Then she frowned. Had that been a knock on the door? It was well past midnight.

Another barely audible knock and Pomfrey came into view, night cap askew. She saw McGonagall holding Snape and raised her eyebrows as if to say, is everything all right?

McGonagall jerked her head towards the door.

Pomfrey opened it and beheld Harry, Ron and Hermione who were standing there with Dumbledore; the Headmaster looked like he'd quickly thrown an emerald green bathrobe over his star-strewn nightgown.

"Albus! What on earth is going on?" Pomfrey whispered.

"Harry has something very important for Professor Snape," Dumbledore said, indicating the small cauldron Harry was holding. Golden fumes were emanating from the sparkling potion it contained.

"It's a cure," Hermione said. She glanced at McGonagall who was staring at them and looking not at all pleased. "For the professor's injuries."

Pomfrey's eyes met Dumbledore's. He nodded.

"Come in, then," she said.

McGonagall still had her arms protectively wrapped around Snape. He seemed to have gone back to sleep. "Albus, what is going on?" she murmured.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione have been working all night to solve the mystery of Severus's illness. I have no doubts that the potion they've brewed will counteract Voldemort's curse permanently."

"Actually, Harry's brewed the potion," Ron said.

"And he has to give it to Professor Snape for it to work," Hermione said.

"But Hermione's the one who found the recipe," Harry said.

McGonagall studied them carefully. "I am afraid to ask if you three have ventured in the Forbidden Section of the library again."

The Gryffindors swallowed in unison.

"It was for a good cause," Dumbledore said. "I am sure it won't be necessary to deduct any house points, Minerva."

"Albus, are you sure about this?" McGonagall said.

"It couldn't possibly hurt to try."

She sniffed. "I suppose we're running out of options."

She very gently lowered Snape upon the bed and supported his neck and shoulders so he would be able to drink the potion. "Well, go on, Mister Potter. Let's see if this will work," she said, her voice stiff.

They poured the potion in a glass and Harry brought it to Snape's lips.

"Professor... Please drink this," he said, but the Potions Master didn't open his eyes.

"Severus," McGonagall said, "wake up, dear. We have some medicine for you and you need to drink it."

Snape mumbled and his eyelids fluttered, but he didn't seem quite awake.

"Please, drink this," Harry said, tipping the glass. "You have to drink it all, sir..."

A few gulps, and the glass was empty.

"There," McGonagall said, wiping the corner of Snape's mouth. "I hope that-"

Snape's eyes suddenly flew open, he took a deep breath and screamed.

Harry dropped the glass and it smashed against the floor; the color drained from Hermione's face.

"Severus!" McGonagall said.

Dumbledore had whiped out his wand but Snape blacked out and they heard a series of sharp snaps and pops.

"Look!" Pomfrey said.

His hands were twitching violently, and then his entire body, as bones and joints repaired themselves and became straight again.

"I think it... it's working," Hermione said, unable to stop herself from crying.

A moment later, and Snape was still. Another few seconds and everyone present started breathing again.

"Let me check if he's all right," Pomfrey said.

She took one of his hands and slowly undid the bandages, her own hands shaking.

"Careful-" McGonagall said, feeling as though her insides had liquefied.

Then they saw that his long fingers were as graceful as before, though his skin was reddened. His hands were completely restored, his wrists as slender as they remembered.

"It worked," Harry said.

McGonagall rose and hid her face against Dumbledore's chest.

Pomfrey lifted the blanket off his legs."Let me see if-"

His knees and ankles were back to their normal size as well, just a bit red and bruised.

"It appears you were right as usual, Hermione," Dumbledore said.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks. "It was Harry who -who cured him, s- sir."

Harry hugged her, joined by Ron.

"Well, children, you'd best go to bed now," Dumbledore said. "Tomorrow will be a holiday for everyone. And no studying for exams."

"Yes, sir!" Ron said.

"Sir, do you think Professor Snape will remember what happened just now?" Harry said.

"I don't think so, Mister Potter," McGonagall answered, getting herself back under control. "He was hardly awake. But of course we'll tell-"

"I'd rather he not know I had to give him the potion," Harry said. "Tell him that it was you, Professor McGonagall. I think it'd be better that way. For Professor Snape, I mean."

She thought about it for a moment. "You realize that there's a possibility he'll remember something, Mister Potter."

"But if you say it was you, then he'll think it was a dream or something," Harry said.

"Very well. I'll see what I can do," McGonagall said.

"What he needs most of all now is rest," Pomfrey said. "So do we, I daresay."

"He's... He'll be all right?" Hermione said.

Pomfrey felt his pulse and touched his face. "Good, good..." She ran her wand over him to make sure everything was in order. "Apart from a shock to the system, he's as good as new. He'll probably be sore when he wakes up, but since your potion worked, I'm positive I'll be able to give him something now."

"I'll stay with him," McGonagall said.

"And I'll be back first thing in the morning," Dumbledore said.

[_]

At around eight o'clock, McGonagall jumped off the bed and transfigured back to her normal state again. Snape was showing signs of waking up and she sat by his side, scrutinizing his pale face for any hint of pain.

Pomfrey entered the room; it had been a while since she'd looked so rested. "Did he wake at all during the night?" she asked McGonagall.

"No, but I think he's about to."

No sooner had she said so than he grunted and stirred. "Ugh..."

"Severus," McGonagall said. "Are you hurting?"

"I'm... I'm sore as hell," he said thickly. He winced. "Ow!"

Pomfrey uncorked a vial. "Take this, professor."

"But... potions don't work anymore," he said.

"We got that problem fixed last night. Don't you remember? Here, open up, Severus," Pomfrey said.

He gazed at the purple liquid with nostalgic longing and did not question her. To his surprise, he was almost immediately filled with an intoxicating sense of well-being. Relief flowed through his body and the pain vanished.

"Oh. Oooh..."

McGonagall smiled as she watched the tension melt off his features. "Better, dear?"

"I haven't felt this wonderful since the Respitere Beatificus," he said, basking in the wave of comfort that had washed over him. "But why-" Then he tried moving his fingers and flinched a little.

"I wouldn't do that. Not just yet, they're bound to be sensitive for a couple of days," Pomfrey said.

He looked at her. "You say that like I'll be able to use them again soon." His gaze fell on McGonagall. "What's going on?"

Very gently, she took one of his hands from underneath the folded sheet. "We found the cure for the curses that ailed you."

She lifted his hand from his chest, and he hissed softly.

"I'm sorry, Severus," McGonagall said. "As Poppy said, they're going to be tender, but not for long. Look."

He stared down at it.

The memory of how his hands had been broken by the Dark Lord would probably haunt him for the rest of his life. Until yesterday, although concealed by bandages, they'd lain like gauze covered hooks upon his breast, and the thought of seeing them exposed had made him tremble.

Yet, looking at them now, the idea of preparing potions again no longer seemed impossible.

"How..."

An image flashed across his mind, hazy and confused: a golden potion that had tasted like honey and marigolds, then pain almost like that he'd felt when Voldemort had cursed him over and over.

"We found the cure," Dumbledore said, entering the room and approaching the bed. "It reversed all of the effects of the Dark Lord's curses."

The Potions Master was dumbstruck. Then he said, in a slightly quavering voice, "I'm... I'm going to be... all right?"