Severus heard voices from the hallway.

"And how is living with Severus going?" he heard Dumbledore ask her.

"It's not bad," Lily said. "The street is awful but the house is quite interesting."

"I see you've immersed yourself in his books."

"They definitely make time pass quicker."

He wanted to get up from his bed to give the visit a proper greeting but as soon as he got on his feet, he felt dizzy and had to sit back down. He wasn't exactly pleased with the situation but decided to wait patiently. Besides, Lily would surely insist he lay back down, anyway.

Only a couple of breaths later, the door opened and there stood Dumbledore.

"Severus," he greeted him with a slight nod, with a bit of distrust in his voice.

"Headmaster," Severus replied.

Dumbledore's eyes swept over his poor frame. With a slight concern in his voice, which annoyed Severus, he said: "How are you feeling, my boy?"

Severus couldn't help but smirk at that "my boy" thing.

"Better."

"That's good news." He sat down next to him. "I am here with an offer, which, of course, you can refuse."

"I'm listening."

Leaning toward him while piercing him through his half-moon shaped glasses, Albus asked him: "How would you like being back at Hogwarts?"

Severus frowned in concentration. "And what position would I be taking?"

"Well, you'd be teaching, of course! You can't be a student again, can you?"

"I know that. I was just making sure I wouldn't be a cleaning lady," he said and those lips on that pale face twisted into a smirk.

"I'm sure you'd be an excellent cleaning lady, as well," Albus told him with a smile "but what I had in mind was rather a… potions master."

"Potions master," Severus repeated in thought. "But why? I thought you didn't trust me."

"Well, you are right about that…" Albus said and then lowered his voice, when he added: "But as they say: keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

He got up. Severus said nothing.

"After all, you DID save young Mrs Potter here… And the fact that you two are still alive proves that you, my boy, have the power to deceive Tom Riddle. Not many people can do that. I do need you."

"So you want me to spy on the Dark Lord for you."

Dumbledore nodded in silence, waiting for Severus to decide.

The man in the bed sighed heavily. "Well, I reckon I will be on your side, after all," Severus whispered but it wasn't at Dumbledore. Lily, who was standing at the door, answered him with a nod.

"You know I would rather die than be friends with a Death Eater."

"I know." He sighed again and turned to Albus. "I accept."

"Excellent!" Dumbledore exclaimed with a smile and patted Severus on his shoulder. "We'll see each other at the end of summer. And as for Mrs Potter… I'm afraid I don't have any more vacancies available at the moment but I advise you return to Hogwarts, as well. I assure you there's always a lot to do at Hogwarts and not only there..."

Saying that, Albus patted a brooch on his robes with his finger - it was a tiny phoenix.

"I'll be delighted to help you, Sir," Lily said.

"You can also help Severus keep up to his duties," Albus added with a wink.

Severus smiled to himself. Dumbledore obviously knew very well that out of all people in the world, Lily had the most power to sway him.

They heard a woman's voice behind the door, saying: "May I come in now?"

It was Madame Pomfrey.

"Of course, Poppy. I'll be waiting in the living room. Severus surely doesn't want to be inspected in front of everybody. Come with me, Mrs Potter. I wouldn't mind if you showed me some of those books."

After Lily and Albus left, Severus was told to take off the pyjamas. Sitting on his bed half-naked, he felt weak and vulnerable, which he found very annoying. Albus was right. He didn't want everyone to see his body in such a state. Immersing into his self-loathing, he felt a cold piece of metal pressed against his ribs as he was told to take a couple of deep breaths.

Then, lifting the stethoscope, Poppy said: "I won't lie to you. Your condition can be lethal. Your heart is very weak."

"I know," he whispered and for some reason, he felt his eyes filling with tears. He made sure Poppy couldn't see them. He was surprised by them - he had never cared before.

"I'll… m-make sure it gets better."

"Well, you should ask yourself one important question, Severus…"

"What question?"

"Whether you can make recovery by yourself."

Looking at the floor with tears dripping from his eyes, he shook his head. "I've tried many times…"

"And I've been helping you on your journey for many years. I will not do what I would normally do just yet because I believe you deserve another chance and I also believe that Mrs Potter is more than capable of taking care of you… But maybe it's time you consider… Institutional care."

She left him sitting there in deep thought and even deeper horror.

When she came into the living room, Lily and Albus were sitting on the sofa, discussing Stages between Life and Death. She gave a dozen bottles to Lily and told her to make absolutely sure Severus drinks every single one of them, three times a day, and that he eats at least five small meals a day, too, if possible.

Lily, with worry in her face, asked her: "Should I force him to eat with - you know - violence if he refuses?"

It took a while for Poppy to answer. "In normal cases, I would say no… But here… I leave it up to you. If you can't manage, call me and I'll have to have him placed… you know where."

"I understand. Thank you so much."

"I don't want to put you under too much pressure. Therefore, I repeat: You can come for me in case of trouble."

"Thanks."

Over the next few months, Severus showed immense willpower. Not only did he drink everything Poppy gave to him but he also ate everything Lily cooked for him - vegetable or meat, cooked or baked… It was partly because he could clearly see how much love and consideration Lily put into every single one of those meals. They always ate together but each of them minded their own plate. Lily never really watched Severus eat, she couldn't stand watching him struggle with something so basic, so good. He did appreciate this little semblance of privacy. Looking back at his school years, he couldn't really remember eating a single meal without somebody watching him closely. People, even then, knew. Not necessarily cared. They just wanted to see if he could finish his plate. Maybe they simply wanted to see him struggle with it.

Slowly and steadily, he was gaining weight. He was becoming his usual skinny, not the starved type of skinny. It felt terrifying at first. The very first part of his body that showed signs of increased weight was his face. He would inspect his face closely in a mirror for hours on end because of it. He was feeling more and more like a baggy lump of fat, although somewhere deep in his mind, he knew very well that he wasn't. He tried to talk to Lily about his concerns. She told him she didn't really understand… But she said so while hugging him and that hug felt like all the help he needed. He loved her so, so much. He could never forgive himself if he let her down. Somewhere deep inside, he was terrified of losing her again due to his own faults. And that's probably the main reason why he managed to make full recovery in the course of about five years. That is, if full recovery, in case of anorexia, is an option.