6. Nerveracking Times
Time really does fly. Summer vacation was drawing near, and Severus could hear the buzz of students as they chatted about their summer plans, through the Hospital wing door. Severus personally disliked the vacation; he is forced to live in disguise as a muggle for the summer, as Spinner's End is a dreary place to live and did not take well to wizards. Severus COULD spend most of the holiday as a raven...Animagi rarely had memory loss from being in animal form for too long, and Peter Pettigrew was a rat for years, so why couldn't Severus do it? He could also use the time to find a cure for Harry's curse. But there was a catch; Harry had been moved to Grimmauld Place, and Madam Pomfrey's Skele-Gro just wasn't strong enough, and Severus had to stay bedridden for a few more days...He didn't know what Granger and Weasley's reactions to him will be; he had chosen instead to stay at Grimmauld place, where Molly Weasley will be also staying, to care for Harry.
"Why is Snape here?" Ron Weasley snapped skeptically, after hearing Snape Apparate inside Harry's room. They were staying at Grimmauld Place, where Molly and Severus were attempting to find a cure for Harry's curse which turned him into a savage reptile for a few minutes, and left him comatose. "Seriously Ron, of course he's here to find a cure for Harry's curse!" A exasperated Hermione said, causing Ron to facepalm. "So says the insufferable know-it-all. But yes, I am." Severus sneered, making Ron scowl, but Hermione looked anxious. Severus' eyes locked with hers for a second; then a flood of thoughts that certainly weren't his flooded Severus' mind.
"Why is he walking so stiffly? Did Severus really fall down stairs? What happened?" An anxious voice echoed in his mind. "It is best to keep sensitive thoughts private, Miss Granger. Especially excessive worrying about another's health." Severus smirked. Ron stared at Severus like he is crazy, but Hermione just gave an embarrassed smile. Never try to fool a Legilimens. Well, except for Voldemort. Severus mused to himself. "Speaking of Legilimency...I could try to break into Potter's mind, to see if he is trapped inside and never waking up." Severus suggested. "Are you sure that nothing will go wrong? What if you're trapped inside too?" Molly queried, uncertainly. "I am certain." Severus snapped. Without another word, Severus whispered, "Legilimens."
Severus struggled to break inside, as the loud roaring and white mist tried to push him back into the real world. Finally he broke inside, met with nothing but a completely white room, with what looked like a flickering image locked in a cage. Flickering between reptile and human. "What in the name of Merlin's beard is this? The boy is having an identity crisis!" Severus gasped. How was he going to fix this strange obstacle now? He should tell Molly first.
"So? How do we fix the problem?" Molly barked as soon as Severus had pulled out of Harry's brain. "The boy is having an identity crisis for Merlin's sake! He can't decide whether he is a lizard or a human!" Severus half-raved. The day is taking an extremely crazy turn...
Severus hated being trapped here. Ron, Molly, and Ginny Weasley never left Grimmauld Place, so it was Severus or Hermione that was doing grocery shopping, because they can't starve to death. Severus was observant enough to catch Muggles whispering "Are those two wizards?" whenever they ventured outside, and little girls wanted to hold Severus' cloak more often than not, causing a very angry Severus, large welts, and equally furious mums. Severus had also grew a lot more reclusive in Grimmauld Place; he often missed breakfast or even lunch trying to invent a potion for this curse, or at least use Legilimency to solve this identity crisis. The problem is this isn't the traditional kind of wizard coma; where a curse caused you to be trapped in your own brain. It's something far more abstract that even Severus couldn't figure out how to fix; how COULD he get that flickering picture to be stuck at 'human'? He knew that this required the utmost caution; one wrong move, and Harry could get stuck in the mind of a reptile. Severus was jerked from his thought by a loud knock on the door, which threw Mrs Black into her rants about mudbloods, causing a very irate Severus to answer the door.
Rita Skeeter? What was SHE doing here? "Ah, Professor Snape. I was wondering if we could have a quick word about your killing of-" "For the last time, NO! I have already left plenty of evidence, and it would be preferable if you would stop tailing me." Severus snarled. But Rita seemed unperturbed by this-her acid green quill was already flying across her notebook. How could he forget? The Quick-Quotes quill! Severus was just about to snap the quill in half, when he saw what was written on there;
"Professor Severus Snape, another controversial Hogwarts staff choice, is perhaps one of the most mysterious wizards. An ex-death eater that seemingly turned spy for the good side, many are still in questions about his motives, including his murder of Alecto Carrow." Severus, pale mouth twisted into a livid snarl. "Be. Gone." And he threw Rita Skeeter ten feet into the air with his magic, watching her Apparate away at the last minute.
Severus deeply regretted that decision. Apparently Rita Skeeter had turned what was SUPPOSED to be an informational story on Severus' duel with the Carrows, into her own extremely sappy version, with comments about Severus' persona.
"Professor Severus Snape, another controversial Hogwarts staff choice, is perhaps one of the most mysterious wizards. An ex-death eater that seemingly turned spy for the good side, many are still in questions about his motives, including his murder of Alecto Carrow. An emotional and reclusive person, Professor Snape is quick to lash out at the slightest trigger; sending me ten feet into the air when I just wanted a quick word. "How did you feel when you killed Alecto Carrow? Indecisive? Nervous? Vengeful?"
"Indecisive. Who wouldn't hesitate to kill one of their own? We ARE still loyal to the Dark Lord, I was forced..." Severus' nails dug into the parchment. It was utter NONSENSE! He was feeling VENGEFUL, not indecisive like that bumbling idiot Peter Pettigrew. But anxious for the whole truth, he forced himself to keep reading: "Anger shines in the strikingly fierce black eyes as our conversation turns to his life. "I am saying nothing." The moody and private man spat, but there are dark secrets hidden under that cold persona...Evidence suggests that Professor Snape was abused, which might lead to his reclusive and violent nature. He has also been bullied by none other than James Potter, the late father of Harry Potter, who frequently taunted his bony shape and unkempt hair. No one knows why he killed the Carrows so viciously, when the job could've been done clean, he instead used his personal curse which creates a bloody gash on the unlucky victim, and Ministry authorities found several rather extensive gashes and strangely, peck marks on Alecto Carrow's body, which further reveals Snape's allure for blood and gore. Cont'd Page 2, a tragic past..." Severus ripped a chunk out of the Daily Prophet, and tossed it in the fire, much to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione's alarm. "Has Skeeter been THAT nasty?" She asked somewhat stupidly. "Do you call this stupid?" Severus furiously thrust the newspaper in Ginny's face. "Yeah." Ron, Ginny and Hermione said at the same time, seemingly losing their appetites for dinner. "Just what we needed. Silly reporters that want to turn me into some idiotic tragic hero." Severus spat, throwing the entire newspaper in the fire, smirking as it crumbled into ash. He abruptly got up from the table, locking himself in his bedroom door, to try and find another solution to this problem that was getting more convoluted and complex by the day.
Severus would try and use Legilimency on Harry again. He couldn't just give up. Sneaking inside Harrys' room he thought, "Legilimens."
He was back in the white room again, only this time something was different; the giant lizard that the Carrows had temporarily turned Harry into was caged, this time with the boy trapped inside. "Potter!" Severus barked. No answer. he crept closer to the cage, but there was no lock, just metal bars. Severus COULD use Fiendfyre to burn down the cage but that would get Harry killed, which might worsen the coma. He COULD use a widening spell, Defodio, but is it enough to work on metal? He tried it. "Defodio!" He said, but found that he couldn't say the spell. He thought the same spell, but it yielded nothing. So no magic? How was he going to get Harry out of here? Not wanting to spend too much in another's mind, he pulled out of it.
Severus woke up the next morning nauseous, probably from spending too long inside another mind. Tired of being trapped inside Grimmauld Place, Severus flew outside as a raven, to find a solution to getting Harry out of his own mind trap, that doesn't involve talking or spells. He soared higher and higher, ignoring the confused stares from Muggles, because silver-crested ravens don't exist. Well, you've been proven wrong. Severus mused. But suddenly the answer to Harry's problem came to him: Potions! The boy isn't waking up because his body is drained and he doesn't have the ENERGY to do so. So Severus needed to give him Nutrient potions first...then the Wiggenweld potion to kick-start his strength. Severus'll see if that works. He inwardly insulted himself for not thinking about this earlier-Severus had thought this wizarding coma is caused by someone to be trapped in their own mind, but this is different, completely different...
Severus had just realized that he was probably miles away from Grimmauld Place, and that he had unusually, wandered off. What was wrong? He was normally so observant, he wasn't a Luna Lovegood who daydreamed..."Look Dad, a bird!" Severus heard the little girl's squeak, but kept flying, higher and higher, but he didn't dare to Apparate incase he transformed back to a human and traumatized a child. That is, until he heard a dull thud and a sharp pain on his left wing. "Ugh, stop hitting birds with stones you insipid girl." he tried to say, but the words came out as a series of croaking caws that only piqued the girl's interest. He sped off to Grimmauld Place at full speed, but surprisingly she followed, with her dad not even bothering to restrain here. They were probably neighbors who also lived at Grimmauld Place. The girl started to grab onto Severus' wings, and he had no choice but to transform back. He just heard the girl's terrified scream when he slipped inside Grimmauld Place.
Turns out, Molly isn't so easy to convince. "We are NOT flooding that boy's system with potions! This is one too many, Severus! Harry is not a guinea pig, you know that!" Molly barked sternly as soon as Severus said the word 'Nutrient Potion' . "Molly Weasley, Do I need to knock some sense into you? This is for the boy's own good! Or do you want a near-dead person in your house? Are you denying my skills?" Severus snarled, his voice dropping dangerously quiet at the last sentence. "No, I'm not denying your skills, SEVERUS, I'm saying that this might have side effects, and do more harm than good! Can you just lower the dose a little?" Molly barked. "NO! This is the bare minimum, MOLLY, and it is time for you to quit that mother-hen personality and see the greater GOOD!" Severus roared, his face paling. "Are you calling me a mother hen? When does caring for someone counts as fussy? Maybe because you've never experienced it?" Molly taunted. This was the last straw. "What did you just say? I HAVE experienced it. It was YOU who told the dunderheads Ron and Ginny Weasley to trust me, and now YOU don't? Severus' voice was now so low that Molly thought it sounded closer to a dinosaur than a human. "This subject is closed. Do NOT talk about this and beGONE." Severus finally snapped, sending Molly storming, red-faced and resentful, from the room. He was happy that they hadn't gotten physical; the magic and the movement will be too much on his not-fully-healed bones. Severus snuck upstairs, to give Harry his potions that could cure him...