A love lost, a friend gained
By RocketFAN
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I just like to borrow them for my own twisted pleasure.
Chapter 1: The Fall of Severus Snape
"Let the feast begin!" Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore announced gleefully as the traditional sorting ceremony came to a close with the most decadent feast that anyone could ever dream of. Third year student, Harry Potter sat with his fellow Gryffindor's, old and new, as he piled loads of delicious looking food onto his plate. He was about to take a rather large bite of a warm, fluffy biscuit when he glanced over to the long, raised staff table that sat right behind the podium where Dumbledore had just stood. As he scanned the familiar faces, he noticed that his least favorite teacher, Potions master Severus Snape, unlike the other professor's, wasn't eating.
This wasn't that unusual, except for the fact that Snape was looking down the entire time and appeared as though he was about to pass out. From his seat near the front, Harry could tell that something was not right with the Professor he so intensely loathed. Yet for some reason, he felt sorry for him.
"Hey, Ron? What's up with Professor Snape?" Harry asked his best friend and fiery redhead, Ronald Weasley
"I don't know. He looks like he ate a bad Cauldron Cake," Ron replied with a mouthful of chicken.
"Yeah…," Harry said softly.
The next morning, Harry, Ron, and their female counterpart, Hermione Granger headed to their 10 am Potions class along with the other third year Gryffindor's and Slytherin's. At 10:06 am, everyone was in their seats and Professor Snape was nowhere to be found. He was walking from the dungeon where his office was when he stopped abruptly a few meters from the classroom door, which was fortunately closed. His breath caught in his throat and he suddenly felt like he was choking while a violent cough forced its way out. He pulled a black handkerchief out of his robe pocket and pressed it to his nose to suppress the sneeze that was threatening to escape. Sure enough, a few seconds later a powerful sneeze managed to burst out. The desperate (and rather unsuccessful) attempt to suppress the sneeze caused tears to build behind his intense brown eyes. He quickly wiped them and cleared his throat before continuing into the classroom.
A loud chatter of multiple conversations filled the small room but quickly died down to a silence when Professor Snape finally entered the room, 12 minutes late. There were a few hushed whispers amongst the Slytherin's in the back as he walked passed them, his long black robes swishing at his feet. When he reached his post at the front of the room, he tried to brush off the fact that he was late by getting straight to the lesson.
"Open your books to page 39 and copy the ingredients of the listed Potion," Snape said in his usual cold and menacing tone. However, Harry noticed something not so usual about Snape that caught his attention. The Potions master appeared to be having difficulty keeping his balance as he tightly gripped the podium in front of him. Harry also noticed that he was breathing heavily, sweating profusely, and his normally sallow face was flushed with color. Snape obviously felt Harry's gaze as he looked up from the lesson book, and shot him a cold glare. Harry's eyes quickly fell back on his textbook and he continued copying the two-page ingredient list of the "Memory Potion", which according to the text "allows the drinker the temporary power of a photographic memory". Just as Harry copied the last ingredient, Snape's voice filled the room.
"Now who can tell me where one would find the herb "cod flower" required to make the Memory Potion?" He asked the class expecting one hand to shoot up. Sure enough, Hermione Granger's hand was the first (and only) one up.
"Anyone besides Miss Granger?" Snape asked the class, once again disappointed in their ignorance.
"Oh!" Hermione grunted as she raised her hand higher.
"Very well… Miss Granger?" Snape sighed heavily while trying to inconspicuously wipe the sweat that had begun to build on his fevered brow.
"Cod flower is a small yellow herb only found in damp marshes where little or no sunlight…," as Hermione expertly answered the question, her words became distorted and trailed off in Snape's head. He frantically tried to fight off the lightheadedness and failed miserably as he felt his knees give out from under him and then the helpless feeling of falling. The entire class (including Hermione) went dead silent following the soft thud of Professor Snape hitting the carpeted floor. Half of the class sat stunned with their mouths open while the other half ran out of the room to find Dumbledore.
"Oh, my God! Professor Snape?!" Pansy Parkinson, a flat nosed Slytherin girl cried as she jumped out of her seat and ran up to the unconscious Professor.
"Is he dead?" Ron quietly asked Harry while a wide grin crept across his face.
"I don't know," Harry replied in a more concerned tone while trying to see over the other students in the front rows.
It only took a few moments for Dumbledore to arrive along with Professor Minerva McGonagall and school nurse, Madame Pomfrey.
"Oh, my goodness!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed as she saw Pansy frantically checking Professor Snape for any signs of life.
"What happened?" Dumbledore asked the class, but referring mostly to Hermione and Harry who were standing closest to him.
"I don't know Professor, I was answering his question about Cod flower and he just kind of… keeled over," Hermione said seriously as only could be expected from her.
"All right, all right dear, stand back, please," McGonagall tried to comfort a now hysterical Pansy as she pulled her away so Madame Pomfrey could have some room. Draco Malfoy watched in horror from his seat in the back of the room, where he usually sat with his friends Vincent Crabb and Gregory Goyle.
"All right, students, if you would please return to your common rooms immediately. This class is dismissed." Dumbledore advised all the students to leave as he knew that Snape would not want to wake up from his humiliating fainting spell with his entire 3rd year class watching.
"Severus? Are you all right?" The sassy yet compassionate nurse asked Snape as he regained consciousness just as the last of the students cleared out.
"Wh-what?" Professor Snape asked groggily as a look of sheer confusion and horror swept across his face.
"Here, sit up," Professor McGonagall said softly while helping Snape up.
"What… what is going on here? What happened?" Snape asked frantically, dreading the answer that he already knew.
"It seems as though you fainted in the middle of Miss Granger's answer regarding Cod flower. Frankly, Severus, I do not see how you were that surprised. After all, Miss Granger is a very bright young lady," Professor Dumbledore said in a tone that was rimmed with amusement.
"Must you turn everything into a joke, Headmaster?" Snape replied irritably as he unsuccessfully attempted to stand up. He gasped softly as his legs refused to work and he fell back against Professor McGonagall, who was standing behind him for that very reason.
"Easy, Severus," Madame Pomfrey said softly as Snape sharply turned his head to the side to avoid her hand as she went to feel his forehead.
"I'm not a child! And if you don't mind, I have a class to teach in 30 minutes," Snape said angrily as he successfully got to his feet and began to walk towards the door. But a firm hand gripped his shoulder from behind and forced him to stop and face its owner.
"Now, Severus, you are in no condition to teach and I must insist that you take a few days off to relax and get some rest," Professor Dumbledore said in his usual gentle tone while having more success than Madame Pomfrey at feeling Snape's forehead. The gesture infuriated Snape and made him feel like he was being treated like a child.
"I am perfectly capable of teaching my own class, Headmaster." Snape's lip curled as he tried desperately to not snap at Dumbledore. He may be a kind and gentle soul, but Albus Percival Wolfrick Brian Dumbledore was also someone that you did not want to cross or question.
"I am well aware that no one can teach Potions like you, Severus, but I must place you on mandatory bed rest for the rest of the week if you will not do so voluntarily. I will get someone to cover your classes in your absence," Dumbledore continued as Madame Pomfrey nodded in agreement.
"Very well, Headmaster," Snape said through clenched teeth.
"I am only doing this for the good of my students… and my teachers. Now as much as you refuse to admit it, you are obviously quite ill and need to get some rest and you will be doing so in the hospital wing under Madame Pomfrey's constant supervision." Dumbledore delivered the final blow and Snape looked as though he had been physically struck