Author's Note: I decided to have a sequel to 'Surprises' after much thought. Please read and review. This story will be in several parts, and I will try to update as soon as is possible. Enjoy! :D

Yours sincerely,

severussnape922

Harry's POV

Harry Potter felt exhilarated as he eyed the Hogwarts Express, a train that he had not seen for several years. He stared around Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, drinking in the sight of the numerous students milling around the platform.

It was September the first, and Harry had accepted the Defence Against the Dark Arts post that had been offered to him by Minerva McGongall through Severus Snape. Harry grinned roguishly at the memory of meeting the Potions Professor. He had gotten his back on Severus for the uncountable times Severus had treated him nastily. Severus had left the incident with a heavily injured pride caused by Harry's retort. That had made Harry's day!

He stepped onto the train slowly, wondering dimly in the back of his mind what would await him at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He decided to let the future take nature's course. He plopped himself down on a plump and comfy chair and gave a long and relaxed sigh. I hope this will be a great year! He thought cheerily. And probably this would be a bad year for poor old Severus...

Harry strode briskly off the train, but not before waving frantically to Hagrid, gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys. Hagrid's face crinkled into a smile while shouting hoarsely, "First years... First years..." Harry allowed himself a moment to savour Hagrid's happiness. He knew that Hagrid would be happy by his appearance as Harry had always been a favourite of Hagrid's.

When he stepped into the Great Hall, his breath was taken away abruptly. Even though he had arrived to the Great Hall many times before in his school days, he was always amazed by the Great Hall's grandeur. He stared around the Great Hall briefly, then made his way to the teacher's table. He felt honoured to be sitting in a seat at the teacher's table, as being a teacher of Hogwarts was always a great honour. He let his gaze wander around the table. All the teachers were there... Minerva, Filius, Pomona, Severus and so on.

Minerva looked contentedly at Harry, then signaled to him to sit beside her. Harry took his seat, staring at Severus, who incidentally was sitting beside him. Severus looked sour-faced at the proceedings, but made no attempt to protest. Harry smiled mischievously at Severus, while scanning his features. Nothing was changed about Severus, not even a single jolt. However, Severus seemed to be different somehow all the same. Harry frowned, racking his brains. Then it clicked. Severus had an exhausted air around him, and he had dark eye rings around his eyes, emphasising his haunted look. Severus's eyes were glassy, and his normally pale cheeks were deeply flushed. When Harry took a closer look at Severus, he could see beads of sweat forming on Severus's forehead. Severus was also swaying slightly.

There was no doubt that Severus was sick.

Severus's POV

Severus woke up while covered in cold sweat, sitting up straight like a bolt on his emerald-and-silver bed. He groaned audibly. The nightmare, which consisted of Nagini biting him, had kept Severus awake for the past few nights. Severus couldn't remember the last time he had a full night's sleep. While this was a common occurrence, as Severus suffered from insomnia, it was becoming even rarer in the last few weeks. Severus stared wildly around the room with bleary eyes, only taking in the fact that it was dawn after a few minutes.

Severus moaned silently. His migraine was becoming unbearable, and he felt his throat killing him. He was also feeling feverish. Severus groaned inwardly. Don't tell me that I've caught a cold on the first day of the term. He sighed. He would never hear the end of it, as Poppy and Minerva were always berating at him to take better care of himself, and not without reason. He decided to just take some potions to reduce his fever and soothe his throat. He hoped fervently that Poppy would not notice the hoarseness of his voice and not notice his deathly pallor.

He put on his black glasses, slipped out of bed and silently padded over to his stock of potions. He took a few swigs of potions, while wincing at the bitterness. Then, he made his way down to the Great hall for breakfast, even though the thought of breakfast made him queasy. He knew by bitter experience that if he did not eat breakfast, either Minerva or Poppy (or both) would sense that something was amiss and stick a thermometer immediately into his unwilling mouth. He thought that he could just about manage to tide across the day if he kept taking Fever-Reducing Potions every few hours.

He sat down to breakfast in surly silence. Minerva raised her eyebrows at Severus's lack of greetings, but made no comment. Severus felt devoutly thankful, as he was certain that his scratchy voice would immediately give away the fact that he was sick. He choked down breakfast, then walked back to his rooms, feeling like collapsing with every step he took, as he was incredibly exhausted. He staggered to his bed, fell with a loud thud and willingly allowed darkness to overwhelm him.

It was nearing evening when Severus woke up. He felt completely refreshed and energized when he woke up, but he knew that it would not be for long. He drank a few potions, and walked to the Great Hall, willing himself to stay awake for the welcoming feast. He sat down on his chair at the teacher's table, then looked around him. Students were filing into the Great Hall, chatting animatedly away. Severus closed his eyes shut tight in an effort to not stand up and bark to everyone to shut up, as the chatter was making his migraine even worse.

When Potter came in and shut the doors, Severus sneered at him. Irritating tick, that brat is going to be the death of me this year. Severus hadn't quite forgotten their encounter over the summer. He had hated every single moment of it. Potter took his seat beside Severus and eyed Severus critically. Severus glowered at Potter, but made no attempt to protest about the seating arrangements as he felt far too weak. Potter was staring at him with a new glint in his eyes a few minutes later. Severus didn't like it at all. There was something about the light in Potter's eyes that made him uncomfortable. Severus was extremely thankful that Potter leaned towards Minerva to engage her in a whispered conversation a few minutes later.

Minerva's POV

I ate my delicious food in the Great Hall in silence, while thinking hard about Severus's lack of response towards me at breakfast. While there was nothing wrong in that, as Severus was never a sociable person, my sixth sense told me that there was something wrong. I frowned, deep in thought. There seemed to be nothing wrong with Severus...

My train of thoughts were broken by Harry, who had leaned forward, apparently to engage me in conversation. I swallowed my food down and said, "What is it, Harry?" Harry stared at Severus, seemingly confirming that Severus was not eavesdropping, then he whispered, "I think Severus is sick." My jaw must have dropped ten feet when I heard Harry's words. I then asked quickly, "What makes you think so?"

Before Harry had even opened his mouth, my question had been instantly answered. There was a loud thud as Severus crumpled to the floor, insensible. I stared at Severus, too shocked to react, then I galvanized into action. I yelled at teachers to help to bring Severus to the hospital wing. As I carried Severus, whose tongue was lolling out of his mouth, I caught students exchanging looks as they watched Severus with horrified fascination. Their looks told me the same thing: Was Professor Snape, the greasy old bat of the dungeons, human after all?