Chapter 10

Tonks awoke to a crash which startled her out of her sleep and into position with her wand ready, only to see that the coffee table was broken right through the middle with Snape standing there. Snape had something in a sack which must've been heavy and he was heavily keeping the weight off of one of his legs.

"Wotcher Severus, what happened?" she asked trying to wake her eyes up completely now that the adrenaline was gone.

"None of your concern," he snapped, "Why are you awake?"

It was the same him, even when injured and needing help he was the cruel man who rejected what was offered never letting anyone see the true him.

"You know, I was going to offer to help clean your wounds but I changed my mind." She told him sharply not showing any concern for him anymore.

He swabbed at his lip and looked down to see blood on his fingers.

"I wouldn't let you near me even if you were a medi-witch."

"Go kick a rock." She didn't know why she said it and felt like such a fool for using a comment she would have used when she was still at Hogswart.

"Why, so you can trip over it?" he said back without hesitation.

"You have a wise crack for everything I say, huh?"

"You make it so easy."

"Whatever." She put her wand away, wanting nothing more than to use it on him. "Bleed to death all over the floor for all I care." She grabbed her back off the floor and headed towards the stairs.

"Some of us know how to actually take care of ourselves."

She wanted to retort to give him a rude gesture but reframed from doing so. IT wasn't worth it, and he was in a state that it would be pathetic to even do so.

-

-

The next morning Tonks woke up to the sunshine desperately trying to seep through the closed up tight windows. Why was he so secretative? Looking around he didn't have anything valuable that would be worth taking. Everything was weird.

But then again it was all the things he did; maybe he just didn't want people to know his business. All the things he did, if she was him she'd hide too.

Then again she has liked her home in Muggle territory, maybe he just liked his home too. It was one way to feel safe.

"Home, sweet, sweet home," she sang aloud to herself and stretched her arms, up and over her head. It felt good and she felt very decent.

I better not count my chickens before I squash them, she thought miserably. She changed her clothes and pulled her hair back.

Maybe today was a better day, maybe today she was better, maybe she'd be able to morph. She closed her eyes and willed herself to change her hair back to purple, but all she got was pain rushing through her which threw her right back onto the bed. She covered her head with her arms arched back trying to ease the pain rushing through her.

Why did it hurt so much? Why wasn't it getting better?

Remus, I wish you wouldn't have done it, she thought, I need you so much right now. I need you. Why aren't you here with me? Why did you go away? Why did you say the things that you didn't mean? Why Remus?

Remus.

She closed her eyes tight as a wave of pain pushed through her and screamed. Not long after she passed out.

-

-

She awoke to the smell of eggs and toast which made her stomach grumble. She was still in bed but must've figured that he heard her scream or had made her breakfast out of the goodness of his heart; whatever was there because there was surely wasn't a heart there.

She ate the breakfast, ate it all and went downstairs quietly to see Snape lying asleep on the couch. She stopped halfway down the steps, leaned on the rail with her elbows and watched him.

Like a child curious about a teacher she didn't think he first of all has a home nor did he sleep so just seeing him there on the couch proved that her false accusation was something like that providing that there was no curiosity.

He lay on his side, cheek pushed into the arm of the couch with his mouth closed and his eyes closed; not like those people who have an eye cracked open, or their mouths hanging open.

He looked peaceful and he had pajamas on. She was shocked about that, but just smiled. Something had to make her day and that just did it.

Tonks headed down the steps and stubbed her toe on the turn of the rail and held in the curse as she made her way over to the armchair and sat down just wanting to go to sleep again.

"How the hell can I be so tired?" she said a loud, "I must be a cat now." She lay against the back of the chair sideways so that her legs were hanging off, except that her bad leg had more support on the arm. The bandage needed to be changed again but she found that she couldn't wake him. He did so much for her already; she hated to ask for more.

"I'll just nap again," she whispered, "Probably will do that the whole time I'm here if he keeps making those," she let out a yawn, "potions."

She curled up as best as she could on the chair without bothering her cheek or leg and fell into a comfortable stupor.

-

-

Dream:

Tonks was walking along the street when she heard a howl and saw a shadowed figure block her view. The howl cried again but the shadow wouldn't move and wouldn't let her go. It pushed her down and held her there as tight as it could which she could still feel when her eyes popped open.

End dream.

She felt the tight grip like it was still holding her down disappear and she moved her arms and legs to come into a sitting position. She looked over to where Snape was and saw that he was sitting up with his head in his hands.

"You okay?" she asked.

He sat up, "Not the best part to wake up with you screaming or struggling."

"Even then you're not looking like a ray of sunshine. Your eyes are dry and a blood vessel popped in your right one. And did you sleep down here? Why would you sleep on the couch when you have a bed upstairs?"

"Why are you curled up on the chair when there is a room set up for you upstairs? You can scream up there again."

"Too much pain," she said, then smiled feeling sweat drip down from her hair, she said, "Maybe I was lonely upstairs or I wanted to make sure you were okay or maybe I wanted to thank you for breakfast at," she scanned the room for a clock and saw an old grandfather clock that read six thirty-nine.

"Why so early?" she asked, "What human being gets up this early when they don't have to go to work?"

"Your excuating pain and that you haven't eaten at all since yesterday."

"Thank you." She pulled the words out from deep within her positivity. It was a very nice gesture from someone like him.

She messed with the lever of the chair which wouldn't budge and gave a crack and she flew back. She pulled but it it wouldn't go back all the way and only remained halfway up. She sat forward and looked at him from under her eyelashes as if she was in trouble.

"Why don't you just break it while you're at it," he said like usual, sarcastic and underlying.

"I was only trying to move it back, to recline."

"Like that caldron that caught fire, that portrait in the hall on the fourth floor, Lilliana Sulvero's robe, everything is just an accident with you."

"Hmph," she huffed, then mumbled, "People are only supposed to remember the good things about people and besides I did that on purpose and made it look like an accident."

"Mm," he stood up.

"Wait, I have to ask you something," she said.

"What?" he asked. He perched himself on the arm of the couch close to her, She sat up straight and said, "what was that concoction that you gave me?"

"My own secret," he said and went off, up the stiar and out of sight leaving her to keep up with the fact that he might be in fact be poisoning her after all.

Whatever it was it made her feel numb and very very nauseous. She curled up in on herself as she heard the shower start up.

She suddenly sat up with her face between her legs but ti didn't work. Vomit rushed through her and she rushed out of the room but tripped on the divider doorway and fell into a heap on the floor and threw up right there all over the floor.

Her breathing became harsh and she threw up the rest of breakfast and with nothing else to throw up she laid down on the floor trying to control her breathing, ignoring the bad taste in her mouth. She felt wiped out and couldn't even move if she tried. She heard the water turn off but she didn't hear anything else because fatigue took over and she knocked out right on the floor.

-

-

She woke to Snape standing over her and knew that she had only dozed for a short time. She sat up hanging her elbows off her kneews and her head hanging down. She said, "I'm always finding ways to keep you on your toes, maybe tomorrow I'll make my own breakfast."

"I won't have a home anymore by the end of the week." He knelt down to look at her.

"What?" she asked. She laid back down with a pounding headache finding comfort in the cold floor tiles against her cheek.

"When are you going to get off the floor?" he asked.

"When I gather enough energy to clean up the mess I made."

"Just-"

"Put me out of my misery, just forget about everything else and put me down now. That way you don't have to worry about me."

"You're not a dog," he said.

She would've laughed if it wasn't under this circumstance, but it was so she couldn't. Plus he didn't take it as a joke so laughing would just make everything more the awkward.

"I know so if you will, I will clean up and disappear out of your sight."

She laid there still trying to find the energy but it just wasn't coming to her.

"Are you going to move?" he asked. He still stood there knelt on the ground looking down at her.

"No," she cried, tears running down her face. She felt cold shivers, her head throbbed and her body felt sore with pain, especially in her leg.

She blamed everything on her aunt and her dark magic. That one stupid spell caused so many problems in her life as well as the rest of her death eaters. Because of them her life spiraled out of control and she was reduced to a pile of gunk on Snape's kitchen floor. If anyone was to ever know she didn't know how she'd handle it or him for that matter.

"You can now see just how weak I am. I guess whatever you thought before; you can now see it for yourself." She cried. Her eyes started to sting so she closed them and the tears continued to fall. They made her eyes sting even more.

How she wished she was a dog that he could put down.

He chuckled which made her blood boil. She hated being weak in his eyes and having admitted so. She knew that he didn't like her at Hogswart and now she didn't know what. She needed to just get through this and get back to her normal life.

She felt herself being hoisted off the floor and she put her arms around his neck. She didn't want to be dropped and knew that with her luck she could possibly fall. But at least she knew one thing that she wasn't heavy because he carried her before without a grunt or complain.

He carried her upstairs and she felt herself being laid down in bed and the blanket be pulled up to her shoulders. He took a seat at the end of the bed.

"I am going to get Bellatrix Lestrange and make her pay for everything she has put me through. Even in Azkaban she will get what is coming to her. This is not the last she has had to deal with me. I don't care if she is family.

"Now you see who has the dark side?" He pointed out eh flaw that she accused of him not too long ago.

"I don't care," she spit, "I can't take this anymore."

"Don't blame others for some faults you are having of your own," he contradicted matter-of-factly.

He always had something to say.

"Shut up," she mumbled turning over.

He stood up and left the room closing the door with a soft click.

She hated everyone at the moment. While everyone was getting on with their lives and work, enjoying the horrible weathered summer she was stuck under the mercy of Severus Snape. She didn't like the guy then, she didn't like him when she was first conducted into the Order of the Phoenix and she didn't like him last month. She didn't like him now, and even though they had a deal and he was pulling out on his behalf she hated that even with her hate toward the man she had a curiosity about him that made her see that there was more than met the eye.

She turned over again facing the door and tried to find a comfortable position that wouldn't put any weight or discomfort on her bad foot. She ended up lying on her stomach, her leg bent out to the side half way hanging off the bed where she found the least bit of comfort and managed to relax. She knew the medi-witches said it wouldn't be easy, they just said it would heal up and pass. But how long and what was going to be the turning point before she healed completely?