Thanks a lot to my wonderful beta, saiyanwizardgurl, for correcting my story and improving it.

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

Dear readers,

I really hope I will be able to finish this story with the next chapter! It is becoming tooo similar to what I planned for "Bonding"! I'm not satisfied with the overall lot for this story but I have no idea how to fic it at the moment. I will write the next and hopefully last chapter this afternoon and then will concentrate on Bonding again. I have two very hard weeks at work in front of me and don't know how much I will be able to write. So please encourage me with your review!

Sunny


Chapter 7 – The Nap

Dinner was delicious, and Severus enjoyed his time out of bed. Alastor told him about his plans for the next Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. He had to teach alone because the full moon was approaching. When they had finished the meal, Severus was exhausted. And again, there is this phenomenon of me feeling more tired when I am in the hospital wing rather than in my own quarters, Severus thought, annoyed.

Alastor noticed Severus' drowsiness and stood up to go over to him. He laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "Come on, Severus, let's get you ready for our nap." With that, he supported Severus to the bathroom.

Poppy was waiting for them when they emerged. "I have arranged everything in our quarters, Alastor. I will just check on Miss Albot, and then I will come and check on Severus. Get him into bed."

"I do enjoy when you talk about me as if I am not in the room," Severus mumbled sarcastically.

"You looked a little tired, Severus, and I just wanted to get you into a bed as soon as possible. So let Alastor take you to our quarters." She gestured for Alastor to go now.

Soon both wizards were in Poppy and Alastor's bedroom. Finally Severus realized where they were and stiffened. Alastor, who was trying to push Severus gently onto the bed, look questioningly at Severus when he refused to move. "What's going on in your head, Severus?"

"I will not sleep in your bed," Severus said, looking scandalized at Alastor.

Alastor laughed and patted Severus' shoulder. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, Severus. We can hardly nap together in the infirmary."

Severus realized that he had not even thought about how it would happen; he just was happy that he would not be alone. "I don't know."

"So, what's the problem with sleeping in this bed? Is it because Poppy and I sleep here? Or because I'll be sleeping with you?" Alastor asked patiently.

"I don't know, it just does not seem right," Severus said, confused. He did not even know why he felt uncomfortable with it.

"Sorry, but I can't see what wouldn't be right. It's just a bed. The only difference to your bed in the hospital wing is that it is big enough for both of us and we don't have an audience. You don't think I would do something inappropriate, do you?" Alastor asked seriously, eyeing Severus closely.

Severus wrinkled his face and said, "Of course not. I don't think you would confuse me with Poppy even if you are sleepy."

Alastor took a step backward and theatrically eyed Severus up and down. "No, I don't think so. I would say you two are easily distinguishable."

Severus rolled his eyes and took an unsure step in the direction of the bed. Alastor gave him the time he needed and passed him to pull back the sheets. "When you are ready, come over here, and I will get you into bed." Severus sighed and thought it would be too embarrassing to back out now, so he went over to Alastor and let him help him out of the bathrobe and slippers.

Poppy knocked on the door and came in. "Not sleeping yet?" she asked, surprised.

"We had some issues to clear up, Poppy," Alastor explained as he pushed Severus gently onto the bed. "Relax, Severus," he said to the already stiffening wizard.

Poppy moved behind Alastor and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Let me check him. Make yourself comfortable." When Alastor made space for her, she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Everything okay, Severus?" she asked kindly.

"I do not know if this is such a good idea." He was stiff and looked as if he was fighting the urge to bolt off the bed.

"You can trust us, Severus. It is just an hour nap," she said calmingly, laying a comforting hand on Severus' chest. She could feel is heart beating fast under her hand. "There is no reason to panic, Severus. I want you to breath with me. Very calmly, okay?"

Severus nodded, but not before he shot a quick glance to the other side of the bed. Alastor had settled down and was lying on his side facing Severus. "Okay, now look at me, and we will start to breath together." She waited until she had Severus' full attention and then started to give commands for breathing in and out for some time. When she felt the tension leave his body, she said, "That was very good, Severus. I would like to try something else now. Please close your eyes."

Immediately, Severus stiffened again and looked scared at Poppy. No, I do not want to close my eyes, and I do not want to sleep. I am tired, but sleeping is worse. Merlin, why did I agree to this? Severus thought, panicking.

Poppy let a very small amount of calming magic free. Just enough to stop Severus' alarm. She wanted him to sleep without magic or potions. He has to realize that he is safe here. "You cannot fall asleep with your eyes open, can you, sweetheart? And sleeping is what we are here for, right?" she asked him gently.

Oh, Merlin, she has no idea how hard this is, Severus thought desperately. "I don't know, Poppy. Maybe we should stop – "

"Severus, there is nothing to be afraid of. We will both sleep peacefully for an hour and then we can have fun playing a game of chess, okay?" Alastor tried to convince him.

"Thank you for not offering me a lollipop if I am a good boy and close my eyes," Severus said, annoyed, but also amused. He relaxed a little. He knew he could trust them, and the sooner he closed his eyes, the sooner it would be over. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Poppy and then closed his eyes.

"Okay, let's have another round of breathing together," Poppy said, and she immediately started to tell him when to breathe in and out. After a while, she said, "Now, I want you to tense you right hand and hold it until I tell you to let go. So tense it now." After a few seconds, she said, "And now let the tension go, Severus. Feel how your hand is more relaxed and heavier now. It is sinking into the mattress. It's totally relaxed."

Severus could hear Poppy's monotone voice as if she was in his head. He totally forgot about Alastor and anything else. Only Poppy's voice in his head was important now and the relaxed feeling in his limbs. Poppy had asked him to do this tension thing several times with all his limbs and his torso and now they had reached his right foot. He could hardly follow her monotone commands and every time she told him to relax, he had the feeling to sink deeper in the mattress and deeper into his body. He could hear Poppy saying, "Your whole body is totally relaxed. Feel how heavy it is sinking in the bed. Your breathe is calm and even and you are totally safe here. Breathe in...and out...in...and—"

_______________________

"Wake up, my boy," Alastor said while gently stroking Severus' collarbone.

Severus groaned and tried to avoid Alastor's hand. "Let me sleep."

"No, lad, you have to wake up. The hour is over," Alastor said, amused.

Severus opened his eyes and looked grumpily at Alastor. "First you want me to sleep, and when I finally do, you insist I wake up again. I have not slept that well for a long time. Please let me sleep a little longer." He turned away from Alastor and curled in on himself.

Alastor chuckled. "Uncoil yourself, Severus, or I will call Poppy." He swatted Severus' behind playfully and then stood up to avoid the cushion that was thrown at him. He laughed and threw the cushion back. "I will wait outside, lad. I'll give you five minutes. If you are not outside by then, I'll come back with a bucket of cold water."

Severus groaned again and rolled on his back. Merlin, I have not slept so well in my whole life. The relaxation exercise was remarkable. The bed was also very comfortable, and he could not understand why he felt so unsure about it an hour ago. He felt safe and relaxed as if nothing could harm him in this room. The image of Alastor holding a bucket full of water came into his mind, and he unwillingly pulled the bedclothes away to get out of bed. Those Healers have strange ideas about how to heal someone. Forcing me to wake up when they say that sleeping is the best therapy, Severus mused, annoyed. He really was looking forward to the night, but remembering that he had to spend it in his hospital wing bed again made him lose the good feeling.

He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his legs and his head in his hands, when Poppy entered the room. She wondered if he had fallen asleep in this position because he did not react to her knocking or when she addressed him. Quickly, she went over and tried to speak to him. "Severus, can you hear me?"

The rustling sound of Poppy's uniform, her movement, and her loud voice made him finally aware of her. He looked up and said sleepy, "Oh, so not the bucket."

"What?" Poppy asked and felt his forehead. "Are you delirious?"

Severus rolled his eyes, pushed her hand from his forehead and tried to stand up.

"Where do you think you are going?" she asked while pushing him back to the bed.

"To the bathroom, where else? Alastor threatened me with a bucket full of cold water if I am not up and ready in five minutes. I fear the five minutes are already over," Severus said while trying to remember how much time had passed.

"Yes, they are, but you will go nowhere without your bathrobe and slippers, Severus." She helped him to dress and cast a quick diagnostic spell on him.

"I am still tired. Why did you wake me? First you want me to sleep, and then you want me to wake up. That's not fair," Severus said stubbornly.

"Stop sulking, Severus, or you will not get a lollipop for sleeping so nicely," Poppy said mockingly. She did not react to the glare the Potions Master was throwing at her and said, "One hour is enough for your midday nap. Otherwise you won't sleep well in the night. You need a regular sleep schedule."

"I will never sleep like this at night, Poppy," he said sadly and avoided her eyes.

Poppy sat down beside him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Why do you think so?"

"I cannot relax like this in my own bed and definitely not in the hospital bed where one of my students is lying only a few meters away and anyone can come in." Severus let his head hang, but enjoyed Poppy's closeness.

"Then we will practice a few more times until you can relax on your own. Later, you won't need me to help you. And as long as you cannot manage it alone, you will not sleep in your own or Minerva's quarters. And if you think you can't sleep in the infirmary bed, you are more than welcome to join us here," Poppy said.

Severus' head jerked up when the words finally made sense. "What?" He looked shocked.

Poppy had to grin. "Oh, come on, Severus, you have already discussed with Alastor that he has no romantic attraction towards you, and I would not take advantage of you either."

"It's not like that. Why do you both have to mock me? It is your bed, and I can hardly sleep between you two, can I? I'm too old," Severus explained.

Poppy sighed. "Severus, you are my patient and friend, and I want to watch you. Sleeping here would be the easiest way. You would spare me a lot of running between the quarters and the infirmary. I don't have problems with letting Minerva, Remus, Charlie, or even Hagrid into my bed if that would help them. There is nothing inappropriate or embarrassing about it. And as for your concern about sleeping between Alastor and me, you are free to choose a side and we will take the other one if that makes you more comfortable."

Severus stared open-mouthed at her and did not know what to say.

"Has he lured you into falling asleep with him?" Alastor was shouting through the closed bedroom door. "The tea is getting cold."

Poppy laughed. "Come on. You can think about where you want to sleep later."

_______________

They ate cookies and drank tea. Severus was listening, relaxed, while Alastor and Poppy talked about Poppy's mother's plan to visit them soon. From time to time, Severus noticed that there was still a cookie on his plate, even though he was sure that a second before there was not one. Every time he was watching Poppy, Alastor snuck something on his plate, and when he watched Alastor, it was Poppy who used her chance to fatten him up. Finally, he decided to stare at his plate so that neither of them had the chance to put another sweet on his plate.

A knock on the door stopped Alastor and Poppy's chatter, and Severus looked up. Poppy stood up and went to open the door. Seconds later, she came back with Remus in tow.

Remus looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I hope I'm not disturbing you. I just don't want to be alone right now and thought we could talk about the lesson plan, Alastor."

Severus felt uncomfortable sitting in bathrobe and slippers in foreign quarters and frantically thought about a way out. He tried to push his chair back to stand up, but Alastor had positioned his good foot behind one of the chair legs so that Severus could not move.

Alastor looked at Remus and said, "We have already talked about the lesson plans, and there is no need to make up a reason to come and visit us when you feel like company. And now there are three of us, so we can play skat. At least I have a chance of winning that. Severus would have beaten me at chess by a mile. So, sit down and eat some cookies." He gestured for Remus to sit down and then looked at Severus, who was still trying to move his chair. "And you, lad, are going nowhere, especially not before you finish your afternoon snack." He looked sternly at Severus to show him that he would not let him run away.

"But I'm already fini – " Severus looked at his plate and found two cookies laying innocently on his plate. He angrily looked at Poppy as he saw Remus sitting down out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't look at me, Severus. I was at the door," Poppy said innocently.

Severus switched his gaze to Alastor. "And I was busy telling the stubborn Potions Master to stay were he was. Maybe the house-elves also think that you need a little more on your ribs than skin."

Severus grunted. "I am fully aware of the fact that you two have been sneaking cookies onto my plate the entire time." He took one of them and placed it on Remus' plate. "Here…Remus. You need something in your stomach for the Wolfbane. Be sure to let Minerva and Charlie know that I shared my sweets with you and called you by your given name. It's a wonder they let me brew your potion without having someone else check it."

Remus took the cookie and said, "Yes, I'm sorry. I heard that they were pestering you. I told them to stop and that we are able to solve our problems on our own."

"So you have a problem with me?" Severus looked seriously at Remus. Can it be that he really takes it seriously when I call him names?

"I think we are coping much better since the final battle. Don't you think so?" Remus looked questioningly at Severus, who grumpily gnawed on his cookie. He could hardly suppress a grin when he saw that there was a new cookie on Severus' plate.

"Yes, I agree. If I was you, I would stop grinning stupidly about the fact that this mollycoddling Mediwitch has just put another cookie on my plate and stick to looking at my own," Severus said, and couldn't suppress grin.

Remus looked down at his plate to see that two cookies had been placed on it without him noticing. He laughed and happily started to eat.


I'm starting to love Alastor. I want one for myself.

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