Severus stood at the gates of Malfor Manor, waiting for Lucius to answer the door. He was worried sick about Harry's condition. Poppy could hardly keep him awake for more than ten minutes, and all the Strengthening Solutions and Pepper-Ups had proved futile so far. In the end, they had concluded that it had been caused by the mysterious curse Voldemort had struck him with during his kidnapping.

Severus hoped that Lucius would be able to shed some light on Harry's condition. "Ah, Severus, my fellow Death-Eater, have you been well?" Came the drawling voice of the senior Malfoy, jolting Severus out of his reverie. "Come in, come in."

"Tell me, how is that dratted boy?" Lucius asked when they were seated comfortably in the living room.

Severus did not need to question further to know who the boy in question was. "He's extremely weak, and the old muggle-lover's very worried. He suspects it is because of the mysterious curse our Lord hit him with," Severus said silkily, keeping his face impassive.

"Aha, that curse. At least I can credit the fool with some brains. That curse is the great invention of our Lord," Lucius paused reverently. Severus had to struggle to contain his excitement. "It is designed to work two weeks after it has been cast, making the victim grow steadily weaker and weaker. All his systems with shut down in time, and he will die a slow and painful death." Lucius sneered.

"Is there an antidote to it? Or the old man will be able to reverse the effects..."

"That, we do not know. But our mighty Lord has already planned for that! Here comes the second part of the curse. Even if the victim regains his strength, he is forced to relive his worst memories, causing him to go into shock..." Lucius concluded, his maniacal laughter echoing around the room. "Now the Boy-Who-Lived will be destroyed!"

Severus sat there in horror, forcing laugh out. He had to find the antidote, fast.

"What do we do now?" Poppy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She wrung her hands together as she looked down on the prone figure of the boy. His face was waxy and pale, his papery skin looked as though it had been stretched across his cheekbones. Severus had just notified Albus and Poppy of Lucius' words, and was now working on an antidote for Harry, on top of the antidote for the Anhordenes.

"I don't know, Poppy," Dumbledore looked as old as his age, the ever-present twinkle in his eyes now absent. The wrinkles on his face looked even more pronounced.

Poppy had been waking Harry up at least thrice a day to ensure that his systems were still working. They were just dreading the day that he would not respond to the potions.

Ron and Hermione kept silent vigil by Harry's bedside whenever they could. Hermione's eyes were frequently swollen and bloodshot, from crying and from the lack of sleep. Ron was not much better, a constant worried frown on his face.

Harry had been sleeping for three days now, without a visible sign of improvement. With Severus' news, it simply worsened the situation.

Suddenly, Poppy cried out as a bubble around Harry glowed a fiery red. "Oh no, he's slipping into a coma!" She scrambled to check his vital signs as Albus grabbed Harry's hand. His hand was cold and limp.

"His condition is serious. I guess ... he could l-last another two days..." Poppy sobbed, tears running mercilessly down her face, leaving salty trails. "You'd better call Severus, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger," she said haltingly.

"Harry!" Severus' face was pale as he ran to the boy's bedside. "Harry, I need to you hang on, okay? Promise me. I'll be here for you, I'll protect you, Harry. Remember my promise, I won't break it." His eyes were brimming with tears.

"Severus," Albus put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. Severus nodded. Reluctantly, he left Harry's bedside to finish the antidote. He was on the verge of finding one. As much as he wanted to stay with Harry, he knew he had to work on the antidote.

"Ms Granger, could you help me lean Mr Potter's head as far back as you can, I need to insert a catheter. He is currently incapable of eating." Poppy commanded, trying to keep her head. Hermione nodded, her heart breaking at her best friend relying on a catheter. Ron just stared, not wanting to aggravate the situation by asking what a catheter was.

As Poppy inserted the tube, Harry gagged, a soft groan escaping his lips. At the sight of her friend in pain, Hermione had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying. Even Poppy's hand was shaking slightly as she inserted the tube, trying hard not to cause Harry further pain.

Severus' hand was trembling as he stirred the potion he was working on. This had better work, he thought vehemently, stirring faster and adding a few dragon scales. He hoped he was on time. He couldn't lose Harry, he couldn't. "Harry, hang on." he whispered. A single tear made its way down his cheek.

The smoke curling up from the cauldron was purple. He just needed to make it a shade lighter. Biting his lip nervously, he added some chopped roots, crossing his fingers it would work. The smoke turned from purple to yellow, then to lilac. Yes, he got it. He had the antidote! Severus could have jumped for joy. Pouring some into a vial, he corked it and ran up to the Hospital Wing, startling everyone as he burst in.

Harry was the palest he had ever seen, the slight rise and fall of his chest being the only hint of him being alive. Hermione was rubbing Harry's fingers, as though trying to keep them warm.

"Hurry, Severus," Poppy whispered. "He can't hold on much longer... I'll have to insert a breathing tube soon..." Severus stared at her grave face. It was bad. He hadn't expected the curse to work that fast. This meant that his systems were shutting down already, soon his lungs would deflate, and he wouldn't be able to breathe, and...

"Severus!" she called in a harsh whisper, jolting him out of his thoughts. Hurrying over, he propped Harry up, bracing his limp back with his hand.

"Remove the catheter," he ordered. "I need him to swallow this." Poppy gently yanked the catheter. With a few twists, the catheter was out. Rushing for time, Severus poured the potion bit by bit into Harry's mouth which he had forced open. He had to massage the boy's throat to get him to swallow. It took a fair bit of time for the entire dosage to go down Harry's throat, but when it did, everyone stepped back in anticipation.

The atmosphere was so thick, so tense, only the sound of harsh breathing could be heard.

"His fingers, look, his fingers, they... they are moving," Hermione said suddenly, albeit a little suddenly. All their eyes were drawn to Harry's right hand. It was twitching, just slightly. It bore a glimmer of hope in all their hearts.

Harry's breathing grew ragged and shallow. It was loud and his head shook from side to side, as though scrambling for air. Severus grabbed his hand, trying to give him support. "Come on Harry, stay with us, open your eyes," he urged. There was a slight pressure on Severus' hand as Harry squeezed it. Severus looked down in disbelief, before looking up into Harry's face again.

His eyelids flickered. He blinked, and blinked again, trying to clear his vision.

"Sev," he croaked.

"Oh thank God!" Severus sighed in relief. The other occupants in the room also smiled in relief.

Hermione and Ron rushed forward, hugging Harry in turn, relieved that they hadn't lost their best friend.

"Oh Harry, I love you! Don't do that ever again!" Severus cried, tears running freely down his face. This was the first time he had ever shown such raw emotions in public.

"I love you too, Sev," Harry smiled wanly, opening his arms for a hug. Severus embraced him tightly.

A/N: Okay, I rushed this chapter out for you, so you better review! But I'm sorry, the next chapter will really take a while to come up.