Author: Of Crimson Moonlight
Author's Note: There's a bit of awkward moments in this, and if your minds are pure and good, you'll find yourselves probably lost(Good for you though! You have a clean mind!). However, I apologize to all my readers. I'm sorry this has been so late. Biology is not a subject you wanna take from a professor that is...not...efficient. Anyways, if this chapter seems rushed, I apologize. The next two chapters are where my love and passion is being poured into and this was just something for kicks and giggles, although, I would never take this out of the story. Please forgive me if this chapter leaves you crying tears of sadness if it is badly written. Feedback is so very appreciated! If anything in the story is unclear please tell me so I can edit it.
Disclaimer: Only J. could make such wonderful characters from Harry Potter. Us common folk could only dream of inventing such things.
Being Sick: In More Ways Than One
"Go to sleep." Severus ordered with his eyes closed. Hedwig and the man were in his chambers. Being the sick person in the room, Severus told Hedwig that she was entitled to the bed as Severus was sitting in a well-cushioned chair that had been drawn to the bed.
Hedwig wasn't closing her eyes just yet.
"If you want to get better you have to rest." The man's head was tilted down and his arms in their comfortably crossed position. "Go to sleep."
The cloth on Hedwig's head was slipping. Before she could fix it herself, Severus already had his hand out to steady it. When it was rested on her forehead, Severus crossed his arms again and remained silent. Was he cold?
The man opened his eyes slightly and saw Hedwig looking at the sheets that covered her. "Don't bother in sharing it. You need all the warmth you can get. If you want the fire to get warmer let me know."
Hedwig nodded as the man shut his eyes again. She looked to the right of the bed. It was rather big. Why didn't they just share it?
…Something's wrong with that question. Hedwig turned onto her side.
It must be lonely. When Hedwig lived with Harry, she remembered feeling so happy when they shared a room. She wasn't lonely because he was there, and she knew he was less lonely when talking to her. But Snape…he didn't seem to have anyone.
She remembered when the whole house of Slytherin had their own sleeping party. All these friends grouped together. It was fun. She looked at Severus again with a bit of sadness. Was he lonely? Hedwig buried herself under the blankets again till only the top of her head was sticking out. Before she fell asleep, she made up her mind. She wouldn't let Severus be lonely anymore. After all, she did make that promise.
----
Severus rolled up his sleeves and tested the water. He was kneeling down on the floor next to the bathtub with the girl looking over his shoulder.
"One of the main preventions of becoming sick is hygiene." The man swirled his hand in the water and grunted. Satisfied that it was the right temperature he was looking for, he stood up and looked to Hedwig. "It's ready. If you need more water, turn the knob. I'll classes start soon, but I'll come back during break. Remember to get enough rest."
Hedwig heard the door close behind her and she edged closer to the water. Severus used the big bowl to take a bath? Hedwig coughed into her sleeve before looking at the water again. It was too deep for her liking. The water was still running too…this would be the first time using the thing for a bath. Usually she just put her head in the water. How did humans…Hedwig lifted her leg and dipped it into the tub. The water at the top reached the edge of its barrier and flowed over the tub. Hedwig, still fully clothed, entered the second leg. Deep! The water was really deep! Wah! She couldn't swim! What if she drowned? Hedwig stood up in the tub, but she did so too quickly. Her foot didn't have any grip on the floor and she slipped and fell into the water sideways.
The splash put more water onto the floor along. The tub was overflowing now, but Hedwig didn't pay any attention to that. She had been panicking at first, but…the water was warm, she wasn't drowning…and this was…fun!
The girl started to splash. A silent laugh went through her mouth as she made tiny waves throughout the pool of water. Now for the next step!
Hedwig looked at a container on the marble floor. Severus had called it… 'soap'.
She reached down to pick it up. Just as the bottle was over the tub, the cap, which she had been gripping, separated from the bottle and the contents of the bottle fell into the water.
Oh no. Hedwig started to worry.
----
In Potions class, Severus looked at the hourglass on his desk and back to the parchment laid out infront of him. It was blank. He was supposed to be writing down a grading rubric for the next assignment, but he couldn't stop looking at the cursed hourglass! Why was it moving so slowly? He could actually count each grain of sand as they fell down. Is this what it was like in his class for his students?
He could hear the students whispering amongst themselves. They were talking about Halloween. Severus knew that notes were being past around inviting everyone to parties. He remembered when he was younger. Whenever a note would pass his way disappointment would sting. On the note, it was never his name that donned the parchment. The invitation was always to someone else.
Lily had been offered to go so many times to Halloween parties but she refused each time. Instead, she was content to spend an evening talking with Severus. Severus remembered one year when he insisted that she go to at least one. Even though it was his idea, he held his breath every time he made the suggestion, hoping she'd say that she wouldn't go. That year, she had gotten an invitation from James Potter. She went and…Severus never spent another Halloween with Lily again. She was always invited to James's party after that. Of course, Severus was happy for her but…
It would have been nice to stay together.
Severus snorted.
Who'd want to spend Halloween with the Bat of the Dungeon?
He looked at the last of the sand falling to the bottom of the hourglass. "Class dismissed."
The man watched as the students pushed and shoved to get out of the room. No one wanted to be the last one in the room with the Potions Master. They'd rather get wrong information from their peers for a test than ask the 'Greasy Git' for help.
What? I'm feeling sorry for myself now? Severus grinned a bit to himself.
It didn't last long.
Severus knew that he told Hedwig that he'd be back on his break but he felt like being alone. He didn't feel like entertaining that child any time soon. Instead, he just wanted to sulk.
"You shouldn't do that." Lily nudged Severus on his shoulder.
"What?" Severus frowned. "I don't understand."
"You like to brood, don't you?" She smiled.
"No, I just prefer not to set myself up for disappointment. The world is easier to look at this way." Severus said seriously.
"By brooding?" Lily stretched a bit before giving out a yawn. "Well, if you ever feel really down or you feel like brooding…"
Severus rolled his eye. "What? Sing happy songs and drink till I'm as drunk as a fish?"
"No." Lily laughed. "If you feel like brooding, don't do it alone."
The look on Severus's face was emotionless, but inside he was so happy.
"So? How was your day?"
He swallowed before answering. "Well…it was terrible. Did you know that…"
As these recent days traveled on, Snape found himself being reminded of Lily more and more. Ever since Hedwin came along the flashbacks of his schoolboy crush were more frequent. In the present time, Severus found himself acting kinder than he would have liked to think towards the girl. But now that he thought about it, the girl and he were rather stuck together. Perhaps like...friends? Maybe he could talk to her? Would she listen?
The Potions Master stood up from his desk and made up his mind to return to his quarters. She'd probably be hungry anyways. What if she had tried to cook? No, she wouldn't be that stupid…
Then again…Severus scurried out of the room. Several students saw him rushing towards the lower levels of the castle. The man was getting stranger and stranger each day to them.
Knowing her, she must be doing something extremely stupid. She's probably starving while waiting for me.
Was she waiting for him? Or did she leave? He grit his teeth. If she wasn't resting, she'd never get better. She'd better not be wandering the castles. The last thing he needed was for her to get pneumonia.
"Oh! Professor Snape! About the lake-" Madame Pomfrey began, but Severus brushed her off as politely as he could without stopping. "That boy…" She shook her head and walked away from a crowded hall full of students. She'd have to try for a meeting with Snape another day. Perhaps Dumbledore can talk to him. Yes, that was the answer. The nurse began walking to the Headmaster's office.
"Hedwin?" Severus charged into the room and was relieved to see that there was no fire. "Hed…" Where was she? The room was empty and so was the bedroom. Severus was a bit discouraged. He came all the way here and she wasn't even-
Severus stopped at the sound of squelching noises beneath his feet. The carpet was soaked! He looked to the path of the bathroom. Why was it so wet? The man looked down and with a frown and trampled through the slushy floor towards the door. With a quick motion, the man opened the door and in a flash, waist deep water with millions of suds and bubbles came flowing from the bathroom.
The room had been filled with water? Severus was pushed onto his back when Hedwin had fallen out of the bathroom.
He was about to shout but a new and pleasant sound reached his ears. The two were covered with water and soap bubbles, his room was ruined, yet he couldn't be angry at this particular moment.
Why?
"Hedwin…" Severus looked at the girl with a bit of astonishment. Not too much, but just enough to make his mouth drop slightly. "You're laughing!"
It was true. The girl was making noises! Her voice was quiet, but she was laughing! Though his first instinct was to frown, he couldn't help but give a small smile.
----
Snape sighed "Well, let's get you dried. I'll have to tell Albus to substitute for Potions today. You obviously can't take care of yourself."
In truth, Severus was making an excuse not to leave. Actually, he was rather glad about this. After remembering that moment with Lily, he didn't want to spend the whole day brooding and gathering dark clouds in his mind. He wanted to smile. Well…he wouldn't smile (the last smile had slipped. Since he didn't smile too often, his face was a bit sore now), but he wouldn't feel sorry for himself either. He'd forget about the boy who turned into stone the other day. He'd forget about the fact that the whole student populace despised him. Today, he'd just be Severus. Not Professor Snape, not the Bat, he'd be Severus.
"Would you mind," he asked the girl after the bedroom was tidied and her clothes had been changed into his old uniforms, "if I talked to you? What I mean is if you would listen. To me. When I need someone to talk to."
What am I doing? He asked himself. The girl made no attempt to show that she didn't want him to talk. But the situation, this moment of him asking someone to listen to him, this was out of character for him. "On the floor."
Severus motioned Hedwig to sit on the ground. As she did so, he summoned a towel. "Don't move." He began to dry the girl's hair. "Would you mind listening?"
Hedwig started to think. So she'd be listening to him. That'd make him feel less lonely, right? The owlette shook her head that she didn't mind and started to be comforted by Severus's voice.
"Have you eaten?"
Hedwig cleared her throat and shook her head. It would seem the sudden ability to laugh had left her mouth...well, there was something goopy inside her throat.
"I'll have to get you something to eat then. You're clothes were drenched. Especially down here." Severus lifted up her hair and put it into a bun. The lower neck area was already cold from the water. "When you do that you're supposed to take your clothes off. Didn't anyone ever teach you?"
Hedwig shook her head again.
"Ah, that's right, I'm sorry. You're new at this. You should have told me…somehow. I guess you need to learn from experience. I'll be more thorough in teaching you next time. No…wait…maybe a book."
Something fell over in the other room. Severus's attention was drawn to it, but the girl sneezed. "You need to be in bed. "
He helped the girl under the covers and pulled his hand on her forehead. "I'll help you warm up. Hm, I've not had to care for someone like this in years. I guess I have to be more careful with you."
The sound of something being shifted came from the other room. What was that? Severus got up (He had actually seated himself next to Hedwig) and was about to exit the room, but the girl grabbed his sleeve.
"I'll be back. The best thing to do is rest right now. I'm going to find a few things to help…ah, I suppose I should have asked Madame Pomfrey."
Hedwig shook her head. She didn't want to be somewhere unfamiliar right now.
"You know you're causing me great trouble? I have to sit hear with you." The man was putting up a front. He was lying. "I suppose I have no choice. I'll stay here until you fall asleep."
The girl nodded. She made a motion with her hand like a book and opened her palms.
"You want me to read to you."
Hedwig nodded.
He was hesitant as first, but he surrendered when he saw the hopeful look on the girl's face. "Very well. But I have to see if there's someone to take over my class for today later on. What should I read?"
The raven-haired girl smiled brightly and pulled out a book that had been hidden under the pillow. Severus looked at a serving of tea that had just been poured with a levitation spell and that now rested on a small bureau. Just as he began to talk a sip from the liquid, he read the title.
Muggle Slang
He sputtered his drink and began to choke.
---Dumbledore's Suffering Questions---
How could things have gone so wrong?
It was supposed to be a simple visit for Madame Pomfrey, but…
Dumbledore sat himself down calmly in the Potions Classroom with over 30 pairs of eyes staring at him. The students wondered why the headmaster himself was teaching such a class. Where was Snape?
The old wizard's hands were shaking. Right now, he was seriously troubled. Once of his teachers may be… The headmaster recalled all he had heard in Severus's quarters. After hearing what he heard, he suspected Severus would not be finishing the class, but having a… 'good time'.
"On the floor."
Why would he have her on the floor?
"Don't move."
Why shouldn't she move?
"Would you mind?"
Mind what!
"Have you eaten?"
The meanings 'eaten' can have! Dumbledore's face hit the desk.
"I'll have to get you something to eat then. You're clothes were drenched. Especially down here."
Dumbledore's brain was having an overload. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to read the muggle slang book? Was his own mind perverted? No! Impossible!
"When you do that you're supposed to take your clothes off. Didn't anyone ever teach you?"
Severus had said so many things that couldn't be explained!
"Ah, that's right, I'm sorry. You're new at this. You should have told me…somehow. I guess you need to learn from experience. I'll be more thorough in teaching you next time. No…wait…maybe a book."
Why, Severus? Why?
"You need to be in bed. "
When he and Minerva had seen him with the assistant that night, they were joking about the whole thing. Apparently Severus was serious! The courtyard incident was thought to have been a drunken mistake, but now…was there some deeper meaning behind the alcohol?
"I'll help you warm up. Hm, I've not had to care for someone like this in years. I guess I have to be more careful with you."
Neville and Luna looked at each other when they heard Dumbledore yelp. They watched him as he started to head out the door, but it seemed he stopped. Someone was in the doorway speaking to the old man.
"What's wrong with the professor?" Neville asked Luna.
The girl shrugged. "Hold on for just a moment. I have to put in the right amount of the root…at the right time…"
The whole class was making a potion that needed exact time and precision. It was a rather difficult one. They were learning about the effects of aging and the fountain of youth. As a step closer towards finding an anti-age elixir, they were making their own age eraser. Anything that went wrong in the experiment…could cause…Luna moistened her lips. She didn't want the thing to explode.
A loud cry of happiness was heard outside and Dumbledore shouted, "He's not a pedophile!"
----Minerva's Answer----
After Albus had told her what he had heard, Minerva was in disbelief. The girl was too young wasn't she? What was Severus thinking? Well, it was his business after all, but she was but a child! She had to get to the bottom of this. First she should meet with Severus. Yes.
The woman knocked on the door to Severus's rooms. When there was no answer, she turned to leave, but the door opened.
"Severus-oh." Minerva looked down to see the pale girl. Her cheeks were a bit red. "Oh my! Did I interrupt? I'll come back another time!"
The professor was so embarrassed. She couldn't think of anything to do except leave, but then she heard a cough.
"Oh, you're sick. That explains why you're so red. I assume Severus is taking care of you." The woman gave a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry to bother you, but is Severus in?"
The girl shook her head.
Mcgonagall studied the girl, and pretty soon, she was nose to nose with the girl. "You…you're not…"
The younger of the two blinked.
"Human! You're not human! You used a transfiguration spell! So you're most likely older than you appear!" Minerva clasped her hands together. "That explains why you look so lost all the time. Oh, don't be so surprised I recognize you as an animal. I wouldn't be very good at my profession if I didn't. Though, I'm surprised I didn't realize this sooner."
Severus's young 'squeeze' as the professor liked to say it, seemed to be very impressed.
"Judging by the look of it, you're stuck like this. If you like, I think I can show you how to change back…It'll take time but it could be possible."
The girl's eyes went wide.
Mcgonagall smiled a bit. "Although, I must say that I'm happy that you are keeping him company."
She paused for a moment before continuing on. "Well, how about I have a houseelf get you something to eat?"
To Mcgonagall's surprise, the girl shook her head and pointed inside towards the kitchen. When the woman stuck her head inside, an aroma of something cooking on the stove hit her. Severus was cooking. He wasn't physically there in the room, but their was an enchantment over the pot. This was the new Severus.
As the woman said her goodbyes and walked towards the class where Albus had decided to substitute for she started to think. What was the girl before she became human? Was she a spy? Minerva didn't have the chance to think about this. The Headmaster had just walked out of the class and bumped into her.
"Albus, there's nothing to worry about."
The poor man was still white. "My old bones hope so, Minerva. Tell me you bring good news."
"You have nothing to fear, friend." Minerva smiled. "She's older than she looks."
It wasn't her secret to tell that the girl wasn't human. Minerva had decided this already and just prayed that Albus would catch on.
Dumbledore shouted for joy, "He's not a pedophile!"
Every concoction being made at that moment in the Potions Classroom exploded and caused a black cloud to fill the whole room.
Through the screams of panicked students and soot-filtered air, Dumbledore was laughing, and even if the lives of the students depended on it, no one, except Minerva, could know why.
