Rating has now gone up for some future chapters!

I am sorry for such a late update, I had my mocks and then got sick.:( I'm still not 100% but at least I feel up to writing again!

Minerva was surprised to find that not only had she slept in late that morning but her 'patient' had also. She had always assumed Severus would be up at the crack of dawn, ready to deduct points from any student who happened to cross his path on the way to breakfast. But it appeared she may have been wrong.

Having already dressed before leaving her room she stepped through her livingroom as quietly as she could. She contemplated turning into a cat for such a task but the room wasn't that large.

She had left the adjoining door to her office open so she could watch him from where she sat marking, (some infuriating students had insisted on giving her some work to correct over the holidays). She told herself that it was purely in case he should become worse but there was an unwanted voice in the back of her mind telling her otherwise.

She didn't have to fight the voice for too long as, before she knew it, Severus was awake and moving. A conversation was shared and then he was gone, away into her bathroom. To shower. Naked. In her bathroom.

She mentally shook herself and returned to the rolls of parchment before her, she still hadn't marked more than one yet. And it seemed like she would never mark another at this rate. As soon as her quill tip touched the parchment the water was turned on behind her and all rational thought flew out of her head.

A groan escaped her lips as she let the quill drop and she buried her face in her hands. The bathroom was close to where she was sat. All she could hear was the relentless beating of the water on the floor of the shower. And all she would see was not appropriate at all. It was one thing to imagine a man wearing absolutely nothing, his body soapy and wet from the shower. But it was another thing when the young man in your mind was your colleague, had been your student and was several decades your junior. So why didn't it feel bad?

Something else that felt good was the cool wood of her desk against her forehead. She had abandoned covering her face and was now slumped over her desk, not a position she was in regularly. Only one phrase was being chanted throughout her thoughts over and over again. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong.

But that dark little voice in the back of her head seemed to be a new fixture that she could not shake. A permanent thought track of, Oh, but it's so good.

This internal struggle was giving her a headache that could down a giant. Rubbing her temples didn't help in any way. She needed something to relieve this pain, then maybe she could get on with her marking. She took several moments to ensure she left her desk before heading into her bedroom. She stopped just inside the door. Her potions were in the bathroom, in the small cupboard on the wall. No pain relief yet.

The walk back to her desk looked awfully long and the prospect of marking more bloody papers was in no way appealing. Salvation came in the form of the sound of water stopping and soft footsteps behind the locked door that lay only a few feet away.

Her eyes widened as her head filled with more of those oh so wrong but all round delicious images, causing her to automatically flee from her own bedroom. This was utterly ridiculous! She should not be behaving in such a way, why couldn't she get a grip? Because you know that you find him attractive. He's not a boy anymore, he's a man now. Quite a good looking man at that.

That quiet voice had betrayed her, betrayed her feelings to herself, the one person who wanted to deny them the most. She had no idea why, but she felt like crying. She felt a rush of relief at no longer having to hold it back, but now she had to face the difficult task of caring for him whilst also keeping control of herself. Not thinking straight, she went straight into her room and dropped herself on the bed.

With her face buried in her hands she started to scold herself. "You're a foool, Minerva." She was unaware of the bathroom door that was now open a crack that it hadn't been before. "You foolish old woman."

"I don'tthink you're old."

His voice caused her to jump and she immediately looked to the door. How long had it been open? It slowly opened fully and Minerva stared at the man behind it. From the look on his face, he hadn't meant to say it aloud. She didn't know what to say to him but, mercifully, the silence was shattered by a coughing fit that seemed to make his whole body tense. It sounded like it was causing a lot of pain. Gladly forgetting what had been said, she went to fetch a glass of water.

He was sitting on the foot of the bed by the time she had returned and the coughing had subsided. He was rubbing his throat gingerly, as though it hurt to even touch the skin. She offered him the water which he took and drank in one go. Only then did he managed a rather hoarse thanks. "You sound terrible."

He scoffed, glancing at her. "Thank you for that observation." He commented dryly. Well, at least he was closer to his normal self now.

"You should go and check in with Poppy. No doubt she can find something to help. Didn't she warn you to look out for symptoms such as coughing?"

"I am fine, Minerva."

"But, Severus, I-"

"I said I'm fine. I don't wish to see her, no doubt she would strap me to one of her beds just so she could keep an eye on me in case I lied." He shuddered. "I'd rather stay here and just deal with it."

"If you don't visit her at some point she will just come up here looking for you."

"If I stay here, I have you for reinforcement. You would be able to assure her that everything is fine and I am no closer to dying than I usually am."

Not for the first time she felt a pang of worry at the mention of his 'observations' for the Order. "Who says that I shall help you by lying? Poppy is an old friend of mine, after all."

"Minerva," His voice was soft and automatically seized her full attention. The banter had distracted her for a while but that internal peace had been short lived. "How often do I ask you to help? I don't like being fussed over. I just.. Don't, alright?"

She nodded. "Alright then, stay here. I am sure Poppy shall check on you today but I only have marking so you won't be left alone. Not often the Head of Slytherin cowers behind me."

He merely shrugged in reply.