Severus Snape lay on the wooden floor of the Shrieking Shack, his mind racing with thoughts. 'Dying isn't so bad, not as painful as I had thought.' He couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything. It was as if his senses had been turned off but not his mind. 'So much for the Hell my father warned me against,' he thought with a chuckle that caused a sharp pain to shoot through the side of his neck. His eyes shot open, only for him to realize that he was still alive. He found that he still had his wand, he could feel the handle pressing against his thigh. He took it in his hand and he attempted to stop the flow of blood. He rummaged through his pockets and found the small bottle he kept on him always. He knew the life of a spy was a dangerous one and he was always prepared for the worst. He swallowed the potion quickly and once the feeling of dizziness subsided, he Disapparated.

Severus knew his old home was safe, after telling the Headmaster of his unwanted "housepest" they waited for the right time and placed a Fidelius Charm on his home. He ducked into the lavatory and looked at the wound on his neck. He knew the venom would pose a problem, but he was always up for a challenge. He saw that he was still bleeding quite a bit, grabbed a vial from the sink and collected a bit of it. He looked at the crimson liquid that filled it before placing a stopper on the vial and slipping it into the pocket of his waistcoat. He dug through the drawers and found some gauze to cover the small wounds on his neck before descending into his workshop. He placed a cauldron on the fire and prepped it for the task at hand before pouring a bit of his blood into it. He also placed another cauldron on a second fire to start another batch of Blood-Replenishing Potion, seeing as how he was now fresh out. Once the familiar work was started, he began working on the puzzle plaguing him.

"I'll never get this!" Severus said in frustration a week later, throwing a vial filled with another failed attempt across the room. He downed another dose of the potion that was keeping him alive before sitting down to pen a desperate plea for help from the only person he knew that may be willing to help him. He gave the parchment to his owl and hoped for the best.

Severus was sitting in the front room of his home, sipping water from a glass that was charmed to keep the liquid inside at the optimal temperature. He had begun to give up hope of ever finding something that would stop the bleeding, and he was aware that he was quickly running out of supplies. A soft knock on his door caught his attention and he slowly got to his feet and made his way to answer it. "I wasn't sure you were going to show," he said as he moved aside to let her in.

"I still don't know exactly why I'm here," Poppy Pomfrey said as she stepped inside and removed her cloak. "Everyone thinks you are dead. How did you survive that attack?"

"I'm not sure about that myself," Severus said as he closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Do you have a sample of the venom?" she asked, looking around the small room.

"Sure, you just have to separate it from my blood," he said, removing the gauze from his neck and showing her his wound.

"Let's get started on this," Poppy said taking a closer look at the wound. "It's not too bad, and I have contacts at St. Mungo's. They've dealt with this venom before. We send them a sample, they'll send the antidote."

"Just make sure they can't trace it to me," Severus said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Don't worry, patient confidentiality works here too," Poppy said with a smile. "I've seen you worse off than this." She collected a vial of blood from his wound, cleaned and re-dressed it, and separated the venom. "Could you call your owl to send this?"

"And you are certain this will work?" he asked as his owl came and perched on his arm. "What if they discover that the venom is from my wound and refuse to send it?"

"They are professionals Severus," she said as she tied the vial of venom and her request to the owl. "Now, just wait until they give you the antidotes. Why isn't he going?"

"The bird only listens to me," Severus said with a smug grin before he gave the orders to the bird and watched as he flew off through the open window.

"Well then," Poppy said as she gathered her things. "Here is some more Blood-Replenishing Potion, this should last until the salve and potion arrive. Apply the salve to the affected area and that should clear up your wound in no time." She left the bottles on the table and Disapparated quickly.