Right in Front of Me
CHAPTER 9
"Professor!" Harry cried as he scrambled to his feet and rushed to Snape's side. His professor had fallen to his knees before collapsing heavily onto his side, and his breaths were coming in short, raspy pants. Harry rolled him onto his back and saw in a panic that the man's face was extremely pale, his normally sallow skin a healthy glow in comparison.
Suddenly Lily was there, pulling her long hair into a low ponytail before pushing him gently aside. "Watch out, Harry," she murmured softly, and Harry was grateful to get out of her way. He was shocked to see how calm and collected she seemed, when Harry was anything but.
She immediately tilted Snape's chin up, lowering her head to check his breathing. Seeming satisfied with what she found, she then placed her fingers against his neck, staring at her watch for a long, silent minute. Jilly came to stand beside Harry, slipping her hand inside his own. As ridiculous as it was, Harry was grateful for the small measure of comfort.
What the hell is happening to my life? First the greasy git rescues me, then practically tucks me in and kisses my forehead when I have a nightmare. Then he's back to being a right prat. And now this… AND I'M STANDING HERE GOING MENTAL WITH WORRY ABOUT HIM!
"Do you know this man, Harry?" Lily asked Harry suddenly.
"He's my-" What, exactly? "-guardian."
"Has he suffered any injuries over the past twenty-four hours?"
How did she know all this? "Yeah," he said as a fresh wave of guilt washed over him. "I think he may have broken his rib last night."
She nodded, gently running her fingers over Snape's abdomen. Her forehead suddenly furrowed, and she began slightly pressing on a spot near where Snape's liver would be. The professor groaned, his eyes flickering as his body began to slowly move, as if he was trying to rise. Lily placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to keep him still, and without warning Snape's hand snaked out with surprising speed and grasped her wrist.
Harry immediately knelt on the other side of him. "Professor?"
"What's his name, Harry?" Lily asked softly.
"Severus… Severus Snape."
"Mr. Snape?" She called a bit louder, and Snape's eyes drifted open, looking extremely dazed. He gazed up at Lily in confusion and tried to rise yet again. "Severus…" she said gently, and Snape's eyes shone with… something. Harry couldn't explain it – he'd never seen that look on the man's face before.
"My name is Lily," she continued calmly. "I'm an ER nurse at a local hospital. I need you to stay laying down, alright? You may need to go to the emergency room – I think your broken rib may have lacerated your liver. Harry," she said, looking up at him. "There is a pay phone down at the park next to the bathrooms. Go, quickly, call 911. Tell them we need an ambulance at—"
"No," Snape croaked suddenly from the ground beneath her, and Lily looked down at him in shock. "No…hospitals," he managed to say as he forced himself to a sitting position with a hiss of pain, despite Lily's protests.
.:HP::SS:HP::SS:.
Child… Woman… Auburn hair… Full, rich laugh…
Lily…
His Lily…
No, his Lily was dead, murdered by a madman almost sixteen years ago.
But… Merlin… she had seemed so REAL.
Suddenly an intense pain ripped through his abdomen, making him groan in response. The pain brought him back to his senses, and he felt small fingers prodding his side. The pain was almost unbearable, and he tried to rise in order to make it stop. But hands on his shoulders prevented him from moving. As they pressed him down against the hard ground, Snape caught one thin wrist within his grip.
"Mr. Snape?" A soft, feminine voice. Snape's eyes drifted open. His heart ground to a stuttering halt, then with a painful clench began pumping hard and fast again. Lily…
She was there, leaning over him. Her face was shadowed, silhouetted against the bright sky. But her long auburn ponytail had fallen over her shoulder and was glowing like fire in the sunlight. Oh God… Lily…
Am I dead? If I am, it doesn't matter. As long as I can stay here with you, I'm home. After everything I've done, all the hurt I've caused… I never thought I'd see you again…
Lily…
"Severus… My name is Lily. I'm an ER nurse at a local hospital. I need you to stay laying down, alright?"
Wait… his breath hitched as confusion took hold. The eyes… Her eyes were different, lighter in color, rounder in shape. And what had she'd said about an ER? Lily had never worked at a hospital…
"You may need to go to the emergency room – I think your broken rib may have lacerated your liver." He looked again, his eyes narrowing. Her nose was different. Smaller, perkier, with a slight tilt at the end. The shape of her face was heart-shaped, where Lily's had been oval.
Lily… No, no, NO! It was her… I KNOW IT WAS HER! Please God, don't do this to me. I SAW HER!
"Harry," she murmured.
Harry. Lily. His Lily. There was something he was supposed to be doing for his Lily… HARRY. Oh praise Merlin, I found him! The boy was alive and safe. I'll keep him safe for you, Lily.
"There is a pay phone down at the park next to the bathrooms. Go, quickly, call 911. Tell them we need an ambulance at—"
"No," Snape rasped, his throat tight and thick with emotion. Call 911. Tell them we need an ambulance. This woman was a muggle. She was not his Lily… The knowledge was like a nail being driven into his heart. But he pushed the pain viciously aside, focusing instead on the promise he'd made to protect his beloved's son.
"No… hospitals." He had to get Harry home before anything happened to him. He forced himself up with a hiss of pain, despite the woman trying to push him back.
"Severus…" she said in a rush. He shot her an aggressive, hostile look, and she reconsidered. "Mr. Snape, I must insist that you allow me to call someone for you. You're broken rib seems to have caused some damage to your liver—"
"I said. no. hospitals." Snape ground out in a dangerously low tone. "Harry." He motioned to the boy to help him rise. Harry for once listened to instruction, throwing Snape's arm over his shoulders and gently hefting him to his feet. "Let's go, Harry."
The blasted woman followed as Harry began slowly maneuvering them down the hill. "At least let me take a look at it! I live right across the street!"
"No. Move, Harry." But Snape suddenly stumbled on the uneven ground, emitting a painful cry as his entire side burned in agony. He staggered as he tried to regain his footing, and Harry almost went down with him.
Stepping in front of them to cut off their retreat, the woman raised her hands in a pleading gesture. "Please. It won't take long. I'll… I'll just take a look to check for internal bleeding, then you can be on your way."
Snape didn't move for a long moment, staring intently at the woman. Lily. But not his Lily. Although, now that Snape could see her clearly, she did seem to have the same stubborn set to her jaw that Lily had had. That could not bode well. He sighed in resignation.
"Sir…?" Harry asked, feeling the change in him.
Snape glared at Lily for a long moment. "Where did you say you lived?"
. . . . .
Keys jangled lightly as Lily reached out and unlocked her door, pushing it open to admit her daughter, then holding it wide as Harry maneuvered them both inside.
Looking around, Snape saw that the apartment was small, smaller even than Spinner's End. Following her down the diminutive entranceway, Snape saw an undersized kitchen to their left, which had a large opening above the sink that allowed one to look directly into the sitting room. The sitting room had oversized windows overlooking the park and river, as well as a skylight overhead, giving the room a sunny, open feeling that belied how small the space truly was.
"Harry," she directed, "bring him into the kitchen for me." The boy complied, propping him against the small, round table in the far corner and making sure that he had hold of the table's edge before letting go. Then the boy backed away, biting nervously at his lip and staring at Snape with a worried look across his face.
"Jilly-Bean," Lily called out while swiftly opening cupboards and gathering supplies. "Why don't you show Harry your room?" Harry looked as if he wanted to argue, but with a small nod from Snape, smiled down at the little girl as she approached.
"Want to see my pogs, Harry? I just got a new slammer – I'll let you use it, if you want to play."
"Sure, Jilly," he said, sounding as if he wanted to do anything but. But he rounded the corner to her room nonetheless. Snape was grateful.
His gaze turned to Lily, and he watched her silently as she continued gathering supplies. "I need to remove your shirt," she murmured. "Do you think you can do that? Or do you need my help?"
Snape glanced at his white button down, grateful that he'd decided to forgo he heavy black overcoat with the buttons along the back. Just because he'd agreed to come here did not mean that he actually wanted her help. He mainly just wanted end her incessant badgering. Let's get this over with.
But he hissed as a sharp pain tore through him when he raised his right arm to start undoing the blasted buttons. Before he had a chance to stop her, Lily was there in front of him, invading his vision as she started undoing the shirt.
Does the woman not know the meaning of personal space? He thought.
She was close enough that he could smell the light perfume emanating from her skin, and it did not take his honed potion master skills long to identify the scent. French lavender. The smell was light – intriguing – as if she had recently walked through a field of it. He could even smell it on her hair, which tickled his nose and face because of her proximity.
Snape bit back a curse at the pain as she helped carefully slide the shirt from his shoulders. However, the back of her fingers were soft and cool on his overheated skin as she inspected his abdomen. She prodded at his liver for a moment, saying, "There doesn't seem to be a lot of heat or swelling. That's good." She ran her fingers over the bandages. He had not adjusted them from the night before, and after the considerable amount of movement today, they were starting to loosen.
"I would normally insist on taking you to the hospital with an obvious liver laceration, Mr. Snape," she murmured, the displeasure clear in her tone. "But I have a feeling you'd not be the most cooperative patient."
"You would be correct in your assumption."
Head bent as she scrutinized the wrappings, she glanced up at him for a long moment through her eyelashes. Then with a resigned sigh she said, "It's normally not the best idea to wrap a broken rib because of the risk of lung infection or pneumonia. But… since I don't know how badly your liver is damaged or if there's any internal bleeding-" she glared up at him- "it's better to keep the rib stable. I'm going to rewrap this for you, alright?"
Snape tried to ignore the soft tickle of her breath against his bare skin as she bound fresh bandages across his abdomen. She had obviously done this before, as her movements were deliberate and practiced.
"Is that too tight, Mr. Snape?" she murmured at his ear.
"Call me Severus," he said with longsuffering sigh.
"Alright… Severus. Is the wrapping too tight?"
"It's manageable."
She continued in silence for a few moments, but then asked, "How did this injury happen, Severus? Does it have anything to do with why Harry has that bruise on his face?"
"You mean did I beat the boy?" Snape replied harshly.
"No…" she murmured, stopping in her ministrations to examine him as if he were some sort of puzzle. "It's clear that you two are fond of each other. I was just—"
"Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," Snape growled. Her eyes narrowed but she hurriedly bent to continue her task. He allowed his gaze to linger on her, and couldn't tell if she was embarrassed or angry as he watched a slight flush creep into her cheeks. The effect was quite charming, actually.
The awkward silence lengthened as she worked, and Snape wasn't sure what propelled him to admit, "The boy was… attacked. I intervened."
"Attacked?" she stopped, sounding horrified. "But who would…? He's such a sweet kid."
"Mmm," Snape said noncommittally, and once again felt like she was scrutinizing him, trying to decode some great mystery.
He was beginning to lose control of this conversation. It felt… too close. Too intimate.
Trying to deflect any further questions, he posed one of his own that was sure to knock her off balance so that he could regain command. "And what of Jillian's father? Where is he in all of this?" The woman wore no ring, there were nopictures of a man anywhere in her apartment. It was a valid question.
But instead of the sudden blundering embarrassment or anger that Snape had expected, Lily merely shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. He took off about a week after I told him I was pregnant, right after I finished nursing school."
"I'm… sorry."
She scoffed as she met his gaze. "No you're not. But that's alright, I can deal with bullies. Or people who think they're one."
"And where, might I ask, did you learn how to deal with bullies?"
"I grew up in an orphanage."
She said it so matter-of-fact, like it held the same importance as the weather, or the color of the walls. Snape looked away, but Lily kept her gaze on him. Why is it that I am the one who suddenly feels off balance?
"He's lucky to have you, you know," she murmured quietly into the silence. Snape glared at her out of the corner of his eye, but she only smiled as she finished with the bandage.
"Now, regarding pain management—"
"I don't need any," he said severely, barely catching himself from finishing with, of your muggle medicine.
His firm refusal obviously took her by surprise. She paused for a moment before saying, "Severus, this is a very painful condition that you're dealing with. There's no reason for you to play the martyr."
His eyes narrowed dangerously, but so did hers.
"Fine," she huffed after a long moment. "You're suffering from a major injury that us mortals must check into a hospital in order to treat. Normal people have to have X-rays, CT scans, blood tests... But you obviously must know something we don't, because you don't need any of that or pain medication to boot!" Snape couldn't be sure, but as she turned away to collect her supplies he thought he caught the words, "Stupid, stubborn, pig-headed MULE…"
Snape didn't know what came over him at that moment. A laugh bubbled to the surface. He almost didn't recognize it at first, the feeling was so foreign and long since forgotten.
Bad idea, he realized too late as the movement caused another searing pain to tear through his side. Serves me right… Joviality is overrated.
Potter suddenly peered around the corner, his eyes wide and stunned.
"Problem, Potter?" Snape growled as he gingerly began putting on his shirt.
But the boy didn't seem to pick up on his dangerous tone. "Sir, were you just… laughing?"
"No," Snape snapped disgustedly.
Another face peeked around the corner, and Snape started to feel like the main attraction at the local zoo with amount of people staring at him. The girl had the same auburn hair as her mother, but her eyes were hazel instead of green. There was a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
"What are you looking at?" he retorted, buttoning up his shirt. But the girl only grinned as she looked up at Potter.
"He was laughing, Harry," she whispered, "I heard it."
"Consider yourself lucky, Jilly," Harry muttered back. "I've never even seen him crack a smile. Go look outside and see if the sky is falling."
All three faces were staring at him. Harry and the girl were not even trying to hide their grins. Lily, on the other hand, had covered her mouth with her fingers. But he could plainly see the mirth crinkling at the corners of her vivid green eyes.
I've entered the seventh circle of Hell, Severus thought. His revulsion must have shown, for all three suddenly burst out laughing. He glared daggers at each of them, but as he looked back down and continued with the damnable buttons, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Let's go, Potter," Snape announced a moment later, and he was pleased to see the boy jump to do his bidding. I need to injure myself more often, if this is all it takes to actually make Potter listen…
"Wait," Said Lily, stepping between them so that Potter could not get to Snape to help him to his feet. "Where are you going?"
He arched a brow sardonically. "Home."
"And how far is that, exactly?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"A ways."
"And how will you be getting there?"
Honestly, would the woman's nagging never cease? "With the legs that God saw fit to grace us with."
"Really." It was a statement, not a question, as if she were speaking to an idiot. "When that trivial hillside was just so easy for you to traverse."
"And thank the Lord that I had you there to save me." Snape rolled his eyes. The woman was insufferable. He couldn't wait to leave. "Let's go, Potter."
Potter practically ran to his side. But Snape was irritated to see that Lily had snatched up her car keys and was in the process of marshaling her daughter.
"And just where do you think you are going?" He sneered.
"I'm driving you home, obviously." You twit, her tone finished.
"Your intelligence seems to be disappearing faster than your child's father, so I will make this easy for you to understand: No."
There was a pregnant pause for a long moment. Potter's eyes had grown so wide, he was in danger of being mistaken for a house elf. But then Lily started to advance. Slowly.
"Let me remind you of something, Mr. Snape," she seethed. "You are here because you're injured. You could barely stand when you walked through my door. You needed me." Snape couldn't help but wince when she poked him in the chest – hard – as if to make her point. "You still need me. So you will allow me to drive you home. And if you insist on speaking again, the only thing you will be saying is, 'Thank you'." She poked him hard again. "Got it?"
Snape was too stunned to do much of anything, even nod his head, so he simply stared sullenly down at her.
Lily swung open the door, then called to Potter and Jillian over her shoulder, "Let's go, guys." Her daughter hurried to her side as Potter came to stand at his shoulder.
"I like her," Potter muttered.
"Shut up, Potter."
Chapter 9
Chapter End Notes:
If you understood my reference to pogs, you win the internet for the day. =}