Severus awoke the next morning to the alarms on his chamber doors being breached. He sat up, struggling against the weight of his blankets, his mind a fuddled, cloudy mess.

Severus!

Wha?

Oh thank goodness. Umbridge is trying to get into your quarters.

Why?

Because you didn't arrive for breakfast.

Shit. Where are you?

With her, hindering her at all possibilities. What are you going to do?

Make myself ill. Severus replied, throwing off the blankets. Stumbling to shaking legs, he shuffled to his private potions closet. It's the only excuse she'll believe.

Don't forget about the bans. And hurry up, she's breaking through.

I can tell from the wards. There. What do you think would be more convincing? Chicken pox or pneumonia? They're the only options that don't violate Umbridge's damn decree.

I think you know the answer to that.

I know. I'd hoped you would say chicken pox anyway. Damn.Severus put the other potion away, then stumbled back to bed. He downed the pneumonia potion in one go, grimacing at both the taste and the potential consequences. This is going to hurt.

Severus banished the vial, and wrapped himself in blankets once more. After a few seconds, the potion began to do its work. First the chills, which made Severus's shaking body tremble more. Then, he was aware of the fact he was beginning to sweat buckets. The thought of the developing fever was pushed aside when a pain began in his chest, which soon led to him coughing. Then, the alarms stopped. Severus squeezed his eyes shut, coughing miserably into his pillow. Footsteps approached, and the door to the bedroom opened.

"Severus?" That was Albus.

Severus couldn't even find the energy to groan. His breath was rattling uneasily in his lungs, making him pant and gasp for what little air he could manage to get. A cool, wrinkled hand rested on his forehead, then drew back.

"He's sick, Dolores. Very ill by the looks of things. He must have been hiding this for some time now."

"What!" More footsteps.

Severus managed to crack an eye open, only to see the damned Toad leaning over him, glaring. He coughed again for full measure, triggering a real coughing spasm.

"What's wrong, Severus?" Albus asked quietly.

"Chest…hurts," Severus ground out, looking over the Toad's shoulder to stare at Dumbledore, "and…I think I have…a fever. Head hurts," which wasn't a lie either, a wicked headache had taken up residence behind his eyes, pounding in time with his heart, "Tired…"

"I'll go summon Poppy, hopefully this is something that can be solved quickly. I must say, Dolores. You do not need to stay any longer, if this is contagious, we don't need you absent so soon after getting you back."

Dolores looked relieved. She nodded, then turned to Snape, "You'll be excused for your absence at breakfast today," with that, she turned on her heel, and walked out. Severus almost laughed out loud when she nearly got her hips stuck in the door frame.

Dumbledore watched the witch leave, then rested his hand on Severus's temple again, "I'm sorry you had to resort to this."

"S'okay," Severus breathed, "I don't…have to worry…about classes for…a while."

"I'll summon Poppy, and explain the situation. Hopefully, she'll be able to help you," Albus made a move to leave, but Severus's thin hand grasped hold of his wrist before he could.

"Can't…breathe," Severus managed, coughing again, "Spell…purify…oxygen…Arthur…used"-

"I know the spell, my boy. I'll cast it now, then go get Poppy," With a mumbled word, and a wave of Albus's wand, Severus suddenly found breathing to be a little easier.

"'th'nks."

With that said, Severus's heavy eyelids slid shut, and he knew no more.

(LINE BREAK)

Poppy stared down at the unconscious man, mentally beginning to sort through the mound of paperwork that would be required to help him. It would be worth it, though. Severus would be lucky to survive if he didn't get help, even though the disease was self-inflicted. With his current physical state, Poppy would need to complete all the paperwork and have Albus fast-track them to ensure Poppy could act.

High fever, chills, headache, and liquid in both lungs. Severus never did things by half. Poppy sighed, summoning the required papers from her office, a pot of ink, and a quill. She might as well get started where she could keep an eye on her patient.

Hours slipped by; spent trying to get Severus's fever stable by using muggle methods, and filling in the paperwork. A house elf appeared with both lunch and dinner, and Poppy was called away twice to examine students. She sent the papers to Albus to look over and approve, then he would send them to Fudge himself, who would hopefully approve them, and have the medical team at St. Mungo's spell the potions to Poppy as soon as humanely possible.

All Poppy could do was wait, and hope that Fudge would pull his face out of his ass long enough to do something good for someone else.

(LINE BREAK)

Severus felt himself being prodded into consciousness, even though he really didn't feel like it. After a moment of struggling with the pros and cons of opening his eyes, he decided it would be worth it to see who was trying to wake him when he felt so miserable.

"Severus," There was a hand on his shoulder, "C'mon. I have the potions needed to cure you. You do want to feel better, don't you?"

That got his attention. Severus cracked one eye open, to find Poppy's kind eyes staring down at him.

"There you are, I was beginning to worry. Now, open up. There's three here. They should start helping immediately. This will knock the pneumonia out of your system."

Severus opened his mouth, which felt strangely like the Sahara Desert, and managed not to wince when the foul mixtures were poured down his throat. After a few moments, Severus felt marginally better. After a few minutes, his head cleared, and his lungs began to reject the fluid that was in them.

Sitting up, and grasping at the edges of the pan Poppy thrust into his hands, Severus began to cough in earnest. Phlegm began filling the pan, and he continued to cough until he thought his throat and lungs had to be bleeding.

Then, the coughing abated. Poppy took the pan, and Severus flopped onto the pillows.

"Here," Poppy picked up a bowl of ice chips, and a spoon. Severus once again opened his mouth, and was fed the chips until the bowl was empty.

The numbness in his throat, and the cooling of his body, made Severus feel beyond exhausted again.

"Not yet, Severus. I need you to go have a shower or bath while I change these sheets. Do you think you can stand?"

Severus sighed, and pulled himself into a sitting position, "Maybe," his voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"Try not to talk. I'll be just a call away. C'mon. You need to be cleaned, and this bed is filthy. I wouldn't suggest it if it wasn't necessary."

Severus nodded, standing unsteadily and leaning against Poppy, "Clothes?" He rasped.

"I'll get them and put them on the sink when you're in there. Don't give me that look, I've seen you naked plenty of times."

Severus sighed, then took a few shaky steps, "Why aren't…I shaking more?"

"When I filled out the paperwork, I requested you be put back on your other potions."

Severus's eyes widened, "Fudge…went with…it?"

"He had to. Albus pressured him into agreeing. I'm thinking about letting each member of staff falling severely ill and demanding the same for them."

"Go for it…" Severus managed, leaning against the wall beside the bathroom door, "I'll help."

With that, Severus slipped into the bathroom, and peeled off his clothes. Gods, was that him that stunk? Ugh. No wonder Poppy wanted him to bathe. He stepped into the bathtub, and turned the water on full blast at full heat. The water felt cold to him, but he knew it would be scalding. He washed his hair, then, put the plug in the drain of the tub. He sat down, allowing himself the pleasure of soaking in the slightly warm, soapy water even after Poppy had brought him his clothes.

His fingers were pruned when he got out, but he felt a lot more like himself. He slipped into the fresh pyjamas and entered his bedroom once more. Poppy was gone, but a tray of food was sitting on his bedside table.

In Poppy's clean, neat handwriting were the words: Eat all of this. Come to breakfast tomorrow, but TEXTBOOK WORK ONLY. Don't be stupid.

Severus sighed, and sat on the edge of his bed. The food was still hot, and consisted of his favourites: Pasta and cheesy garlic toast. The belief that vampires were allergic to garlic was true for made vampires, but not born ones such as himself. The first time he had eaten something with garlic when Lupin was teaching had been hilarious. The man's eyes had almost bugged from his head, and Severus had almost choked on the mouthful of spaghetti he'd just swallowed.

The food was gone quickly, disappearing with a speed that Severus hadn't displayed since entering adulthood. The food was hot, and good. The water was welcome, and soothing to his throat. The meal, in all, was more comforting than most would probably understand. He set the tray back on the bedside table, and collapsed into bed. He set his alarm, and crawled under the soft, clean sheets of his bed.

Soon enough, he was out like a light.

(LINE BREAK)

Albus was relieved to see Severus back in the Great Hall. The younger man had missed several days, but seemed otherwise unharmed. A little thinner, looked more tired perhaps, but otherwise no different than normal. Albus motioned for Severus to sit beside him, and the Potions Master did so.

"Feeling better?"

"Much," Severus croaked, wincing at the sound of his own voice. It hadn't quite returned to normal.

"Good. Poppy told me she got you back on your prescriptions."

"Does Umbridge know?"

"Yes. She was furious."

"Good. She needs to be taken down a few more pegs before she leaves."

"Severus!"

"I'm not apologizing. The power she wields is ridiculous."

"I'm aware."

"How are the students?" Severus asked casually, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"No worse than usual."

"That is good."

Ahem.

Severus turned to see Umbridge, who was wearing her sickly sweet smile, "Hello, Professor Snape. I'm glad to see you've made a full recovery."

"Thank you," Severus returned flatly, "I'm glad to be back."

Umbridge's smile widened, "Good. I hope you have a good day."

With that said, the woman left, sitting some distance down the table.

She's pissed. Severus remarked.

You manoeuvred around her plans. Of course she's angry.

Breakfast began in earnest after the professors were scanned, and once again were clean. Severus gulped down more coffee than what was healthy, and ate in earnest. All the while, Umbridge glared down the table at him, eyes alight with rage. It would be funny if Severus wasn't worried about losing his job, or the Toad making his life more than the living hell than it already was.

Classes passed with a dull monotony that Severus tried to avoid with his lessons. Textbook work was boring, and very rarely completed on time and in a manner that was acceptable. Except for Granger, who could quote and cite most of the text in verbatim. Even then, that was more annoying than the students who tried to complete their homework properly and just didn't know how. Apparently, none of Granger's muggle teachers had bothered correcting her on her mistake: there was such a thing as too much information. Not everything contained in the textbook was important.

Severus felt the coin Granger had given him in the last assignment she'd handed in begin to burn near the end of the day. Once the classroom emptied, Severus pulled out the coin, and read the message.

Next meeting in three days. After classes.

Severus nodded, shoving the coin back into his pocket. He leaned back into his chair, wondering. There has to be a more covert way of making this club of theirs more…legal. Severus stared around at the empty classroom, and almost jolted at the sight and sound of the door swinging open.

Ms. Britney Calmgrove, a young Ravenclaw who's wizarding heritage consisted of many famous herbology experts, hurried in, "Sorry, Professor. Macey Reins forgot her quill last period."

An eyebrow rose, "I take it you volunteered to retrieve it of your own free will. I've heard Ms. Reins can be quite…forceful with her requests."

Calmgrove blinked, picking up the quill off the desk, "Of course I did, sir. Macey is my friend," with that, she walked out of the classroom, shutting the door behind her softly.

Severus nodded, an idea beginning to form in his head. If there was already one inter-house relationship with one of his Slytherins and another house, who could say there weren't more already?

A small smile worked its way onto Severus's face. I have three days to ensure this works. This is perfect.

Severus sorted through the pile of unmarked papers on his desk, quickly finding the mountain of parchment that was Granger's. Taking out his quill, and giving the paper a truly dismal mark he wrote:

Meet me in my office after classes tomorrow. We have to discuss this.

With a wave of his hand, the paper was spelled to Granger herself.

(LINE BREAK)

Albus was enjoying a nice cup of tea when Severus burst into the room, almost causing the door to break in his haste. Severus's chest was heaving, but he didn't look worried-quite the opposite really-but the situation still made Albus feel ill at ease.

"I have an idea to protect Potter and that club of his," Severus began, sitting in the plush chair opposite of Albus, "And we can do it without Umbridge getting wind of any bad going on."

"Yes?" Albus asked, setting his tea cup down and making himself more comfortable.

"Do you remember the House Unity movement that was big when my mother went to school? How the students thought it was ridiculous that such divides between the Houses existed? The students wanted there to be less animosity between the Houses, and for an understanding to be made for all, no matter what House they belonged to. They would have succeeded if it hadn't been for the Dark Lord and his mess."

"Of course I remember, Severus. What of it?"

"What if we started it up again? We could make it go through the proper channels, so Umbridge wouldn't be suspicious of it meeting so often. It would be a real thing, we could invite people from all Houses to join, and if they didn't like the real reason behind it, they could go."

"What about you, Severus? No one here would ever believe you would be a part of something like that willingly."

"They would if they thought you forced me into it," Severus replied, "You've always wanted me to 'understand all of my students'. No one would question you, and we could even have other teachers helping me teach these children to survive the coming war without raising any suspicions. It's perfect!"

Albus stared at Severus for a moment before nodding, "But how would you identify these students? I know you have the coins, but it doesn't take a genius to realize what they really are."

"The bracelets," Severus responded, "I still have one of my mother's. We could make our own version, enchant them and allow them to alert the owner of the bracelet to any changes in meetings. Hell, each student could make or enchant their own to whatever specifications they desire. It would be no different than the first movement."

"You've thought this through."

"Of course I did. Do you think this can work, or have I finally lost my mind?"

"It makes perfect sense, my boy. If you want to find your mother's bracelet, we can begin the act of making some and testing out some enchantments and whatnot on them."

Severus nodded, standing quickly, and rushing out in a flurry of robes.

Albus sighed, "All I wanted was one evening of peace."

(LINE BREAK)

Severus rummaged through the old box of random things he had brought from Spinner's End when he had first moved into Hogwarts. The box had been left unpacked for many reasons: it held the last letter his mother had written him, still unopened, found by the wizard coroner when he had gone through his mother's pockets before the autopsy. The box held some pictures of himself, Lily, and her family, it also held his old, battered potioneering equipment that he had bought on his first proper trip to Diagon Alley.

The old box held a lot of old memories, mostly unpleasant, but important enough that he couldn't leave it in his childhood home to rot. In a small box that held his mother's hidden things, he found the House Unity bracelet nestled between her wedding ring and an enchanted broach Tobias had forbidden her to wear.

The bracelet was old, made of some material Severus couldn't identify. Even though the bracelet had lain untouched by many years, the entwining colours of red, green, yellow, and blue still shone brightly. Severus held it to the light, and found the secondary colours shone through the primary ones still. Good, the enchantments hadn't worn off.

Red and gold, green and silver, yellow and black, blue and bronze. Severus had forgotten how striking the simple thing was. Shaking himself, Severus stood, and began to go back to Albus's office.

They had work to do.

(LINE BREAK)

Hermione held the parchment in slightly trembling hands. Good lord, a Troll? Snape was a hard marker, but he had never been this harsh before. After flipping through it, Hermione became aware of the fact that Snape hadn't left his usual derisive comments throughout the paper. That was odd.

Furrowing her brow, Hermione began to wonder if Snape wanted to see her for another reason. Worry began to build in her chest, and she wondered what could possibly be wrong that Snape would want to see her?

Hermione didn't sleep much that night.

(LINE BREAK)

Snape looked across the desk at the worried looking young woman, his fingers steepled.

"I'll have you know this is against my better judgment, however someone must know the full extent of this madness beyond me. This is what Dumbledore want's us to do..." Severus then began to outline his plan to Granger.

The girl's eyes widened, but after a few minutes Severus could tell the wheels in her mind were turning. Severus leaned back, "You see, Granger, the Sorting Hat is not a simple-minded piece of enchanted clothing. It knows that a unified school is a school that will survive the coming strife. The students that attended when my mother went to school took the signs of doom seriously, and tried to unify. However, the Dark Lord destroyed their hard work."

Hermione nodded, brushing her bushy hair away from her eyes, "I think I understand. So, I have to tell the rest of the DA about this? About the Unify movement? Do you think the Slytherins would be willing to join a group that's predominantly Gryffindor?"

"I will be talking to the other House Heads, and will inform them of what is safe to tell them. They will know the members of their Houses better than you or I, and will tell the appropriate students."

"What about these bracelets? Do you know anything about them?"

"I still have my mother's. Dumbledore has already began to enchant it with some possible useful tools. I believe the goal is to have everyone's be the same, but still unique. That way, if a group of you are stuck, everyone has an enchanted thing that was specifically designed by themselves. If one group has the same enchantments, the bracelets will be useless. However, if each bracelet has some differences, they could be extremely useful in the time to come."

Hermione nodded, "I'll talk to the others. They won't be happy about this, sir."

Severus shook his head, "I doubt many will be at first. However, each house has their strengths and weaknesses, and together they round each other out. This is incredibly important."

Hermione nodded, biting her lip, "Do you think we have a chance?"

"Currently? No. If we can pull this off, then we have increased everyone's chances of survival tenfold."

Hermione nodded once more, "Thank you, sir. For doing this."

Severus shook his head, "I am now no longer a spy. The students in this school can now be my top priority. Give me the assignment I spelled to you earlier."

Hermione blinked, trying to catch up at the sudden change of topic, but fumbled in her bag for a moment before producing the requested parchment.

Severus took his, and using his wand, erased the earlier comment and mark. Using his quill, he scribbled a mark on the top right corner, then handed it back face down.

"Show this to anyone, and you will be expelled."

"Yes sir," Hermione replied, a little unsteadily. She left the office, and didn't stop until she reached the stairs.

Looking around to ensure no one could see, Hermione turned the parchment over to see the mark Snape had corrected.

It was an Outstanding.

(LINE BREAK)

Author's Note: There we go, everyone! I hope you like this chapter, because it's my favourite so far. Honestly, I'm not joking. It was fun to write. Snape's plan was thought up in the middle of the day, when I was trying to set up the PS2 system so I could play (ironically enough) Chamber of Secrets on the damn thing.

Anyway, PM or review to let me know what you think. I would really appreciate any/all feedback on this chapter. Please let me know, even if it's harsh.