A/N: Sorry it's so late!
Severus woke as the stars begin to emerge from their dark veils, starlight shining down upon him, lightening his skin and making him appear years younger, resting as he used to in the hospital wing as a child. His tormentors had changed, and the severity of the abuse he received was heightened significantly, yet still he was, as he always seemed to have been, the boy with the greasy, black hair, sleeping under the eaves of his beloved Hogwarts, appearing so innocent, even after a lifetime of darkness. He is still Severus. Not "Snape", not "Snivellus", not a monster, or a traitor, or a coward. He is Severus, the boy who loved Lily.
Severus, who strayed so far away from the path he might have walked. He bears the dark mark, and too many scars to show for it. Neither light nor dark trusts him, and working for both exhausts him, causing his dark circles to deepen and darken.
He rarely gets the chance to rest- neither Dumbledore nor Voldemort allows him to. Dumbledore asks that he patrol the halls at night, teach (and prepare lesson plans), and act as head of Slytherin house, which also makes him responsible for disciplining his students. Voldemort asks that he attend Death Eater meetings, which sometimes last for hours. Between the two, he barely has time to sleep, let alone bathe.
Students fear him because he appears so ghastly, because he must, for their protection. He must continue with his charades as long as Voldemort lives, leading to pale skin due to never leaving the castle during the day, greasy hair due to lack of time to clean it, and a thinning body due to not being able to attend many meals. When he has time, he asks a house elf to bring him a meal, but so often he must grade the plethora of parchments that he assigns for his students to write, using a red quill to comment and make corrections. Students think he is cruel with his grading. In reality, he is merely trying to prepare them. If they fail in the real world, it could be the last thing they do. Better a failing potions grade and learning from mistakes than dying from ingesting an incorrectly made potion.
He is alone with his thoughts. No one has returned yet, but the window is open, so he has the stars for company.
He tries to remember their names- Draco, Sirius, Bellatrix... he smirks at the coincidence.
After star-gazing for some time, he notices that the stars seem to have changed position, but realizes that Earth has actually rotated and the stars have remained stationary.
He lays in bed, stargazing, eyes drooping, until the door clatters open and footsteps near him.
"Sorry if I woke you, Severus. Just got back from an Order meeting. I heard you were laid up, so I came to bring you the news, but I'll come back later, I guess."
He hears another loud bang and starts. It was a dream. He had had no visitors. Why had he dreamed that?
"Ah, Severus, you're awake."
Snape raises a quizzical eyebrow.
"Am I? Really?"
Dumbledore chuckles.
"Of course, my dear boy. Why wouldn't you be?"
"Never mind."
"You must be tired. Rest."
The second that his eyes seem to close, he wakes once more. Madam Pomfrey is casting a diagnostic spell on him and shaking her head.
"How high is my fever? I've been delirious."
"Still 103. Why isn't it going down?"
"Haven't you diagnosed me yet? You've waved your wand over me plenty of times."
"It looks like a simple case of wizard's flu, but it just won't go. I can't understand it."
Severus gasps for air.
"Poppy- help- me"
Pomfrey thinks quickly and performs a healing spell and levitates Severus and the pillows into a position that allows him to breathe better.
"Thank-"
Severus breaks into a coughing fit, then falls back on to the cushions, exhausted.
A/N: If I were feeling better myself, I might add more. I've been working on this when I have spare time. Well, I have borrowed time from sleeping hours as well in order to try to get a moment to work on this, but have only gotten this far, and have succeeded in demanding too much of myself, between having to run a few miles a day (today in literally BLINDING rain, but any rain is blinding when you aren't allowed to wear a hat and have to wear glasses), and about a 60 degree temperature when I am used to 80, and not getting enough sleep.
