The blinding green beam of light hit Flamel square in the chest. His eyes widened as if he was surprised that Severus had indeed dared to cast the fatal curse on him. For the briefest moment it seemed as if he would stay upright. Then, however, his eyes closed - it was impossible to tell whether it was willingly or not - and his legs gave in and he sank to the ground.

His wife was next to him in an instant, while the Potion Master just stared at the unmoving form on the ground, paralysed.

"Nicolas? Nicolas!" Perenelle Flamel squeezed the arm of her husband who was lying there, motionless, his eyes closed, but he didn't give the slightest sign that he was aware of his wife's presence or her efforts to wake him up.

Severus was in shock. He had killed the man. He had murdered what had been the oldest wizards alive. He would never be able to forgive himself. Even when he had served the Dark Lord - really served the man, not just acted as a spy for Dumbledore - he had never killed another human being. Injured, tortured (which was probably even worse, he had to admit), yes, but never killed.

Then his thoughts turned to Harry, Harry who was currently lying in Severus' bed in a sleep so deep that he was only inches away from death and who would well and truly die soon, very soon. Because there was no hope to find a different way to kill the splinter of the Dark Lord inside the child's head without killing the child, too, Severus knew this. The killing curse combined with the Elixir of Life had been the only chance, Harry's only hope of survival, and it had failed.

It had failed and Nicolas Flamel was dead.

Harry would die.

When the realization had sunken in, Severus staggered to the nearby wall, trying to keep himself upright, but to no avail. Slowly, he slid down the wall until he sat on the cold and hard stone floor, weeping.

Harry - the child that he loved like he hadn't loved anyone since Lily had died. The child that had managed to sneak into the Potion Master's heart despite the man's best efforts not to let anyone evoke such emotions in him ever again. The child he had sworn to protect and now had to kill.

In his despair, Severus didn't see the newly widowed Perenelle Flamel pressing her fingers on the throat of her husband's body, nor did he care, for that matter. And only when he felt something touching his shoulders he became aware of Perenelle Flamel standing next to him.

"I'm - I'm so sorry!" Severus choked out, for once not caring that another person saw him in a moment of weakness.

"He is alive." Perenelle said calmly.

"He's - what?" Severus asked. Surely he had misunderstood the witch!

"Nicolas is alive. He is breathing and he has a pulse, he seems to have merely passed out."

The Potion Master was on his feet immediately. With two long strides he was next to the man, kneeling down and feeling for a pulse himself. It was there! Strong and steady. And now he clearly saw the rising and falling of the wizard's chest, too. Flamel was alive!

"I think we should go back upstairs," Perenelle said, and with no further ado she pointed her wand at her husband, cast a levitating charm and directed the floating body towards the door.

Severus needed a few seconds to collect his thoughts, but then he followed the woman who had already reached the top of the staircase.

He returned to the living-room and waited there indecisively what to do next. Apparently, Mrs Flamel had brought her husband into a more private room, and Severus didn't know whether he should just leave in order to leave the couple in peace or if he should wait until the old wizard had woken up.

His thoughts were interrupted when Perenelle entered the living-room. "I have put Nicolas to rest. I assume he will wake up on his own, though I can't tell when this will be. I'm sure he will contact you as soon as he is able to, and if there should be any complications I will of course floo you. However, for now I think all we can do is to wait. He clearly is alive and I couldn't find any signs suggesting that the curse has caused any damage to his body, or his mind or magic - though I can't tell for sure, of course."

Severus inclined his head, thankful for Mrs Flamel calm and reasonable demeanour. "I will take my leave, then," he answered, "I would appreciate it if you would contact me in the morning - provided that your husband hasn't woken up by then - to let me know whether there are any changes in his condition."

After Perenelle had agreed to Severus' request, he took a handful of floo-powder from the cup on the mantelpiece and flooed back to Hogwarts, into his quarters. He had obtained permission from the two Flamels to connect their fireplace (that was warded even more elaborately than his own) to the one in his chambers, at least temporarily.

#

When he stumbled out of his fireplace he caught sight of both Dr Green and Poppy who had apparently talked animatedly but were startled by the rather ungraceful entrance of the Potion Master - well, Poppy was startled by Severus' untypical clumsiness while Dr Green was probably more surprised by the fact that anyone came out of a fireplace, Severus supposed. If he hadn't been so anxious both about Harry and about Flamel he would have laughed at the medi-witches bewilderment.

"How did it go?" Poppy Pomfrey asked sharply, rather worried about her colleague's unusual lack of gracefulness.

"He is alive." Severus managed to get out before he sank down on one of the unoccupied sofas and silently summoned a bottle of firewhisky. He poured himself a liberal amount of liquor, took several large gulps and leaned back, his eyes closed. He wasn't in a talking mood and hopefully the other two would notice.

He had called the medi-witch immediately after he had given Harry the Draught of Living Death, well, after he had made sure that he hadn't accidentally killed the child, that was. Cold shivers ran down his spin when he thought back to those terrible seconds when he hadn't been sure whether the Draught had been too much for Harry's body to handle.

The Potion Master wasn't sure whether he had dared to dose the child with the strongest sleeping-potion there was if he had had more time to think the matter through. However, even several hours after the incident (that he was sure would have cost Harry his life if he had done nothing), he couldn't think of anything else he could have done. He hadn't known - still didn't know, really - what had happened to Harry, except that he was quite certain that it had once again been the Horcrux' doing. And while the Draught of Living Death did nothing to undo whatever had transpired, it would at least delay death.

Severus was well aware that dosing Harry with the Draught was by no means a solution to the original problem. Admittedly, he had briefly considered employing this very concoction when he had tried to come up with a means to prevent Harry's death while destroying the Horcrux, yes, but as a Potion Master, he knew quite well that this wasn't how the potion worked.

The Draught of Living Death shut the body down. Actually, it was quite similar to hibernation. The body-temperature was reduced drastically, as was the heartbeat and the amount of time you needed to breath in order to survive. Every organ that didn't have a vital function stopped working practically completely. For example, Harry wouldn't need any food while being in this state.

Of course, this limited the amount of time he could survive as he hadn't exactly much body-fat. Still, if everything worked as planned it would suffice.

But if Flamel wouldn't wake up... Severus wasn't sure whether he should risk going through with the plan even if it meant that Harry would never again regain consciousness. Was there a point in ensuring Harry's survival if all the boy could do was breathing and lying in a bed? Would he even be aware of his surroundings? And if he was, wasn't it even more cruel to condemn him to such a fate, unable to do anything, unable to communicate, unable to really live, but still being alive? Was this what Harry would want?

The Potion Master tried to put oneself in Harry's position. What would he want? Well, this was easy, Severus would choose death without a second thought.

But this didn't mean that Harry would choose the same. But how could he ask him? And thinking about that, how could he ask him if he was even willing to go through with the plan, or whether he would prefer something else? Severus was well aware that there were very few option, but he refused to even think about betraying Harry's trust in such a fashion.

Harry might not remember the first talk the Potion Master had tried to have with the child, but Severus did. He remembered Harry's devastation when the boy had thought that Severus would kill him.

"Severus?" The medi-witch tried to get her colleague's attention.

"What?" Severus snapped. Why couldn't the annoying woman just leave him alone?

Poppy sighed in exasperation. She knew that Severus had had a rather difficult day but his constant snapping and snarling could be rather irritating. "I just thought that you might want to hear about the idea Alex - Dr Green - had had regarding Harry's current state and another way to get rid of that thing in his head before you get drunk." She glanced pointedly at the almost empty glass in the Potion Master's hand.

Great. Now the two doctors/healers were on first name terms. He didn't know why this annoyed him, perhaps it was just that currently, he was seriously tempted to hex anyone who would dare to stop him from drowning his worries in alcohol. "I don't thing there is anything to discuss, as there is only one way to destroy the Horcrux and we need to wait until Flamel wakes up before we can move any further." He answered harshly.

"Actually, we should have this discussion, especially since your plan doesn't seem to have worked exactly as you had hoped for." Dr Green said pleasantly.

Damn man, Severus thought. "What is it, then?" he demanded.

"It has been you who first came up with that idea, actually, and while Madame Pomfrey wasn't able to tell me anything about whether there have ever been any attempts to treat wizards with electro-convulsive therapy or whether your lot might react differently to this means of treatment, she has confirmed what you have told me about how that killing curse works and had even provided me with a few additional information."

Dr Green noticed that by now, he had the Potion Master's full attention and decided to use this to his advantage and to get everything he and Poppy had talked about while Snape had been in France out at once. Who knew whether the clearly disgruntled (and probably rather worried) man would allow him to finish his explanation once he had the opportunity to dismiss Dr Green's idea as nonsense - which was likely to happen if his current attitude was anything to go by.

"Why not transferring Harry to a normal hospital while he is still under the influence of that potion you gave him and apply electro-convulsive therapy? Perhaps you have been right and there is no real difference between that curse and this treatment - with the exception that ECT isn't fatally if applied correctly. I know that most members of your society are somewhat reserved when it comes to our means of treating illnesses, but I think Harry should get this chance, even if most of your so-called experts doesn't approve of our approaches."

Severus was silent while he thought about the doctor's proposition. The man was right, there was a chance that this might help Harry. It was unlikely, yes, as Harry's body - the container of the Horcrux - was in no danger of being fatally harmed, and Audrey had clearly stated that this was necessary to destroy the Horcrux.

But as Dr Green had pointed out, electro-convulsive therapy wasn't something wizards had ever given much thought. On the contrary, Severus was quite certain that the vast majority even of the healers had never even heard about it!

And what if muggles had indeed invented something that would affect a magical being, a Horcrux? Hadn't they already proved their ability to create substances that would affect magic, would prevent a wizard from accessing his magical core? Severus had seen what those drugs could do to a wizard's mind!

But then, hadn't the Doctor told him that it was unlikely that this would work the last time Severus had spoken to him? "I thought you held the opinion that this treatment, while similar to the curse, was unlikely to affect the Horcrux?" He inquired.

"When you first came up with the idea, I thought so, yes," Dr Green admitted, "but I couldn't stop thinking about what you have said, and then Poppy supplied me with a few additional information about the curse and how a wizard's brain works, and I decided that it might at least be worth a try. If carried out right, electro-convulsive therapy isn't harmful, so we - Harry - wouldn't lose anything even if it has no effect whatsoever. However, I do think that there is a chance that it will work, or at least weaken that creature."

When the doctor had finished his explanation, there were several minutes of tense silence during which Severus contemplated what he had just heard and the other two occupants of the room waited for the man to come to a decision.

"It might... it might be reasonable to consider this matter in more depth." The Potion Master finally admitted.

"I thought so, too," Poppy supplied, "it would be less risky than casting an Avada at the poor child, especially now that your and Flamel's test run apparently hasn't turned out the way you had hoped for. I already asked Dr Green whether it would be possible to admit Harry to his ward again, it would be the easiest and safest way, as there would be no need to come up with a credible story other doctors would require before performing such an invasive treatment - and we can hardly do it ourselves. I don't think there is any healer who knows enough about this branch of medicine either.

And making a doctor compliant with certain spells doesn't seem such a good idea, too, since Madame Bones has probably launched an investigation right after the two of you blackmailed her into removing Quirrell from this school."

"So you have already planned everything and only waited for me to allow you to go through with the plan, yes?" Severus asked sarcastically, not knowing how he should feel about this. On the one hand, he was annoyed that the doctor and the medi-witch had cooked up something of this magnitude without involving him, but on the other hand it was good to know that they really cared about Harry's well-being.

"Well, if your own plan had been more successful we wouldn't have brought it up, but it's always good to have more than one option available."

"You know that, while being a rather intriguing theory, it's unlikely that something as dark and powerful as a Horcrux can be destroyed by a bout of electricity that happens to be similar to one of the most hideous curses there is?" Severus asked both Poppy and Dr Green, sounding quite serious.

"Yes," Dr Green replied, equally serious, "but as it is Harry's life that is at stake, I don't think it would be wise to just dismiss this option, however unlikely a successful outcome might be. Especially since, compared to that curse, the risk of something going wrong is practically non-existent."

The Potion Master couldn't deny that this was true, and since he wasn't exactly keen on casting an Avada Kedavra at Harry anyway - quite the contrary, actually - he finally agreed on trying this approach before they would pursue the original plan. Even if Flamel should have woken up by the morning and turn out to be completely healthy and unscathed, the Elixir for Harry still needed some time before it would be ready, so they wouldn't waste any time even if the ECT didn't work on Harry - or rather on the Horcrux.

They agreed that Dr Green would talk to the head doctor of the clinic he worked at and see whether it would be possible to have the therapy carried out there. As the doctors at this hospital were already familiar with the severity of Harry's 'psychosis', hopefully it wouldn't be too difficult. Additionally, Severus had provided Dr Green with a muggle-friendly version of Harry's file from St Mungo's that should further help their case. And if the man refused to have a child undergo this treatment at his clinic - well, they would see whether a little push in the right direction would be enough. The less magic they needed to employ the better.

Finally, Dr Green and Poppy left the Potion Master's quarters and after the man had checked on the boy in his bedroom (not that there was much he needed to look for, as Harry wouldn't even have dreams - be it nightmares or pleasant ones - while being under the influence of the Draught of Living Death) he allowed himself to escape into a blissful, alcohol-induced unawareness.

The next thing he knew was that someone was shaking his shoulder and an annoying, much too loud voice was ordering him to wake up.

Severus groaned. His head felt as if someone had knocked him out cold and then decided to give him a few additional punches with a heavy, blunt instrument.

"Severus you need to wake up, the headmaster has been trying to get into your quarters for the last two hours!"

"What?" The Potion Master asked stupidly. Somehow, his brain hadn't yet stated to to work properly.

"Classes have long since started and the third-years informed Dumbledore that you hadn't turned up despite them having waited for more than twenty minutes. You can consider yourself lucky that the Weasley-twins are still in the infirmary after the prank they pulled yesterday evening, they would have taken your classroom to pieces and probably managed to make the whole castle explode!"

"You mean - what did you say what time it is?" Severus whispered, horrified.

"Almost eleven o'clock in the morning, so you better take one of your hangover-potions and report to the headmaster, I don't know how much longer he will try to dismantle your wards and when he will start just to dig a tunnel into your living-room."

Severus all but leapt out of his bed - only that it was a sofa, he discovered after almost falling to the ground - and let out an anguished groan when this caused his headache to increase tenfold. Fortunately, Minerva had already retrieved both a hangover-potion and a headache-draught before waking Severus up, and after he had swallowed both of them in rapid succession he felt more like a human being again and was able to process what was going on.

However, this also meant that the foolishness of last night's actions hit him with full force.

How could he have been so irresponsible to get drunk while having a child in his quarters that was not only in danger of the current headmaster but also dosed with one of the strongest potion that existed?!

Not to mention that he would never have heard the alarms going off if something had happened to Harry during the night. Granted, it was unlikely that even the real Dark Lord would be able to cause any harm while being under the influence of the Draught of Living Death, so presumably it was even more improbable that the Horcrux could hurt Harry in any way, but still!

And then not being bright enough to make sure that he would wake up in time for classes. Severus Snape never overslept!

"I have already checked on Harry, he is all right - well, or at least there are no signs that the potion isn't working as it should. Shall I call Poppy or do you think it's safe to leave Harry unsupervised during classes?" McGonagall interrupted Severus dark thoughts.

The man briefly considered the witch's question. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have hesitated to leave someone who was dosed with the Draught of Living Death alone for a few hours, but Harry's situation was hardly normal. And although he was well aware that he had done a rather poor job in overseeing Harry's state during the night, he wouldn't repeat this mistake.

"You call Poppy. I'll make sure Harry's condition hasn't worsened during the night - I know that you have already checked on him but you're only an expert in transfiguration, not potions" Severus added when Minerva tried to interrupt him, "and you can tell the headmaster that I will arrive shortly. Now, I'm sure you can see yourself out, as it's quite obvious that you didn't have any difficulties entering my quarters uninvited, too." With that, Severus turned around and headed for his bedroom. He knew he was unfair, McGonagall had only tried to help, after all, but just now he didn't care in the least.

Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any changes in Harry's condition, and Severus breathed a sighed of relief. Nevertheless, he vowed to himself that he would never let something like this happen again.

#

During lunch, he tried his best to ignore the looks students and staff alike were casting at him. Apparently, it had spread like a wildfire that the Potion Master had not only missed the first two hours of classes but also had had a serious argument with the headmaster after he had emerged from his quarters.

Curiously, Dumbledore hadn't turned up for lunch, but Severus wouldn't complain.

He had only barely managed to keep his temper in check when the headmaster had intercepted him on his way to his classroom and demanded that Severus took down the wards and allowed him to take Harry.

Severus snorted. As if this would ever happen.

And then the man had had the audacity to suggest that he would be a better guardian for 'the poor boy', since he wouldn't force him to undergo dangerous and potentially painful experiments only to confirm that there was nothing except death that would exterminate the Horcrux.

Severus had briefly been surprised that Dumbledore seemed to know what Severus planned to do, but thankfully, he knew the headmaster quite well and was no stranger to his manipulations.

Dumbeldore hadn't mentioned any details, and Severus himself had told him that he would try to find a way to cure Harry without killing the child.

Giving the man's rather intimate knowledge of the Potion Master's weaknesses, it was quite possible that Dumbledore had decided to use this to his advantage in order to get Severus to give up on Harry and allow Dumbledore to kill him.

The accusation that he put Harry through unnecessary and pointless harm had hurt Severus deeply, and Albus must have known this. After what had happened to his beloved Lily - after what he, Severus, had done to her - one of his greatest fears was to ever harm someone he cared about again. At first, he had hurt his only real friend in a desperate attempt to preserve at least a tiny bit of his dignity, and then, only a few years later, he had been the one that had been responsible for her death.

The thought that he might repeat those mistakes, this time with Lily's only child as his victim, frightened Severus deeply. And the fact that Dumbledore had used his fears in order to make Severus comply with the man's own plan - well, fortunately Severus had learnt long ago to control his emotions and see through such attempts of manipulation.

Suddenly, someone poked him in the side. Startled, the Potion Master turned around and saw the Transfiguration-Professor sitting next to him. He looked at her questioningly.

"I just received a floo-call from France. She was rather worried, apparently, you have failed to answer her calls earlier today."

If he hadn't been in the Great Hall, Severus would have slapped himself for having forgotten Perenelle Flamel's promise to floo him in the morning. "Did she tell you anything?" he asked Minerva, well aware that they couldn't risk someone of their colleagues - or worse, students - overhearing their conversation.

"He is still asleep, though she asked me to tell you that you should contact her nevertheless."

"Right," Severus said, and without bothering to wait for the meal to finish he rose from his chair and stalked out of the Great Hall.

#

When Severus pulled his head out of the fireplace ten minutes later, he was grumbling to himself. Why had he even bothered to floo the Flamels? All what Perenelle had told him was that there was no change in her husband's condition and that various tests she had run on him had only proved that there was nothing wrong with the man - except for the fact that he was in some sort of coma.

Deciding that he could as well do something useful during his lunch break, the Potion Master informed the medi-witch that he would pay Dr Green a visit to find out whether he had made any progress in convincing his boss that it was necessary for Harry to undergo electro-convulsive therapy.

Unfortunately, the Doctor wasn't aware that Severus would come to see him and so the latter couldn't risk apparating directly into his office. When he finally arrived at his destination, an annoying nurse insisted on Severus telling her why he wanted to speak to the Doctor and only the man's timely appearance prevented Severus from breaking his vow not to use magic on muggles any more, except in cases of emergencies.

Dr Green was surprised to see the Potion Master again so soon. Thankfully, he had spoken to the head doctor first thing in the morning, as he had no desire to tell an already upset Snape that he had not yet managed to get any further information as to whether they could go through with their plan or if they needed to look for another hospital.

The Doctor led the man into his office and told the nurse that he wasn't to be disturbed for the next twenty minutes. "I didn't know you planned to get an update quite so quickly, Mr Snape," he addressed the man after they had both taken a seat, "or has something happened to Harry - or Mr Flamel?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"There have been no changes, neither in Harry's nor in Flamel's condition, no. I came here to ask you whether you have been able to determine if it will be possible to do this- this treatment here, in this hospital."

"Actually, I have spoken to the medical director and he didn't seem to be quite as opposed to the notion as I had expected him to be. He wants to have a look in Harry's file before making a final decision and, well, he asked to see the boy personally..." Dr Green trailed of, knowing that the last bit wouldn't be to the other man's liking.

"That's impossible," Severus stated rather bluntly, "there is no way I will give Harry the Wiggenweld Potion - it's the counter potion to the Draught of Living Death - before we have at least made an attempt to destroy the Horcrux. Merlin knows what would happen if I did, that creature might just continue where it left! And we can't very well present a comatose Harry to your boss with no credible explanation why the boy is in such a state."

Dr Green had raised his hands after about halfway through Severus rant. "I know, I know, but since we need the man's approval, it might be necessary for one of you to employ a little bit of magic. I don't like saying this, and I certainly don't approve of your lot continuing to use magic on just about anyone, but in this case, I don't see any other way. It will probably be easier than looking for another hospital altogether, and since Dr Grey didn't seem to be directly opposed to our plan, I think it would be tenable."

"Right. That shouldn't pose a problem. Perhaps I will speak to Bones to make sure that nobody from her department interferes - or maybe it would be better to let Minerva talk to her, the two of them are old friends, after all - and I'm quite sure that, after our last encounter, the witch will like me even less than she did beforehand. When do you think we can do it?"

"Well, I haven't really thought about it yet, perhaps-" but the Doctor couldn't finish his sentence.

"Tonight? Or some time tomorrow?" Severus pressed.

"Tonight? You want to do this tonight?" Dr Green asked disbelievingly, "Don't you think that we should wait a bit longer?"

"Of course not!" Severus snapped, "haven't you listened to me when I informed you about the Draught? I can't dose Harry with it indefinitely, the sooner we will be able to let him wake up the better! He doesn't have much body fat he can sustain on, and he is only a child! After one or, at best, two weeks his physical condition will deteriorate rapidly, and we don't know what will happen after this treatment! We don't know whether it will work, and we don't know whether it will be safe for him to stay awake or if we need to continue to give him the potion until the Elixir is ready. This isn't something that can wait for much longer, Green!"

"All right, all right,, I just don't think we should rush this, it won't do Harry any good," Dr Green tried to placate the agitated man. "First, you need to speak to your colleagues and one of you has to inform Mrs Bones from the ministry about the spell you intend to cast on my superior - Dr Grey. Then we need to arrange for Harry being transferred to this hospital without anyone becoming suspicious. Of course, normally he would be placed on my ward, but I fear that the nurses and my colleagues will want to know why the boy suddenly has to undergo such an unusual treatment. Additionally, they are likely to question your presence and I don't think it would be prudent to let Harry stay here on his own, without anyone magical present."

"Of course not," Severus snapped. As if he would leave the boy with muggles who, while reasonably qualified when it came to dealing with normal mental illnesses, would be completely at a loss of what to do when the Horcrux seized control over Harry's body like it had done yesterday. "So what have you thought about, then?

"There is a private ward in another part of this hospital. Children aren't normally sent there, but I'm certain we can make an exception for Harry. You will be able to stay with him day and night, and of course your colleagues will be able to do the same if you are needed at the school. You will even be able to teleport directly into Harry's accommodations."

"All right, that sounds reasonable. Than you will make sure that everything is ready for Harry to be moved on this ward within the next few days and I will speak to the necessary people so that we can convince your boss about the necessity of this treatment as soon as possible. Is there something else we need to discuss?" Severus knew he was rather rude - it had been him who had disturbed the doctor's lunch break - but the lack of sleep, the amount of alcohol he had had last night and, above everything, the worry about Harry made him even more grumpy than usual.

"I don't think so," Dr Green answered, having decided to ignore the other man's foul mood, "but please remember that it may take a few days until everything is ready for Harry to be transferred. And I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't just turn up with the boy but tell me in advance when you will arrive."

"Of course I will." Severus said. He rose from his chair and nodded at the other man. "I will meet you again tomorrow evening. Is there any particular time when you will be alone in your office?"

Dr Green sighed at the apparent impatience of the Potion Master. It was rather obvious that magical people weren't used to doing things the normal way. Working on someone until he agreed to your point of view certainly took longer than just firing one spell or another at the person in question, making him forget that he ever had had a different opinion at all.

But Dr Green was rather certain that the muggle way of things had its own merits, too, especially in the long run.

"Six o'clock will be fine." He finally answered, after another impatient glare from the Potion Master. He had just barely finished his last word when there was a sharp 'crack' and the other man was gone.

During the next 24 hours, Severus was rather busy. At first, he had informed both Poppy and Minerva (who had to be filled in on what exactly the other three who were in on the whole matter had agreed on doing) that they could go through with their plan without having to hex too many people.

He asked Minerva to speak to her old friend at the ministry about the need to encourage the head doctor at the hospital in Surrey to waive any objections and especially to forget about his demand to examine Harry himself. Upon Minerva's question what exactly she should tell Amelia without giving away Harry's secret, Severus once again was reminded about Gryffindor's lack of imagination when it came to finding means that ensured that they would get what they wanted.

When the Gryffindor head of house came to see him the next day shortly after lunch, though, he was relieved to learn that obviously she had found a way to convince Bones that this was an emergency and that the three of them (or at least Minerva) would make sure not to botch the spells, thereby preventing any muggle from suing the ministry.

In the meantime, the Potion Master had started to brew the Wiggenweld Potion. Of course, he didn't know whether it would be safe to wake Harry up once the treatment had been administered, but he planned to be prepared for all eventualities he could think of.

Severus had decided to employ Legilimency to see whether the treatment had caused any changes in Harry's mind, and if this was the case, he would give the boy the counter-potion to the Draught of Living Death. There would be a risk, yes, the Horcrux might hide or only been incapacitated temporarily, but he had started to come to terms with the fact that it just wasn't possible to do this - killing the Horcrux while saving Harry's life - without at least a low risk for the boy himself.

And then, just before he and Minerva where due to leave in order to see Dr Green and hopefully cast the appropriate spells on the head doctor, Severus once again flooed the Flamels. Unfortunately, though, there still weren't any changes in Nicolas Flamel's condition and he had to content himself with adding the last few ingredients to Harry's Elixir of Life. Now it only needed to rest for another week, then it would be ready to be administered.

Hopefully, though, they wouldn't need it.