No, I don't own them. They belong to Jo.
This chapter is dedicated to my beloved dog Lou, who lived a wonderful 13 years, and this afternoon joined her parents and siblings in the great doggie heaven. Rest in peace, Lou, and know that we love you always...
Lily quite literally refused to move from Severus' side for days. Three days after they had found him, he had not woken. Although, his broken bones were healing quickly and his skin was slowly turning from its purplish bruised color to a darker, more bluish color. Madam Pomfrey had assured Lily that it was normal, and there was nothing to worry about. They both knew that she was uncertain as she spoke the words of comfort.
Many people had passed through the hospital wing. Some included younger Slytherin's who felt bad for the things that had happened to him and found him somewhat a hero for living through the encounter. No one knew exactly what happened that night, and it was still a mystery. And people speculated.
Some rumors included that his head was bashed against a tree so many times bits of his skull lodged themselves into his brain and knocked him into a coma. This had been started by a couple of eccentric Slytherin first years that had come to visit him one day. Another more popular rumor included he had been bashed into unconsciousness by sticks, and then petrified. Lily had nearly laughed when Mary and Joanna had visited her and explained that one to her.
The truth was, he was not in a coma nor had he been beaten into unconsciousness by sticks. Lily only knew one thing, and that his was hanging onto life by a thread that was straining. A potion had been administered to him soon after his death that had established the thread. Madam Pomfrey had confirmed that. So, Lily spent day and night sitting by his side hoping that the thread would be strong enough to pull him back to them.
One day, Remus had spent the entire day with her. She had accepted his comfort because he had explained to her the fight that had happened between him and James the day that Severus was found. Lily had to use every bit of self control in her not to grin wildly when he told her that he nearly decked James right across the table at breakfast. Had it not been for dear old Professor Slughorn, James might've been in the hospital wing nursing and broken jaw while trying to apologize her to.
Rumors were also spreading about breaking of the once inseparable Marauders. This, of course gave Remus things to worry about. Sirius often took sides with James, and so did Peter. What would happen to him on the next full moon? Would he be forced into solitude attacking himself once again? Despite Lily's protests, Remus had been quick to attempt to reconcile with James.
On the evening of Lily's third day of sitting beside Severus, Dumbledore had entered with Severus' mother. The woman began sobbing at the sight of her bruised and battered son. Lily didn't blame her. She kept her spot on Severus' left side, her fingers lightly caressing his arm just to keep contact with him. She watched as Eileen sat on the other side, staring with an unreadable emotion in her eyes at her son. After about twenty minutes of glancing at the look in Eileen's eyes, Lily finally deciphered an emotion. Hate. Eileen was looking at her own son with a look of pure hatred. This angered Lily so much, she practically blew up at the other woman.
"Why are you looking at him like that?" Lily questioned. Eileen looked up at her, glaring. No one else was around and the curtains shielded them from anywhere else.
"He should be dead." Eileen shook her head, glancing back down at Severus. His still features remained unchanging.
"How could you say that? You should be happy that he's alive!" Lily couldn't believe the nerve of her! She just couldn't understand why Eileen didn't value her son's life.
"You filthy mudblood you don't know what you're talking about!" Eileen practically snarled, her unpleasant features becoming distorted and almost cruel looking as she stood up and leaned over her son's motionless body. Her nostrils flared as she gritted her teeth.
"Hey! Calm down or you both will be out of here!" Madam Pomfrey drew back the curtain and fixed them with the look of a mother punishing a child. Eileen's glare softened as she sunk back into the other chair. Lily's green eyes were huge as they began to fill with tears. As soon as Madam Pomfrey was gone, Eileen turned back to Lily and spoke in a quieter voice.
"No mother wants to watch their son suffer. He should be dead." Eileen looked back down at Severus before reaching out and gently stroking his cheek with the backs of her fingers. Lily looked shocked at Eileen's words and suddenly her heart ached for the other woman.
So, they sat in silence for a while, once again staring at Severus. Lily resumed her usual task of tracing the scars on his arm and drawing invisibly lines on the palm of his cold hand. She longed to grasp his hand and feel the warmth and life that used to be there. She longed to wrap her arms around him and have him return the gesture. She wanted nothing more than for him to wake up and see that she was here, willing to forgive him and love him.
Lily's thoughts were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey pushing back the pale blue curtains. She made direct eye contact with Lily and motioned for her to stand. Reluctantly, Lily leaned over and pressed her lips gently to Severus' fingers before standing and following Madam Pomfrey out from the curtains.
"What do you need?" Lily asked.
"I just thought that it would be proper to give Mrs. Snape a moment alone with her son." Madam Pomfrey answered quietly. "Besides, Miss Evans, you need to eat! How many meals have you eaten since that poor boy was brought here?"
"Three." Lily muttered. She had been forced to eat two meals on the first day, one on the second day, and she had yet to eat on that day.
"You need to get some food into your body, young lady!" Madam Pomfrey put her hands on her hips and walked to her office. Lily slowly followed, casting a glance back toward the curtain. Once in the office, Lily sat in the chair beside the desk while Madam Pomfrey was in a back room.
On the desk was a folder about three inches thick. The name on the cover of the folder was very clear to Lily. Severus Snape. Curiosity got the better of her and she opened it up to a random page. She pulled out one paper and read:
Name: Snape, Severus
Age: 12
Injuries Sustained: arm broken in three places
Description of Incident: was tripped by another student, Sirius Black, and fell down a flight of stairs
Gasping, she couldn't believe what she had read. Severus had never told her about that incident! She never even noticed him having a broken arm when he was twelve. With tears filling her eyes, Lily put the paper back and reached for another one peaking out.
Name: Snape, Severus
Age: 14
Injuries Sustained: concussion
Description of Incident: Hit head on the wall after being hexed and thrown backwards. Note: spell casted by James Potter
Lily wiped her eyes and quickly shoved the paper back into the folder as she heard Madam Pomfrey coming out from the back room. She was carrying a tray of sandwiches and a couple of goblets of pumpkin juice. She spotted Lily closing the file and she smirked slightly.
"The poor boy has a bigger record than anyone else in the school. All because of Potter and Black. And of course his house mates. He used to always tell me the only person he could trust was you, until last year." Madam Pomfrey set the tray down and handed a goblet to Lily. She sipped it and took one of the sandwiches in her hand.
"I was so angry at him." was the only response Lily could come up with. Madam Pomfrey sat down on the other side of the desk.
"Yes, I know. But do you know why he called you that horrible name?" Madam Pomfrey questioned. Lily had learned the last few days that Severus had often confided in Madam Pomfrey.
"Because his awful friends are bad influences." Lily grumbled as she bit in the sandwich, suddenly realizing how hungry she was.
"That may have been part of it, but the real reason had a lot more to do with you. He called you that horrid name because he saw you smile. He was hurt by the fact that you found his suffering funny." Madam Pomfrey said.
"But I didn't! I thought it was horrible and he just called me that awful name just like his old friends and his mother!" Lily was suddenly crying once again.
"Lily, it's alright. It was a while ago now. Things are going to be better when he wakes up." Madam Pomfrey told her. Lily wiped her eyes and took another sip of juice from her goblet.
"If you don't mind, I'm going back." she said as she stood. Madam Pomfrey opened her mouth as though she were going to protest, but decided against it. She waved her hand as if to dismiss Lily.
Lily left Madam Pomfrey in the office. She couldn't stop thinking about the file that she had seen on the desk. All those papers were incidents where Severus had been injured. Her heart ached once more, realizing that he wasn't even safe at the one place he called home. Sighing, Lily went over to the curtain and pulled it back, gasping at the sight that she saw.
Eileen was standing above her son, with a knife in her hand. Lily let out a high pitched scream and Eileen looked at her, wide-eyed. She made a move like she was going to drive the knife into Severus' chest, but Lily reacted quickly. She pulled out her wand.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Lily cried the only spell she could think of at the moment. Eileen instantly froze; her arm poised in mid-air above Severus.
"What the devil?" Madam Pomfrey came up behind Lily and saw Eileen, now frozen like a statue, standing above Severus. "Oh, dear lord." she rushed past Lily and pulled Eileen's body away.
"She said that he should be dead, but I never thought she'd try something like this!" Lily rushed over to her designated spot beside Severus. She grasped his hand and hovered over him somewhat protectively as Madam Pomfrey removed the knife from Eileen's hand.
"Mrs. Snape has been depressed. Anyone would be able to tell." Madam Pomfrey shook her head, seemingly unaware of the fact that the woman had just tried to stab her own son.
"Oh, Sev…" Lily leaned over and draped her arm over Severus, lightly hugging him. Madam Pomfrey pulled out her wand and used it to hover Eileen into the air and bring her through the curtains. Lily sat down beside Severus, vowing she wouldn't leave again.
Making sure the curtains were closed, Lily did something she never thought she'd do. She climbed into the bed beside Severus and laid on her side. She curved her body to fit alongside his and she rested her head next to his. Her nose was buried in his silky black hair and her eyes fluttered closed.
XXXXXX
Albus once again allowed a smile to grace his face. He was no doubt happy that they had found the boy, but he was still slightly troubled. Besides what Mad-Eye had claimed was said by young Mr. Mulciber, no one really knew the full account of the events that happened. He had the intent to question Severus as soon as the boy was well enough.
For now, all he had to go on for clues was the note that he found. He had made a list of everyone he knew with the initials N.M. He then crossed off staff and former staff, students, muggles, and Order of the Phoenix members. Then he went through the list and thought about who and what each of the remaining people were connected to. One of the names near the bottom somehow stood out to him. Narcissa Malfoy. Formerly Narcissa Black. She had been in Slytherin during her time at Hogwarts and married Lucius Malfoy. She had graduated the year before and it was rumored that she and her husband both were followers of Lord Voldemort. Albus distinctly remembered that she always had a soft spot for Severus during his first couple of years at Hogwarts and thought him to be like a brother to her. Narcissa would've tried to save him if she had been present during the time of his death.
He questioned how he was going to approach this problem. He didn't want to contact Narcissa until he was certain of her involvement, but he couldn't be certain until the boy woke and who knew how long that could take. Albus sighed, knowing he would just have to wait.
XXXXXX
"Lily…" a voice whispered in her ear. She groaned and stretched her arms out. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to wake up. "Lily…"
"Hmmm….Sev…" she sighed, burying her nose into his hair and stretching her arm out over his chest.
"I'm definitely not Sev." the voice of Remus Lupin said rather loudly in her ear. This startled her and she shot up, nearly falling out of the bed. Luckily, Remus reached forward and supported her so that she didn't fall. "I must say that this was an interesting sight when I came in here." Remus motioned to Severus next to her, still asleep.
Lily looked up at him, blushing slightly. She had slept with Severus! She giggled to herself at the thought. When they were younger, she had just thought that his thin form and his pale skin were just what made him Severus. She never thought that she'd ever think he was attractive. But did she really? She loved him, that much she knew. She couldn't help be won over by the fact he had nearly gotten himself killed by trying to please her. He had never been nasty to her, save for the Incident, and it was clear he loved her. So, there was no doubt about it, Lily loved Severus.
"I was tired and I wanted to be close to him." Lily offered up. Remus smirked, but accepted her answer.
"Any progress?" Remus asked.
"Not really." Lily swung her legs off the bed and stood up. "Is it really morning?" Lily questioned, looking out the windows and seeing the sun shining down on them from the east.
"Yeah, I just had breakfast and decided to check on you before I went to Defense. You know, Lily, I'm really concerned about you. You're falling behind in all your classes. These are N.E.W.T. level courses; you can't afford to fall behind." Remus told her.
"I'm no more behind than Sev is. When he wakes up we can work together." Lily said, looking back down at Severus and slowly stroking his cheek. The natural color of his skin was slowly returning. It appeared as though Madam Pomfrey had returned the night before and removed the bandages on his hands and legs. His bones had healed fully and quickly, thanks to a few spells and potions.
"Well, I heard the teachers talking and they're really worried about a lot of things. McGonagall and Slughorn were talking last night about how they are worried that getting off the grounds is as easy as summoning a Portkey. They can't believe anyone hadn't thought to ward the school against the use of Portkeys." Remus informed her. Few students had witnessed up close the day that Severus had been taken from the grounds to be handed over to Lord Voldemort by the people he had called his friends.
"If people weren't so stupid and senseless, Sev might still be ok." Lily sighed. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, Remus staring at Lily and Lily staring at Severus. Finally, Remus stood and collected his bag.
"I should be getting to class. Hope he's ok." Remus shrugged and left. Lily smiled after him and shifted off the bed and into the chair Remus was just occupying. After a few
moments of sitting in silence, there was a rustle in the curtains. They parted to reveal a blonde Hufflepuff girl. She appeared to be a second year.
"Hi." Lily looked at the girl questioningly. The girl's wide eyes were glued to Severus. "Who are you?" Lily asked, trying not to sound rude but finding her tone of voice less than pleasant.
"Tarin Archer." the girl told her as she stared at Severus with an almost frightened expression on her face. "He hurt me…the day that he was taken away."
"Oh…it was you that they…" Lily trailed off, examining the girl. She remembered the girl's screams echoing out throughout the grounds of Hogwarts, but Lily was only concerned for Severus that day.
"I just wanted to see…how he looked." Tarin glanced back and forth between Lily and Severus.
"Well here he is." Lily waved a hand at Severus. Tarin just nodded.
"I just wanted to tell you, that I heard the conversation before they made him hurt me." Tarin said. This sparked Lily's interest. "They told him that there was no place in the world for traitors like himself, and that they knew he was trying to betray them for the sake of staying friends with mu- people like us. They wouldn't let him say anything, and told him that if he didn't want to die, then he'd torture me." the girl told Lily.
"I…I don't know what to say." were the only words that came out of Lily's mouth. Tarin gave her a small smile.
"I don't blame him, by the way. No one does. Most people feel really bad about not giving him a chance. When he wakes up, I think he'll have a lot of friends." Tarin said before turning and leaving. Lily just stared at the blue curtains the young Hufflepuff had passed through. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. After a few moments, Lily moved to sit on the bed next to Severus again.
"Did you hear that, Sev? You're going to have a lot of friends. People care about you. I care about you." She shifted so that she was leaning over his face. She could fell his warm, steady breath tickle her cheeks. "I love you." she whispered.
Just then, his dark eyelashes fluttered. His lips parted and sucked in a deep breath as his body tensed. She felt a slight shift on the bed and his eyelids slowly opened, revealing his black eyes. She couldn't believe what was happening as he looked up at her. He blinked a couple times before trying to speak.
"Lily…" he barely got out, his voice dry and raspy from not being used. When she heard her name roll of his lips, she grinned and couldn't stop herself from grabbing the sides of his face and bringing her lips to his in a gentle kiss. After a few seconds, she felt his
hands on her shoulders, trying to push her away. She pulled away from him abruptly and he laid there with wide, frightened eyes. He scrambled away from her and lay there, whimpering.
"Did I hear what I just thought I heard?" Madam Pomfrey opened the curtains and was overjoyed to see a very awake Severus. He was pinned up against the wall, tears falling from his wide eyes as he shook violently. He looked anywhere but directly at them. Lily was standing beside the bed now, looking equally as frightened. The blanket was completely off of him now, revealing his pale chest and abdomen and a pair of pajama bottoms.
"Say something to comfort him." Madam Pomfrey told her as she rushed to find something to cover his top half.
"Sev, it's me! It's Lily, your friend." Lily tried to hide the catch in her voice as she reached for one of Severus' hands. He let out an agonized cry as she grasped his hand and gently stroked the back of it. "Sev, are you alright? Are you hurting?" Lily asked as Madam Pomfrey found the button up green shirt that went with the pajama bottoms. Lily had bought them for him the year before, and she found them in his trunk.
"N-n-no." Severus managed to say as his shaking was reduced to a few quivering muscles. He realized that she wouldn't hurt him. His eyes glanced at the empty space next to him.
"Do you want me to sit next to you?" Lily questioned, her heart splitting apart at seeing her dark, serious friend reduced to this. Severus nodded quickly. She sat next to him and he crawled over to her, pressing his body against her as he cried silently. Lily took the shirt from Madam Pomfrey and pulled one of his arms through it and then worked on getting his other through it. She pulled it around and began buttoning it.
"Lily…" Severus muttered as he rolled himself into a ball with his head on her lap. Shocked, Lily began to stroke his hair. Madam Pomfrey looked at the cowering boy with a look of pity on her face. They both knew he was still in pain, but he wouldn't admit it, not even in this weak state.
"It's alright Sev. You are safe now, and no one can hurt you." Lily whispered to him as Madam Pomfrey left to get some potions to make him more comfortable.
there you go! Hope you guys enjoyed. Please review and feed the bunnies!
