slytherin was effectively shocked into silence. When he finally managed to speak again, he croaked out, "I--I--- You're Helga Hufflepuff?"

Helga nodded. "I know it sounds amazing and unbelievable to you right now, Draco, but it is, in fact, the truth. We are, of course, not from this time, nor dimension-- we only came to help Harry."

"Harry?" Draco looked up, puzzled. "How is it that you know H and Eliza?"

Helga sighed. "I'm afraid, Draco, that that is a question that they must answer for themselves. It's their story to tell, not mine, or Salazar's." She stood up suddenly. "That's enough questions for now, Draco. I think Harry should be awake by now."

Draco found himself following the female Founder towards the Hospital Wing, feelings as if he had more questions now than he had to begin with.

Eliza apparated into the Gryffindor Common Room with a pop, ignoring the shocked looks and gasps of indignation around her. Whirling around, she found herself face to face with Hermione. "Sebastien's awake," she said quickly, using Harry's disguise name. "Where's Ron?"

"He's in the boy's dorm," Hermione said. She was about to offer to go grab him when Eliza disappeared with a pop.

A second later, Ronald Weasley was given the shock of his life when Eliza appeared in the middle of the room. "Sebastien's awake," she said quickly. "I've already told Hermione, hurry up with you want to see him." With that, she disappeared again, leaving a gaping Ron (and several puzzled Gryffindor boys) behind her.

Severus and Salazar both sat by Harry's bed, each on either side of him. Each was deep in their own thoughts, and except for the sound of Harry's raspy breathing, all was quiet.

The silence was broken by a lethargic voice. "Sal? What are you doing here?"

"Harry!" Salazar jumped up as he quickly pulled Harry into a sitting position. "How are you feeling?"

"'m fine, just tired," Harry replied. He grinned at the Founder. "You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"Rowena received... news from a certain pair of siblings," here, he ignored Harry's confused look. "... and she notified the rest of us about what was happening. Godric was extremely worried, along with the rest of us... Anyways, we managed to combine the effects of two potions and came up with a single potion that would allow us to visit you here. Unfortunately, I only had two shares of the potion on hand, and it takes months to brew it. Helga had to come, as she was the only natural healer, also the best --- and I came since we needed to make you a few potions." He chuckled. "Boy, you should have seen Godric's look when he realized that he couldn't come. He sure had a tantrum over that."

Harry laughed merrily at the mental image of Godric's expression. "I'm sure he was very.... displeased about the fact." he said, just as Rowena came in with Draco.

"How are you doing, child?" The female Founder asked, her motherly side taking over.

"I'm perfectly fine, and I'm feeling much better." He shot the Lady a grin before turning to Draco. "Hey, ferret-boy," he teased, wanting to get rid of the tension surrounding him. "So, how are you doing?"

Draco scowled at the name, but inwardly, he was feeling pleased that Harry was well enough to joke around. "Fine, fine," he grumbled, but couldn't help smiling. "Eliza was so worried about you... as were the Weasel and Granger, of course."

"Hey! Don't call them that! Speaking of Eliza and the others, where are they?"

"We're here," a voice called out as the three they had been talking about rushed into the room. Hermione and Eliza both rushed up to him. "How are you feeling?" they asked at the same time.

Harry groaned at the question as the others began to laugh. "Why does everyone ask me that? I am perfect fine," he said, empathizing the last two words.

For about half an hour, the group of them just chattered merrily, talking about everything and anything. Their topics for conversation ranged from school, to Quidditch. However, one member of the group stayed decidedly silent.

Severus did not join in the talking. He just sat at the side of Harry's bed, feeling strangely left out. No one had even acknowledged his presence --- not even Harry---- and Severus could not help but feel hurt at the fact. He sighed. Well, he supposed that he did deserve it. After all, it was his fault that Harry was here in the first place.

Harry heard a sigh from beside him as he looked up at Severus. He knew the older man was feeling left out, but he had wanted to talk to him privately later. Well, now was as good as any.

"Listen, guys," he said, interrupting the chattering. "I'm feeling kind of tired right now, and I need to talk to Severus. Privately." he added.

Salazar, Eliza, and Ron immediately looked up, ready to protest.

"I refuse to allow him---"

"Harry! He almost killed you! How can you---"

"God, he's Snape, for heaven's sake! Not to mention he almost got you----"

"ENOUGH!" Harry burst out, shocking the others into silence. "Sal, Ron, Eliza... I know you're all worried about me, but trust me, I'm fine. I just need to talk to Severus and sort a few things out. I'm also feeling kind of tired right now, so I'd really appreciate it if I didn't have to yell, thanks." He smiled slightly. "I'll be fine, now--- go get some rest yourselves." With that, he shooed them out of the Hospital Wing until he found himself alone with Severus.

Severus, looked down at the ground, refusing to meet the other's eyes. Guilt and shame overwhelmed him once more as he was reminded again of what he had done to Harry. Shoulders trembled as he waited for the other to yell at him. Slap him. Anything.

Harry sighed as he looked at the man before him. He could only imagine how the other was feeling, but in reality, he had long forgiven the Potions Master. Now, he only had the overwhelming instinct to comfort the man in front of him. Sighing softly, he leaned forward and gently wrapped his arms around the other, pulling the trembling wizard into a hug. "It's alright, Severus," he said quietly, his hands rubbing soothingly on the other's back.

Severus stiffened at first, but slowly relaxed into the warmth of Harry's arms. Tears threatened to spill over, and he buried his face in the other's shoulder as they did. "I--I'm so sorry, Harry, so sorry....."

They sat like that for a few minutes until the Potions Master calmed down.

"Severus," Harry said quietly. "I just want you to know that none of this is your fault at all." He raised a hand, seeing that the other was about to protest. "It was my choice what I did, and I admit it was a silly choice now, but it was mine nevertheless. You had nothing to do with it, so don't blame yourself for it, alright?"

"I--I--- But I almost killed you! If I hadn't yelled at you, then you wouldn't have..... tried what you did." Severus looked down, not wanting to meet the other's eyes.

"Severus. Listen to me." Harry stared resolutely into the other's eyes. "You have nothing to blame for this. In the beginning, when I was sent to your manor, it was you who nursed me back to health. You were the one who helped me through my nightmares, and taught me potions. You were the one who helped me. With everything. And I have you to thank, before without you, I wouldn't be here right now." He paused slightly before continuing. "It was my fault for not telling you the truth about who I was, and for that, I apologize. You had the right to be angry, so stop blaming yourself for this. Everything's fine now. Let's just forgive and forget."

Severus looked up, his onyx eyes disbelieving. "I-- I don't know what to say, Harry. How can you just forgive me like this? After what I did?"

"I've said it, and I'll say it again: You've done nothing that you can be blamed for. Any little mistake you may have made is all forgiven and forgotten." Harry's voice was gentle and soft. "You were like the father I never had, Severus. You were there for me when none of the others were."

Severus looked up uncertainly. "You mean it?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

His heart burst with joy at the revelation. Harry saw him as a surrogate father, a mentor, someone to trust --- and that in itself meant everything to the Potions Master. He suddenly reached forward and pulled the green-eyed child into a hug. "Thank you, Harry," he said quietly.

"You're welcome."

Far away in the distance, two sisters turned to each other and smiled.

"Well, Destiny, it looks like we've done our job."

Destiny smiled at her sister. "It seems that we did." She looked at the scene before her, of the young boy and the Potions Master in the hospital wing. "Do you think they'll be fine now?"

"I truly hope so. But who knows?" Fate smiled. "Only time will tell."

Without a backwards glance, the two walked away, hand in hand. The sunlight shone down upon them, yet the stars twinkled brightly at the same time. The moon glowed brightly as the clouds drifted.

The two sisters walked on, further and further away, until they disappeared into the horizon.

Until next time, dear Hogwarts.

Until next time.

Chapter End Notes:
Hope you enjoyed-- the ending was kind of difficult to write. Looking forward to hearing from all of you.

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