It was a balmy day in early March when Sev was summoned to the Hospital Wing. Someone had poisoned Ron Weasley, and all of the Heads of House had convened there with Dumbledore. Ron wasn't awake yet, but as they stood there, wondering who was trying to poison someone in the castle, the door burst open. Lavender Brown ran in, Hazel following in her wake.

As Lavender nearly started crying, begging to know if her "Won Won, has he been asking for me? Who did this to him? Is he going to be alright?", Hazel came to stand next to Sev, taking his hand. As the professors began to speculate, the students began to bicker. Sev said nothing, thinking back to his own school days, when he'd ended up in the Hospital Wing more than his fair share of times. The most memorable hadn't been when they'd exploded a cauldron late at night, or when Hazel had forced him to stay away after the Sectumsempra incident. Nor was it after a run-in with Potter and his gang. It had been a three-day period of time where he had only left when he'd been forced out.

"C'mon, Sev, the Duelling Club is always fun. Maybe you can hit James Potter with something that you won't get in trouble for," Hazel coaxed. "You're way better than he is at dueling, everyone knows it. And I'm sure half of them would like to see him turn into a hamster or something."

The offer was tempting, but with a deadline looming over his head, he would be spending his night in the library. "If I don't get this History of Magic essay done by morning, I'm doomed," he sighed. "How am I supposed to write a foot of parchment on the Greater Goblin Treaty of 1147? There are two lines about it in the book."

"I'll catch you in the library after, then," she resolved, heading for the dungeons as he made his way towards the library.

It wouldn't be Hazel who came to find him though. Well after the library had emptied out and Madam Pince had gone to bed, it was, "Lupin?" Sev was suddenly defensive. They'd never gotten along, but after the werewolf incident the previous year, things had been even rockier between them. Hazel was the only reason they ever said a word to each other. "What do you want?"

"I had to tell you. Hazel's in the Hospital Wing." Sev started to pack up as soon as the words left Lupin's mouth. Suddenly he didn't care about the Greater Goblin Treaty of 1147 or whether or not his essay was smudged. As he stuffed books into his bag, Lupin kept talking. "Someone hit her with a jinx before Flitwick gave the go-ahead and… I've never seen a person fly that far into the air. I don't know what she got hit with, but she's out cold. Flitwick called everything off and brought her right down to Madam Pomfrey.." Both of them began walking towards the Hospital Wing, letting the library door swing shut behind them. "According to Madam Pomfrey, she'll be alright, but I couldn't get in to see her."

They stopped at the Hospital Wing doors, Sev turning to thank him. Remus waved it off, saying that as soon as he found out, he knew that Sev needed to know too. No matter how much they loathed each other, they realized that Hazel cared about both of them. Remus left for Gryffindor Tower, Sev walking into the Hospital Wing quietly. "Mr. Lupin, what did I tell you - oh." Madam Pomfrey stopped, looking up from her desk. "Visiting hours have been over for a while now, Mr. Snape."

"Can I just see her? Please?"

"She's still unconscious," Madam Pomfrey answered matter-of-factly. But her tone changed as she noticed how genuinely frightened he was. Besides, she knew he would be quiet and let the other patients rest. "Well, Merlin knows you two end up here fairly often, and this is somewhat serious… very well. Just a little while now. Bed four."

Hazel looked perfectly peaceful. Someone - either Flitwick or Madam Pomfrey - had placed her wand on the table beside the bed. Lying there in the moonlight she looked almost like she was asleep. Sev set his bag down next to the bed and dropped into a chair. With a glance over his shoulder to be sure no one was looking, he gently took her hand, wondering if she should be as cold as she was. He said nothing, silently praying that she would wake up soon.

When Madam Pomfrey came by, he withdrew his hand quickly, trying to distract her by asking when Hazel would be awake. "I'm afraid I don't know. You must realize that the combined effect of the spell and the fall she took… well, it may take some time. I wouldn't anticipate very long, not like if she had been Petrified, but it may take a few days."

"A few days? But she - how?"

"It was a powerful spell, and Professor Flitwick tells me that she took an incredible fall. You sixteen year-olds may think you're invincible, but you're still children. Now it's about time you should be getting back to the dungeons."

"Can I stay for a little while longer?"

Madam Pomfrey didn't see any harm to it. "Alright, I'm going to finish making my rounds, and then it will be time for you to go." By the time she got back, Sev had fallen asleep in his chair. With a soft smile, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, transforming the chair into a much more comfortable one, propping a pillow behind his head and levitating a blanket over him.

Though she forced him out of the Hospital Wing to go to class, Sev's presence by Hazel's bedside became normal, as he would stop in between classes and come to work in the Hospital Wing after dinner. The third evening he was there, Remus stopped in to check on Hazel, closely followed by James, Sirius, and Peter. "What are you doing here?" James asked, Sev looking up from his Arithmancy textbook.

"Visiting, same as you," he replied, trying to get back to reading.

"How's she doing?" Remus tried to ask, but Sirius spoke over him.

"Really, Snivellus? Keeping your little girlfriend company? Feeling guilty that it was one of your lot who did it?"

Sev reached for his wand just as Sirius drew his. "Don't," Remus warned with a backwards glance towards Madam Pomfrey's desk.

"You'd all better go. Got a full moon to prepare for tomorrow night, don't you? Twenty-four hours to pick out a new target," Sev said, his eyes trained on Sirius and his voice dripping with poison.

"Gentlemen!" Madam Pomfrey hissed, suddenly appearing in front of them. "Wands away! Potter, Black, Pettigrew, the three of you out of here right now! Mr. Lupin, say your good night and go get some rest. I will see you tomorrow evening," she instructed them sternly.

"If we have to go, you should make him go too!" Sirius protested.

Madam Pomfrey crossed her arms. "Mr. Black, I have seen the results of your ill-conceived prank firsthand. I have seen the results of your friend's condition firsthand. And I have seen all of you in here far too many times. This time Mr. Snape has not done anything. As he is not actively disturbing my patients, he may stay for the time being. If you stay here one moment longer, you will be cleaning bedpans - without magic - for a week."

The four of them exchanged glances before silently leaving. Madam Pomfrey walked them out, Sev going back to his Arithmancy book. "Using the works compiled by Bridget Wenlock in the thirteenth century, Duncan Helpert began his groundbreaking work on the number fourteen in 1414, a year he considered highly auspicious," Sev began to read. He kept his voice low, but steadily forged his way through the chapter. "By 1428, he had discovered little in the way of the future he was seeking, but his contributions paved the way for further study by Cosette Chaldea in 1442 - I think there was another goblin rebellion then… you would know, you know all of this stuff - which proved substantially more fruitful. Her contributions -"

"Sev." Her voice was weak, but clear. Casting the book aside he moved closer, Hazel slowly opening her eyes. She recognized him, which was a good sign. "Are you trying to keep me asleep? Arithmancy isn't the most… riveting thing to read."

"Hey," he smiled, squeezing her hand. "You've been out for a bit. I figured you could use the rest, but…"

That made her laugh a little, which immediately brought on a splitting headache. "Oh Merlin... How long have I been out?"

"Three days."

"Three days?!"

"Yeah, I think you set a new record, between the two of us, anyway. I'll be right back, okay? I've got to let Madam Pomfrey know you're awake."