[A/N: This story is partially AU in some areas, and the actions of some characters are slightly OOC.]
Deathbed Discoveries
ONE
The Dark Lord was dead, and Severus Snape was alive.
Two things that the man himself had not expected.
Then again he had not expected to have need of medical attention because of the venom from Nagini in his system.
After a few days and after he was more clear and aware, he noticed that Madame Pomfrey would suddenly stop and rush into one of the quarantine rooms behind her office.
"Poppy, who is in the quarantine?" He asked once.
She looked at him sternly. "Harry." She said offhandedly.
Severus nearly spit out the potion she had given him for his headache. "WHAT?"
"Shh!" She told him after giving him a stern look.
"What is he doing here?" He asked after a moment.
Poppy sighed. "He's near death, Severus, now you need to lie back and rest."
"Death?" His eyes went large. "But, he defeated the Dark Lord, he can't be near death."
"Yes he can, Severus, and he is." She reprimanded him. "He may have destroyed the Dark Lord but it made him severely ill, and things have only gotten worse from there."
Severus was flabbergasted, then Poppy suddenly dropped the tray in her hands and went running into the room that apparently housed the dying Savior.
Knowing that he shouldn't, Severus got up and followed her, and stopped dead in the door.
Potter lay out on the bed, shaking, apparently having a seizure, muggle IV's in his arms dripping blood and potions back into his pale and sweating form.
Poppy grabbed the boys head and did her best to still him. "Severus get the blankets off." She told him, making no note that he was out of bed.
Still shocked he pulled the twisted blankets away.
After a few minutes, Potter stilled.
Poppy sighed, taking the blankets away from her still silent friend.
"What happened, Poppy?" He asked after a moment.
She glanced at him. "Several blood curses at once." She told him. "He's lucky he's alive. But other than this," She gestured towards the IV's. "I can't help him.
"So, he's dying." Severus muttered under his breath.
Poppy smiled slightly at him. "He is, but…" She stood. "Come, there is something that you need to know." She motioned him out.
They sat back on Severus's bed and she sighed. "In order to treat you for Nagini's poison I had to run a blood test. I had to do the same for Harry because of the blood curses." She looked back at the room for a moment before returning her gaze to him. "I found that James Potter wasn't his father."
Again the thought of his eyes being stuck crossed Snape's mind. And then he put two and two together. "Lily and I were dating before she married Potter."
Poppy nodded. "The boy may very well be on his deathbed, Severus, but he is your son."
This time, Severus was sure that his eyes would get stuck in their widened state for the rest of his life.