It was lucky, he supposes afterwards, that the Granger girl had nearly a full bottle of dittany in her bag. That the boy had arrived soon enough to staunch the bleeding. That the snake, although powerful, was not venomous.
He considers his feelings of relief. If pressed, he would always say he was ready to die, that he had been prepared for it all his adult life. An adulthood, spent in service to the Dark Lord. With such a capricious, vengeful master, one must be prepared for death at any moment.
But when the moment comes, and he does not, after all, die, he feels unexpected relief. It steals over him with unaccustomed warmth, despite the chill from blood loss and pain. He lets the boy believe he is dead, however. He must learn what is expected of him to end this, must re-enter the fray.
Hours later, the boy returns to find him, the battle over. Won. He had not forgotten, even if just to retrieve a corpse. He is touched by this, even after years of hardening his heart against others, especially against this boy.
'Professor?' the boy whispers in his ear, surprisingly gentle as he checks for signs of life. 'Severus?' A warm hand pressed to his chest to feel for a heartbeat. Fingers on the fluttering pulse at his wrist. An ear brushing his lips as he listens for breath. As he cannot crawl through the tunnel, the boy levitates him, floating him back to the castle and the hospital wing, undamaged compared to the devastation elsewhere.
He is placed in a bed at the end of the ward, screened off from all others. He tells them he wants no visitors. He receives none. Except once, he hears the boy whispering to Poppy, asking about his health, whether he will recover. He feigns sleep. After everything he put the boy through, the performance of his lifetime, he is ashamed to face him now.
He hears Poppy's footsteps move further away. The boy remains by the screens, then moves quietly to him, placing a bandaged hand on his chest again. He hopes the pounding of his heart cannot be felt. Then a soft kiss, at the edge of his mouth. He inhales, catching a little of the boy's breath before he moves away again.
Afterwards he hears that he has left Hogwarts to rebuild his life, to start it without the curse inside him. It doesn't matter. After all that hatred, they are never going to be friends. They may never see each other again. The pain of that thought shocks him. The kiss is eternally confusing.
*** To be continued… ***
