The first thing that Severus became aware of was that his hand was being held which was odd if he did say. He kept his eyes closed and mentally assessed himself. The glamour was still up and running, that was nice. He was not in any physical pain except for the aching in his lungs from having inhaled something that was probably not too good for him. Now why…? Oh, that was right! Someone thought it was a good thing to release a poison among his Slytherins. Being the teacher that he was, he had to go inside and make sure that there was no other in the dorms lest they die. Then—

Severus bit the inside of his cheek to stop from alerting the person holding his hand that was awake. That damn Hatake had seen him without his damn glamour! Shit, how could he allow such a thing to happen? No, he would not delve on what could have been done differently because there was nothing he could have done and, honestly, there wasn't much he could do now. He wasn't sure how much stronger Hatake had gotten but he was sure that he couldn't just erase the man's mind and expect it to work. Hatake wasn't and never had been a fool. In fact, he wouldn't be surprise if the gray haired shinobi had already written down everything or had simply told another person.

Severus sighed mentally; he was trapped now by one Kakashi Hatake. Maybe he was getting soft because there would have been a cold day in Hell when he was caught by not one but two men that backed him into a corner. First the Uchiha brat had backed him into a corner with his almost-pleading but he had chosen to talk to him—even if he had very little choice unless he wanted to end up in the situation he now had with Hatake

"Harry, come on, you can't sit here forever…" It seemed as though Granger was in the room although he was not too shocked. Where Potter went, his two cohorts were usually close by although he had to question Poppy's… wisdom in allowing Potter inside of his room. He felt the tanned Gryffindor shift, his fingers curling tighter around his hand as though someone was going to step from the walls and steal him away at any moment.

"Potter, I hate to agree with Granger but she is right. You have been here since the Incident and you aren't eating—what good is the Boy-Who-Lived if he's dead?" Draco was probably sneering. That made three teenagers in his room.

"Boy-Who-Lived, what did you live from?" Four teenagers now that he realized that the Uzumaki was also in his room. Where the Hell was Poppy and why was she allowing so many people to his sickbed?

"Naruto, didn't you read the mission!? Or did you just accept whatever Lady Tsunade handed you?" Severus almost choked on his spit—the pink haired Ravenclaw was there too!? Perhaps Severus wasn't really in the infirmary but lying on a table in the Great Hall. It would surely explain the breach of his recovery privacy.

"Can the dobe even read?" Severus was not even surprise that the Uchiha was within the gang of teenagers. He wouldn't be surprised if Tom Riddle was sitting amongst them too, sipping tea from a small teacup with a kitten doily for effect.

"Hey, don't be such a bastard, teme!" Naruto shouted loud enough that if Severus hadn't been awake already, he surely would have been then. Does the boy know nothing about the healing process or simply to not shout when indoors?

"Please, lower your voice Naruto!" Hermione scolded, probably making several hand gestures for emphasis. "Madam Pomfrey doesn't know we're in here and if she finds out, she'll be most upset."

"You're worried about Madam Pomfrey being upset?" Severus could imagine Draco's face twisting into an incredulous sneer. "I'd be more worried about Professor Snape being awakened before he wants to. It would be like smacking a Horntail on the nose."

"Have you experience with this?" That sounded like Harry but his voice was rather hoarse sounding probably from the lack of water and nutrients. The boy was a fool for doing that to himself although it did bring the question as to how long he had been unconscious. The poison had not been very powerful but Severus had been within its grasp for much longer than his students and he had not gone inside with an antidote.

"When I was around nine years old, he was staying at our manor and I just wanted to wake him up for gifts…" Draco started. Severus remembered quite firmly this day and quite fondly too. It was when he had finally come to terms with the decisions that were made for him. He was finally used to this world and its customs.

"What time was it?" Uchiha asked curiously. The hand holding Severus' shifted until blunt fingers were simply tracing over his palm idly.

"It might have been around four am…" That was a lie. It was exactly three fifteen am.

"You stormed into Severus' room at four am!?" Potter yelped, his hand latching again on his wrist.

"Man, even I wouldn't do that. It's just wrong to wake up before eleven," Uzumaki huffed, probably pouting.

"I was only nine!" Draco insisted, "Anyway, I threw open the door and, with a bit of accidental magic, I apparated on top of him. That room still has scorch marks and he nearly burned my precious skin. Can you imagine the scars that would have given me? Since then Father has banned me from my godfather's room until I learned defensive shields." Severus scoffed at the very idea that a simple shield would hinder him. Besides, he had heard the brat stomping down the halls, squealing away. He simply wanted to scare him into never barging into a door unprepared for the consequences ever again.

"While all that's good and all, is somebody gonna tell me about this whole 'boy who lived'?" Uzumaki cut in, sounding quite impatient. Two sighs, probably from Haruno and Granger, echoed in the room.

"You do know about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, correct?" Granger huffed. Yes, the Know-It-All hated when someone didn't know something which was odd. Granger loved to shine with all of her knowledge and if everyone was as smart, she wouldn't be very special any longer as Severus told her multiple times when she got on his nerves long enough.

"Of course I do! He's the guy that we're protecting the school from. Lord Voldemort," Uzumaki huffed as if offended that his stupidity was being questioned.

"You aren't supposed to say his name, idiot," Uchiha sighed loudly from the wall he was probably leaning on. 'Isn't any room to sit down is there?' Severus thought bitterly. He would have a talk with Pomfrey as soon as he 'woke up' about putting up greater alarms.

"It's just a name, nothing to be afraid of but come on, continue," Uzumaki urged, obviously resisting the urge to argue. Severus mentally rolled his eyes but didn't pretend to awaken. At first it was just about finding out who was in the room but now he just didn't feel like it.

"Naruto…" Haruno growled warningly, "The gist of the story is that he's a madman obsessed with 'blood purity'. A Prophecy was revealed to him that stated, in the terms that this Dark Lord interpreted, that Harry Potter would be his downfall. He went into the Potter's home and killed both of his parents before attempted to kill little Harry. His Killing Curse rebounded off of baby Potter and killed him thus making Potter the 'Boy Who Lived'."

(**)

"I never had my life summed up that easily," Harry said dryly, playing with the long, potion stained fingers. He didn't want to feel angry, he really didn't but that was his life that she was talking about. It was his life and it was almost as though he wasn't even in the room. It was like he was nothing more than a character in a stupid book but he wasn't. He was more than a book. His history up to this point could not be summed up in four simple sentences said in a clipped tone. But what really made him angry is that this wasn't the first time. People talked about him, his life, his history over and over, passing down the story like a pamphlet.

"It seems that two Know-It-Alls can't rub an emotional brain cell together," Malfoy sneered nastily. Harry turned is head, mouth opened wide to stare at the blond, quite shocked that the Slytherin had opened his mouth and say anything that sounded as if he were defending Harry. Hell, the blond didn't even say anything nice when he saved his skinny arse from Bellatrix.

"What did you say?" Sakura hissed, her eyes narrowing and her temper flaring. She balled her hands into fists, beginning to crack her knuckles. Malfoy raised a brow and stood from his chair, wand suddenly in his hand although he didn't raise it up in a disrespectful show of arrogance.

"Do you really fancy your chances against me Haruno? I am not sure what you know of any of us but I must tell you that I never lose to any man," Draco taunted lightly, eyes tracing over her lack of breast and slight abundance of muscle. A hot flush rose in the girl's face and even hotter anger burned through her.

"Why you skinny little twig, I'll snap your neck in half!" Sakura shouted, slamming her fist down on the nightstand beside the sick bed. It caved in, wood splintering everywhere. Draco did not back down despite her remarkable show of strength, instead he raised his wand and spread his legs to steady his gait as his godfather had showed him multiple times. Sakura tore off her school robes to make sure they wouldn't get in the way and got prepared to rearrange the blonde's teeth.

"What is going on in here!?" the door slammed open to reveal an incensed Madam Pomfrey. Already spotted, the shinobi didn't bother blending into the shadows and 'disappearing' while the wizards didn't bother ducking under the Invisibility Cloak or taking a temporary camouflage potion thus also 'disappearing into thin air'.

"I thought I told you lot that no one was to disturb Professor Snape!?" Pomfrey roared, her wand coming out. The group of teenagers flinched under the anger of the pissed medic-witch despite the fact that they knew the stern nurse wouldn't actually cause them any physical harm or simply wasn't skilled enough to do it in some cases.

"Your screaming is going to awaken the dead, woman," a deep voice rasped. Whatever anger Pomfrey was going to bring down on a certain group's head was immediately tossed to the side as she realized that her patient was awake and kicking. Before she could reach the stirring man, said man found himself with an armful of Gryffindor Golden Boy. Harry's strong arms wrapped tightly around the man's narrow shoulders in a tight hug that took away the Potions Master's breath. Severus allowed the contact although his nose curled in disgust as he took in the scent of the dirty teenager. Merlin, the boy reeked of unwashed skin and depression!

"Mr. Potter, I thank you to release my patient before you break him!" Poppy barked, rapping the boy on the back of his head multiple times. Harry pouted but did release his hold, sitting back in his chair and latching onto the pale hand of his Professor once more. He wouldn't be driven from the room as his facial expression said although Poppy didn't even try due to her attention focusing on the once poisoned DADA teacher.

"I am not made of glass. I have, in fact, been told on numerous occasions that I am as tough as the Headmaster insane," Severus corrected snottily although he didn't protest the waving wand and the probing hands. Pomfrey muttered under her breath about various things that he heard her say every now and again

"Now that is not a nice thing to say, Severus," a good natured voice stated. Severus didn't have to turn to identify the all too familiar voice of the Headmaster. Pomfrey finished her analysis although she gave him a reproaching gaze that told him, quite firmly, to eat more than he currently did.

"How long was I unconscious?" Severus asked everyone in general as he shifted into a more comfortable position, folding his legs.

"Only three days," Draco answered first, settling on the end of his bed. Severus gave him a disbelieving look—where was the 'only' in three days of sleeping!? Never had a poison affected his body like that. In fact, Severus could withstand some of the most powerful poisons in all the worlds having digested them over a long course of time.

"Well, it's impressive because most of the people that stayed in there not even half as long but had help from Sakura are still knocked out," Naruto nodded thoughtfully. He truly was impressed by the Magic User that was probably an Uchiha.

"Did anyone analyze the poison or capture the culprit?" Severus sighed. He would not delve on the subject or the possible mess his classes would be with only the purple haired shinobi as a teacher. He only hoped that they had someone not a complete idiot working with her.

"Professor Slughorn assured us that it was a weakening poison meant to drain magic and energy until the point of coma or death. Without the help of Miss Haruno, a lot of students would have died from it. That will be fifty points to Ravenclaw," Headmaster complimented the kunoichi subtly. Sakura blushed gently at the praise and quietly pulled her school robes back on.

"Now that you remind me, Headmaster, that will be fifteen points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Thirty from Ravenclaw," Severus stated maliciously, a smirk coming to his lips even as Albus frowned disapprovingly and noises of protest were made.

"Why are you taking away points from our Houses!?" Naruto demanded, stomping his foot. He knew that the points had no real matter in his life but his fellow students had told him about the House points and it was a fun game to play. He wasn't sure which House he was truly trying to help win but the black haired wizard had just taken points from both his Houses.

"For disturbing my healing process with your incessant chattering and yelling," Severus shrugged, his facial expression or lack thereof told Naruto that he didn't give a flying kunai about his feelings or his goal to win.

"Why more from Ravenclaw?" Sasuke tilted his head curiously. It didn't make sense to single out any House.

"For destroying that pile of wood that I am sure was once a nightstand," Severus smirked at the pink haired girl. Sakura felt her face turn a brighter red and she only wished that she could hit the man for being such a mean bastard but that wouldn't be right. He was in a position of respect and he was a simple Magic User. The advantage she had over him was great.

"Severus, when you are well enough, I would like to speak with you in my office. It is more about the attack on the Slytherin dorms," Dumbledore stated gently, taking his leave from the private infirmary room. Severus nodded to the back of the Headmaster's head and turned back to the teenagers that were staring at him with large eyes expect for the youngest Weasley who was scanning the room carefully.

"Do you not have classes today or is your time so free that you feel the need to wait for me to spontaneously combust?" Snape snapped out, a hot glare directing at all seven youngsters although the redhead was already standing and going for the door, getting his point. The rest were not as smart or simply didn't think him capable of doing something to enforce his words.

"Get. Out. Go to class, take a nap, kill a dog, I do not care. Just leave," Severus finally growled. When none of them made a move to leave, Severus summoned his wand from the pile of destroyed dresser and began to spout out hexes that would make their great grandchildren feel them. Immediately the room was emptied out in a show of yelps and curses that were not of the spell type until all that remained were a sneering Snape and Potter who had yet to release his hold on his free hand. Severus turned his head; mouth opened to say something poisonous but was stopped at the tears that were flowing down the boy's face.

"I was worried," Harry whispered so light that Severus had to strain to hear him. With a sigh, Severus opened his arms and allowed the younger wizard to latch onto him. This time Harry did not hold back, he squeezed him as hard as he could and buried his face within the unwashed locks that rested on Severus' head.

"I thought you were going to die when they told me that you wouldn't wake up. When I got here from searching the castle for invaders, Dumbledore was stopping Sakura from touching you and Pomfrey—I never seen her so scared and unsure. There was a long line of Slytherins on the beds too—still are but I didn't care about them. It was you that I was scared for. I know you went into that dorm much longer than everyone and you searched everywhere because you care about your students and wouldn't want to lose one but… Merlin, I was so scared," Harry murmured into his hair.

Harry didn't know what he would have done had he lost Snape. To not be able to hear the man make one snappish comment from another, to taunt and rile up others and even Harry… it sounded like Hell. Throughout the years of magic and insanity, through blood and death, there had always been one constant in Harry's life and that was Severus Snape.

He loved the man and not that teenager 'puppy' love but real love. He thought he was going to die as he waited desperately for Severus to open his eyes or show some sign that he was alive inside his body. Poppy was sure that he would either not ever awaken or, if he did, he would be mentally handicapped after taking so much of the poison within his system.

Harry had not been sure which would be worse but any future where Severus wasn't in his arms was a bad one in Harry's mind. Of course, he could now put that to rest and allow himself to bask within the heat the Severus' thin body gave off. He felt the older man sigh into his chest before shifting around and pulling himself up.

"Potter, I am perfectly fine. Nothing will happen to me so you need not worry. However, I must tell you something Harry," the former Potions Professor stated. Harry released his hold of the man, sure that he wouldn't disappear although he still kept his eyes on him in case he started to waver or show any signs of sickness.

"What is it? Do you need water? Would you like me to get you some robes or some food? You should eat something. Do you want to start working on a cure for the other Slytherins that stayed in too long or do you think—?" Harry's ramblings were cut off by a finger on his lips.

"While all that sounds excellent, something more important has to be said," Severus sighed and took a deep breath as though he were going to say a horrible secret, "You smell horribly and are in desperate need of a bath."

Harry pouted.

(**)

Somewhere, walking the grounds of Hogwarts, Kakashi and Iruka searched the perimeter stronger than they ever done. They had captured the culprit to the poisoned Slytherin dorms but they both knew that someone else had been in charge, someone that was after something although they could not decide what it was. So they searched for any sign of the real puppet master.

"Kakashi, there has been something bothering me," Iruka suddenly started as they turned back around and headed to the castle. There rounds were nearing to an end and they had to report to the Order members that were going to take over. If they weren't there on time then it would be assumed that they were either kidnapped or place under a mind altering spell and thus were not safe. So it was best to be there on time and not have to deal with the lengthy consequence of being late. Kakashi looked up from his book and to the teacher he was vaguely aware of as being the man who constantly attempted to intervene with his teaching methods.

"Yo," he stated as a sign that he was actually listening. The chocolate hair shinobi stopped walking, grabbing the slightly older to force him to a standstill. Kakashi lowered his book completely, knowing that this was one of the times where he was expected to not be a complete asshole especially if he didn't want to have his life made a living Hell by the definitely weaker sensei. Somehow he was aware that Iruka was a complete thorn in someone's side when he put his mind to it.

"You believe that Severus Snape is Uchiha Seiji and yet I have never heard of an Uchiha Seiji. It does not make sense but you are so sure… who was Seiji towards you?" Iruka inquired in a tone that spoke of such curiosity, Kakashi wouldn't have been surprised if the man suddenly turned into a cat. Kakashi observed the other man silently then let out a sigh. Even after the incident, he had always thought about Seiji, the boy had always been in the back of his mind as he made ever choice, as he faced every challenge. He had always hoped that one day he would put to rest what happened to that powerful little boy and now he has found him but no one seemed to understand why this is so important. Why it is so baffling… Kakashi needed someone to see things his way.

"He was… is the oldest son of Uchiha Fugaku and probably the most powerful Uchiha to ever come to that family," Kakashi started the tale.

(**)

TBC