All recognizable characters belong to J., and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

This story was written for HealerPomfrey. I have never written a fanfiction so please be patient with me.

Thanks a lot to my beta-reader saiyanwizardgurl for correcting my mistakes!!!

Chapter 1

This goddamned headache was killing him. Severus tried to ease the pain by pinching his temples. Groaning, he shoved away the red marked papers on his desk and laid his head on the smooth, cool surface of his mahogany desk. The silence in his office was the only good thing at the moment. He could hear his own blood flowing through his head and just wished the pain would go away.

The whole day had been horrible. It all started with the Potter brat provoking him again by supporting the Know-it-all Granger when he scolded her for helping Longbottom with his almost ruined potion. He felt his neck muscles tighten. The pain crept up his neck and into his head. Even taking 20 points from each of them did not make him feel any better or ease the pain.

When the class finally was over, he gulped down one of his usual painkiller potions even though he knew that it would not help much. He had taken it much too often, and now it only dulled the pain a bit.

He hardly had enough time to hide the empty vial under the workbench beside him when Minerva stormed into the room. To say that she was furious was an understatement. Severus was forcing himself not to back away from her when she was moved fast in his direction. He could barely understand what she was saying – or rather, what she was screaming. But what he could understand from her rant was that the Slytherin Quidditch team had hexed the Gryffindor team's broomsticks. Normally they were good colleagues, even friends. But she was very protective of her Gryffindors, and so she wanted to make sure that Severus would punish the Slytherins for it harshly. Oh yes, they will be punished, he thought. Not for hexing the brooms, but for letting themselves get caught. Anything that caused Minerva to come into his office screaming like a banshee and make the potion he just gulped down worthless was definitely worth a HARSH punishment, Slytherin or not!

When Minerva left, he was wishing that someone would stop the ringing in his ears and the stabbing pain in his head by knocking him out. But it was useless, and there were still the 4th years' Potion essays on his desk that needed grading. Groaning, he sat down again. With his left hand he supported his head and reached for the red ink and the quill with his right. After five essays and the desperate wish for another job in a quiet Potion lab far away from dunderheads who were not even able to write simple essays about sleeping draughts, he found himself again cooling his head on the surface of his mahogany desk.

A piercing pain in his neck woke him. Now he not only had a splitting headache, but also a muscle cramp in his neck. Slowly, he dragged himself over to his private medical potion shelf. He chose the strongest painkiller he had in stock and a muscle relaxant and gulped them down fast. He leaned against the cool stone wall of his office and felt the pain slowly ease a little bit. Too bad he knew it would not last long. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed to see Poppy. Oh, he hated to be so vulnerable, but Poppy was a good friend. Very stern and strict, but also understanding and warmhearted. And right now, he really needed her help.

On his way to the Hospital Wing, he realized that he could tolerate sound at a normal volume without fearing his head will explode. It's almost as if I don't have to see Poppy any more, he thought. But he also knew from experience that in a few hours the pain would be back and then he would need one – or maybe even two – of Poppy's wonder pills.

When he reached the Hospital Wing, it was empty and silent. That was strange; normally, Poppy came running in the direction of the big wooden door before it was even opened fully. "Poppy?" he called for her, heading into the direction of her office. When he did not get an answer to his call and knock at the door, he carefully opened the door to Poppy's office and peeked around.

This story is already finished handwritten on paper. I think I will split it in 2 or 3 chapters and just need a little time to bring it on my PC for submitting it here. And the next chapters will be longer than this one. Like I already told you this is my first story and I really hope you like it even a bit. Please tell me what you think about it.