Title: Give Me Your Answer, Do

Rating: T

Pairing: HGSS

Disclaimer: We are but poor fans, and own nothing.

Chapter 4

Severus regained consciousness in phases. His hearing came back first. He became aware of low voices talking around him with the occasional shout.

The first thing Severus noticed when he opened his eyes was that the high ceiling above him was much too arched to be the one above his own bed. The second thing he noticed was that the bed he was in was remarkably uncomfortable. A particular set of footsteps, however, clued him into his actual location: the Infirmary. He had been a reluctant patient more times than he could count and as a result knew Madame Pomfrey's tread well.

Severus struggled to sit up but felt a firm hand on his shoulder pushing him back down onto the pillow. Finally blinking away his remaining grogginess, he laid eyes on the annoying Mediwitch apprentice.

"Let me guess, you've been here the whole time, haven't you, Miss Granger?" His throat was dry and his voice cracked.

Hermione leaned over him and replied, "Of course not, you ridiculous man. I did have other things to do."

Irritated at his foggy memory, Severus questioned why he was there.

Hermione began explaining only to be interrupted by Madam Pomfrey who bustled over with a goblet in her hand.

"Ah, Severus! Awake at last! Just in time for your next dose of medicine." She leaned over him and put the cup to his mouth. "Drink up!"

Severus scowled although the effect was slightly weakened by the fact that he was in a nightgown in a small cot with slightly puffy eyes and was finding it difficult to breathe through his nose.

The potion was foul and dulled his senses. He felt foggier than he had when he first woke up.

"There we go." Madam Pomfrey smiled and bustled off, leaving the scowling professor in the hands of her apprentice.

Hermione smiled at Madam Pomfrey's retreating form and turned her attention to her unwilling patient. "How are you feeling?"

Severus flashed Hermione a goofy smile and replied, "Simply marvelous." And then he burst into giggles. Very unmanly giggles.

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "I see that the medicine is having an interesting effect."

Severus giggled once more and let out a very excited 'Yep!'

Figuring that she would take advantage of his clearly altered state, if only a little, Hermione decided to pose the questions she was eager to find the answers to. "So tell me, Severus, how is it that I've known you for over a decade and this is the first time I've heard of you suffering from allergies?" Hermione wanted to see just how out of it he was before mentioning that he had fainted at the mere sight of the needle.

"I'm not allergic to anything but daisies, and I usually manage to avoid frolicking in them, that's how."

"I see," she said, trying to contain her amusement at his use of the word 'frolicking'. Oh yes, he was very out of it. "And when did you develop your fear of needles?"

"Oh that," he said grandly. "That was a debacle of the highest order! I was, hmm…maybe…six or seven years old? There was a girl in the village that I rather adored. Merlin she was beautiful! An angel in that hellhole of a place, all flowing blonde hair, bright blue eyes, you know the type. Well, she always wore these barrettes with daisies on them. And I liked her, you know, but I was cripplingly shy. I saw a garden plot with daisies one day, and in a flash of infantile genius, I thought I'd pick some for her. I'm pretty sure I thought that if I gave them to her, she'd love me forever, or some such rot."

He snorted…or tried to. He was still congested enough that it didn't really have the desired effect, though it made Hermione chuckle.

Severus stared off into the distance thinking about his golden angel. After a few moments of silence, Hermione coughed to get his attention.

"That's very sweet, Severus, but it doesn't exactly answer my question."

"Oh? What question?"

She huffed impatiently. "Needles?"

"OH! Yes. Needles. That." He shuddered. "Well, a few minutes after gathering a scraggly handful of flowers, I started itching. I didn't know what it meant…I was only a child. By the time I handed the flowers over, my face was all puffed up and horrid, enough that she took one look at me, screamed, and ran off. I don't remember too much of what happened after that…the next thing I knew, I was in a hospital surrounded by people in masks. One of them had this gigantic needle, obviously intended for me, and I panicked. I think Mum said it took eight of them to hold me down."

Hermione couldn't help smiling at the image Severus had painted for her. That was… well, frankly, it was adorable. She turned to look at him, wanting to pursue her line of questioning further, only to find him snoring. Loudly.

Ah well.

~oOo~ ~oOOOo~ ~oOo~

Severus was fully recovered by the next morning, as was evident by his customary scowl and the rapid loss of Gryffindor house points as he stalked back to his rooms. He tried not to think of the mortifying events of the day before… he'd tackled Hermione, ended up with a face full of daisies, passed out, and then, unless he was imagining it, had some sort of verbal diarrhea episode that he could only hope Granger would have the sense never to mention. Ever.

Upon entering his quarters, he could immediately tell that someone had been in his rooms. But who? And why?

The answer to both questions became obvious when his eyes landed on a small vase that hadn't been on his coffee table previously. A quick scan revealed that the contents of the vase had been placed under a stasis charm… it would never wilt, nor was it in any way allergenic.

A single daisy.


A/N: That's all folks. Thanks so much for reading. We hope you have enjoyed. Reviews are much appreciated.