Another Severus and Albus friendship story. Not as zany as the last one. Written for the headache that would not fade past the pressure point and because Yen said I should. She is totally credited for the pink socks and the location.
Not beta-ed... though I know Yen or SuNoYo will handle that for me, so if it appears changed, thank them. Ree
Waiting on the Rain
It had started that morning. Severus knew what was happening the moment he opened his eyes and stared up at the dark ceiling above his bed. He knew that he would have to push through, and hoped that his classes would be sufficiently terrified of him that they would not cause him any problems.
Moving gingerly, he rolled out of bed and headed for a shower. Sometimes the hot water and steam helped. As he stood in the shower, the water loosening the tension in his neck and shoulders, he felt the congestion in his head break and drain. The pressure relaxed and the pain in his head lightened. 'Maybe this will be it, and I won't have to worry.'
He dressed for the day and, as a precaution, tucked two pain-killer potions into his pocket as well as two for congestion. Breakfast proved that his decision was right. The pressure came back full force, and with it the headache. A quick glance at the ceiling showed him that there was rain on its way. 'Great, a weather headache. Nothing for it but to deal.'
He downed both a congestion and pain-killer potion right after he left the Great Hall.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
Albus watched as Severus left for his first class, worry masked behind the congenial twinkle that dominated his eyes. His friend had eaten less than normal, and had been quieter than usual. There was also a decided lack of glaring at the students who were acting out. Making a mental note to keep an eye on him, Albus wondered how he was going to convince the Potions Master to see Poppy if he was coming down with something.
A quick look at his Deputy showed that she hadn't noted anything amiss, and the other professors seemed to be just as oblivious. Sighing lightly, he hoped that the students would go easy on Severus, and that Severus would return the favor.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
Severus was glad that today he mainly had upper years. They knew him well enough to know that today was just not the day to goof off. Sure the medicines had done their job, his head didn't feel the pain and his sinus didn't feel congested, but the pressure was still there. Nothing would change that.
He watched as his seventh year NEWT class left a neat row of vials on his desk and cleaned up their stations. It was finally time for lunch.
As he walked towards the Great Hall, Severus noticed a Slytherin Prefect signaling a Ravenclaw Prefect. 'The word is being spread. That should make the rest of the day easier.'
He settled carefully at his normal spot and had a quiet word with one of the house elves. When the food appeared on the table, no one but Albus seemed to notice that his was vastly different. The steaming tea and warm stew that he had requested worked wonders in loosening the tight band that surrounded his head.
Throughout the meal, Severus kept looking up at the ceiling, hoping that it would show that the threatening rain was about to break, or had broken. It never did.
As he left the Great Hall, he could feel Albus watching him, and was sure that he would be visited later that evening. Even as he downed another set of pain-killer and congestion potions, he tried to devise a way to prevent the Headmaster from prying.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
Albus watched as Severus checked the ceiling for the fifth time that meal before gazing up at it himself to determine what the man was looking for. It was as threatening as it had been that morning. 'Rain is coming. I hope it holds off until tonight so that the teams at Quidditch practice won't get soaked.'
He looked over the at his Potions Master once again. The stew and tea made him more certain that his friend was feeling under the weather. If that hadn't clued him in, the signals flying around the student tables would have warned him. He wondered if Severus knew that the current student body had an entire ranking system with simple word and hand motions to warn each other what mood their Potions Professor was in. Today's signal was nearly at 'death threat' level. Just one level below that, if he was interpreting it right. It had flown down the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables as soon as the food had appeared. A few of the Hufflepuffs had spotted it and passed it down their table. This time, the threat was so high ranked that the Gryffindors were warned.
Albus knew that it was house rivalry that played a large part in whether the Lions were told. Normally, the Gryffindor Prefects would watch the other houses during lunch to catch the warning level. Today, a Ravenclaw stopped and told them specifically. The other professors might see it as an exchange of a book title for a homework assignment, but Albus knew it for what it was.
His attention was caught by Severus leaving the room, his bowl of stew empty. He noted how carefully his friend was moving and the faint crease that was forming on his brow. He would be talking to Poppy tonight.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
Severus was positive the first years had no idea how thrilled he was that their class was coming to a close. 'Probably as much as they are.'
He watched as the danger-prone pair tried to add the wrong ingredient into their cauldron. Knowing he would not stand the concussive pressure from the resulting explosion, he vanished the potion the moment the ingredient hit the rest of the mixture. "Miss Rune and Mr. Grinder, you are to write me a two foot essay on the proper preparation of this potions and explain each error you made in your...less than stellar attempt."
Turning slowly, he moved back towards his desk and the chair that was calling him. "The rest of you, turn in your attempts and clean up."
Settling into his seat, he did not close his eyes in relief as he wanted, instead he watched as the class did as he said. Finally, they were able to go and he was free to hide in his quarters until dinner.
It was Minerva who stopped him in the hall and informed him of the faculty meeting that Albus had called. 'Cheated... that is how I feel. Cheated of a moment alone, to be miserable without anyone seeing.'
Complaining would change nothing, so he walked with the Head of Gryffindor towards the staffroom, grateful that Minerva was not prone to chattering.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
Albus watched as Severus snapped once again at the Defense teacher about making inane comments. The longer the meeting went on, the shorter the Potions Master's temper seemed to be. He glanced at the agenda to gauge how much he left to cover, and how much time it would take him to do it.
"Pomona, I need a report on the status of the greenhouses on my desk by the weekend." Albus waited for the Herbology Professor to acknowledge his request before he shifted his attention to Severus. "Poppy has a list of potions that she needs restocked, but she wanted to talk to you about making a rotating schedule to be sure that the standards are on hand."
Severus frowned for a moment before carefully nodding. "I'll speak with her after the meeting."
Albus did his best to hide his triumph. Getting Severus into the Infirmary was tricky business and had to be handled with care. "She, of course, will be able to request for you to brew her anything that she needs and is out of."
Severus knew that the glare that he shot the Headmaster would quell a lesser man, but Albus just smiled blithely and continued on with his meeting. Refusing to be goaded into anything else, Severus leaned back in his seat and listened while keeping his face bland.
The pressure was building and the pain was coming back. A quick glance out the window showed him that the ominous clouds were hanging low over the Forbidden Forest, just where they had been all day.
Albus noticed Severus wandering attention and quickly finished his last order of business. He refrained from escorting his Potions Master to the Infirmary. It would give away too much and Severus might just refuse to finish the journey.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
Severus walked through the Infirmary doors to find Poppy giving him a sharp assessing look. "Dumbledore said you wish to speak to me about creating a brewing schedule for potions?"
With that, he was ushered into her office and they hashed out a schedule that would handle the potions that the Infirmary needed and would work around his other obligations. It was with a smile that Poppy walked him out.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
"He's fine Albus. Just a headache."
Albus sank deeper into his chair as he ran Poppy's words through his head. If it was just a headache, then Severus would have taken a potion to handle it. This had to be something more. He ran every memory of Severus that day through his mind, looking for a clue or a hint as to what could be happening. The only thing that stood out was that his friend was keeping a close eye on the weather.
That evening when he had signaled for dinner to be served, Albus shifted just enough to observe Severus watching the ceiling with an almost forlorn expression before it was wiped out. 'The weather it is then.' He patted his pocket and knew that he would be confronting Severus about this soon.
Ò.Ô & ʘ.ʘ
"Something has been bothering you all day, my dear boy." Albus had succeeded in falling into step next to Severus as he headed towards his quarters.
"It is nothing Albus," said Severus as he refrained from rubbing his head. The blue eyes leveled a no-nonsense look at him and he sighed. "It is just a headache. Nothing to be done for it. Pain-killer potions help, but nothing, no potions or spell, can make the feeling of the pressure go away."
They reached his quarters and Severus desperately wanted to be left alone so he could pray for the rain to finally fall.
Albus reached into his pocket and felt for the shrunken trunk before he pulled out a fuzzy pink sock. He pressed it to Severus' palm and felt the pull behind his navel as they vanished away from the school.
Severus blinked at the sudden bright sunshine. He looked about, taking in the white sands and sparkling blue water while trying to keep the surprise and outrage off his face. "Albus?"
Albus smiled. "Nothing can help but maybe a change in weather?"
Severus felt the pressure melt away, the band that had been forged into his skull all day dissolve into nothingness. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew that he was needed back at the school, and so was Albus.
"Albus..." he wasn't able to say anything else before Albus folded his fingers around the pink sock.
"It's the weekend. You have reservations at the hotel behind us. Here is your trunk," Albus pulled the shrunken trunk out of his pocket and handed it to the stunned man, "and the sock will bring you back to the school at ten on Sunday night . Rest and relax Severus, I will watch out for your house while you are gone. I'll tell everyone that you were called out to brew an emergency potion. You can decide what it is."
With a grin, Albus pulled out another sock, this one green, and disappeared.
Looking about, Severus took a deep breath of the salty air and sighed. One day he would get used to having such a spontaneous, powerful, friend.
One day.