When All is Lost, One is Found
Author: Rinoaebastel
Chapter 49: Tending
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than writing practice. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.
AN: This story may contain scenes taken from the Harry Potter movies and books, but it's not exact dialogue, just rewording of dialogue or omission. It is not marked.
The room materialized in front of his eyes as his body solidified. He hadn't been able to get home as quickly as he'd hoped. He'd had to erase an entire muggle family's memories because they were going to call the police after hearing the commotion in the house.
He almost attacked when a high-pitched yell of surprise greeted him as soon as he stepped inside his living room. She was still here despite him telling her to leave. It was clear from her eyes and her more disheveled than usual hair that she'd been asleep. A book fell from her lap as she darted up from the sofa.
"You're back!" She walked over to him and grabbed his arm as if checking him for damage.
He yanked his arm away and removed his mask. "Didn't I tell you to go back to your room?"
"I couldn't. Not when I knew you were going to the Dark Lord so I spent the time reading."
"My books I assume," he snapped. He threw the mask on his winged chair. She was taking too many liberties with his offerings. Too fast for his taste and faster than he'd expected.
"Well, I knew you wouldn't like me to ignore what you told me to do, and I'm sorry for that, but I'm not sorry to have waited." Her tone turned just as hostile as his and she scowled. "I wanted to make sure you didn't pop in half dead."
He was flattered even if it was an absurd action. Both of them knew that his destiny was to perish sooner or later.
He shook his head, hiding a smirk. He couldn't and wouldn't punish her for staying. He'd picked her because she was loyal and stubborn.
"As you can see, I'm still alive, so you can go, Miss Granger," he said as he began removing his Death Eater robes. "I think I'm going to take a nap before breakfast, and it would do you some good to do the same."
His hand hit his shoulder, moving the piece of wood, and he grunted before he could stop himself. She gasped and came closer.
"What are you-?"
She moved her hand in the direction of his shoulder. He flinched when it got close and she jerked her hand away.
"You're covered in blood, sir!"
He clenched his teeth as he removed the robe and tossed it in the same place the mask was resting.
"Sir! You've been stabbed!"
He did his best to ignore the pain along his shoulder, but it ached with every movement. "It's nothing. Don't concern yourself over a small injury."
"Small? That's small to you?"
"Yes." He'd had worse.
"There's a piece of wood sticking out of your shoulder!" she said, half-incredulous and half-angry.
He refused to look at her as he grabbed the mask and the robe. "Leave." He walked into his bedroom.
"Let me help you."
He heard her plea from the doorway. She'd followed him but had respected his inner quarters by not entering.
"I don't need help, Granger." He dismissed with a slim tone of irritation and raised his arm as he did in class before she spoke another word. Her stubborn nature matched his and they could clash forever if they desired. "It's nothing to worry about. I've had worst injuries, and I can take care of myself."
Her body rested against the doorframe and she exhaled. "That was before. You aren't alone anymore. You have help now."
His actions stopped.
His breath quieted.
His heart struggled.
Her involvement and intrusion was much more than he had expected. He hadn't wanted someone to take care of him when he came back injured. His wounds were his own punishment for his faults, and were his responsibility to treat and mull over.
With the intention to make that clear, he turned around but the witch wasn't resting on the doorframe anymore. He took a deep breath and got the items to tend to his wounds.
With his hands full of bandages and potions, he sat on the edge of his green four-posted bed and placed the items on top of the blanket.
He unbuttoned his shirt and had one arm out of the sleeve when he halted his movements. Footsteps were heading toward him at a quick pace. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Granger enter the room with a metal basin in her hands.
He'd been wrong about her leaving. She even rummaged around his belongings to find a basin and entered his room. She sat the basin down on a table and sat on his bed.
She removed her wand from her sleeve and the bowl filled with water as soon as she tapped the metal. "Well, let's get this out." She bit her lip in thought. "Hum…how should I go about it?" she said more to herself than to him.
He raised an eyebrow, reached up to the wood, gripped it, and yanked it out."
"What the bloody hell!"
"Language, Miss Granger."
"Sir! You…You…"
"I can take care of this myself. It's a minor wound. I've been worse and managed to heal myself." He removed his shirt all the way.
"Minor wound my arse," she muttered in a similar manner he would've. She grabbed one of the cloths, sank it in the water, and then removed the excess water from the cloth. She placed it on the wound, cleaning it.
Rage should've been coursing through him. Or shame. But instead, his emotions were conflicted because no one had ever helped him like this before. Other than Pomfrey, but he only went to her as an adult if he had no other choice.
"And as I pointed out before, sir, you are not alone, so I'm helping you. Please stop being stubborn."
"This is highly inappropriate, Miss Granger. You are a student and my ally, not a nurse." Her scowl developed into a soft smile.
"Allies tend to help each other, so your reasoning is faulty."
Damn woman using his words against him. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Don't try to outsmart me, Granger." He spoke gently to show he wasn't infuriated at her.
"Please," she said softly, "let me help. I'm not going to sleep anymore, so I might as well make sure you're well, professor."
Tired of arguing, he relented with a nod. Lily never helped him when he was hurt. She always justified why he was hurt, or left him alone until he spoke to her. She tried to stop the attacks when they were committed in front of her, but she never took the time to help him after the fact. Not physically, not mentally.
He grunted when a pain rushed through that area, jerking him from his ruminations. She threw the bloody towel into the basin and he felt her move closer to study his wound.
"I think you have something more in the wound. I felt something."
"Probably left over splinters."
"Do you have any tweezers?" she asked.
"Potion's cabinet," he said.
She disinfected them before he got a chance to tell her to do it. She grabbed the towel and dabbed off more blood. After rinsing the towel again, she moved closer with the tweezers.
She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going in."
He almost chuckled at the way she spoke. "I'll cover you."
She froze. "Did you make a joke?"
"The wood, Miss Granger."
She came closer and he felt a pull in his shoulder much deeper than he expected it to be. The skin around the injury overstretched as the splinter pulled free. Then she went about getting the smaller splinters. Every so often, she'd use the cloth to dab the injury and rid it of blood.
She tossed the tweezers into the basin when satisfied all the splinters were gone. She held the cloth against the injury.
"It's bleeding a lot."
"Just keep pressure on it. It's what usually happens."
He felt her hands shaking as she applied pressure. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
She kept checking the bleeding regardless of his reassurances. It seemed as if she thought he would bleed to death. If she was this concerned over a wound like this, he didn't want her around during one of his larger ones, and especially not during the times he came back after being tortured by the Dark Lord. Thankfully, they were few and far between.
Her body relaxed from its tenseness when's she pulled away the towel and it only had a small amount of blood on it.
Her eyes moved briefly to his, letting him read that her mind was running. She never stopped thinking. She never stopped wondering.
"Ask witch."
She bit her bottom lip for a moment. "I-I'm not sure if I should."
"Just do it. You will see it anyway one day in the pensieve."
"Was...Vo- You-know-who, the one who did this to you?"
"He doesn't make it a habit to hurl pieces of wood at people," he said. Though that would be a highly preferable form of punishment compared to what he does.
She laughed.
"He didn't do it. I had to go to a mission for him and was caught off guard," he said, even surprised at himself for the joke he'd made.
She looked at him skeptically. "I find that hard to believe, professor."
"I'm not perfect, Miss Granger. You must have noticed that in the memories I shared with you. I'm human. I can make mistakes and I can die."
At his last words, she looked at the blood on the towel.
"Should you take a blood replenishing potion?" she asked, making him arch an eyebrow.
"It wasn't that much blood."
"But you-"
"Just disinfect it and help me bandage it."
She grabbed the potion, opened it, and poured it on his shoulder, making him hiss. It was supposed to be poured slowly and she knew it. He looked at her and she had a small smirk on her face.
She'd done it on purpose. How Slytherin of her.
"How are you able to apparate in here? In Hogwarts, a History, it says it's not possible."
"Only the headmaster and I can apparate in these rooms. He allows me to since I spy for him."
"Can another person apparate with you?" she asked as she picked up a bandage and unrolled it.
"No. That privilege is only for the headmaster."
She started bandaging his shoulder with more than needed for the wound. He was about to say something about it, but her next words caught him off guard.
"It's unfair that you have to deal with all you do."
"It's the life I have to live after all my mistakes. It's my personal nightmare," he whispered with a tired voice, his muscles relaxing and pain increasing as the adrenaline disappeared from his body.
She finished bandaging him and looked up at his face. "I hope I'm not part of the nightmare."
She was so different from anyone else he'd spoken this closely with.
"Your presence is acceptable."
A smile crossed her lips and seemed to lighten up her entire face. He never thought such simple words could bring so much genuine joy to someone.
He summoned his wand and walked to his wardrobe. He needed fresh clothing and it was almost time to start the day. He pulled out a shirt and put it on as fast as he could without straining his shoulder.
"Grab your things. I will accompany you to Gryffindor tower."
She nodded and left the room to go into the living area.
He buttoned his shirt, grabbed his black coat, and dressed until he was donned in his full daily attire.
Her smile was still on her face when he spotted her, this time it was a timid one.
"You want something?"
She held up the tome in her hands. "Um…Can I borrow your book? I'd liked to finish it."
He turned and nodded. Giving her more privileges than he had given to anyone. If it ended some of her nightmares he'd let her go through his entire personal library.
When she turned toward the door, he said, "Grab the sleep potion, Miss Granger."
She twisted her lips with disagreement but picked it up.
Such a stubborn woman. . .
AN: Heh. Another favourite chapter here. There is weakness but there is caring too. Hope you enjoyed this "Step" Because now, they are really getting comfortable around each other and we know how difficult Snape can be. Let me know what you think and see you on Saturday!
