Real life is causing a slow down and kicking my ass right now. My fiancee has been placed on hospice care for stage 4 cancer. It's been a couple of weeks of getting services coordinated, equipment brought in, furniture rearranged to accommodate it and such tasks. Likely chapters will be a bit slow in coming but I will definitely keep writing this story.
Over the next few days, it was decided and grudgingly agreed to by Snape, who dearly wanted to just disappear into Spinner's End for good, that Snape would retain the title of Headmaster, at least for the upcoming school year. McGonagall, now fully apprised by Dumbledore's portrait of the role that Snape had played as headmaster, insisted he remain on, arguing that only Snape had the personal experience to be able to help and guide the returning children of Death Eater and sympathizer families. He would be under Pomfrey's care, whom he trusted implicitly, and monitored by House, living in the Headmaster's quarters away from the bustle of the school day and have the house elves to help him. Snape would be transferred to the school on the 30th of August, two days before the start of school. The actual duties of the headmaster would remain with McGonagall for now, slowly transferring to Snape over time, with completion of the transfer to take place around Halloween. Until then, for another three weeks, he would remain a patient at St Mungo's.
House, Narcissa, and Draco settled into a routine fairly quickly. In the mornings, House would go to St. Mungo's, to watch over and talk with Snape as well as spend time with the healers as an observer. Collingsworth had arranged for him to have access to the healers' library there as well, in preparation for his work in the Hogwart's infirmary in the fall. Draco would come to the hospital in the afternoon to teach House spells and talk about potions theory. Snape, they hoped, would be interested, or irritated, enough with Draco's teaching to offer his own comments and instructions. It would give him something to think about while he was convalescing. House would leave for home to share dinner and have his lessons with Narcissa, while Draco would share dinner with Snape and spend the evening reading to him before returning home himself.
By the third morning of this routine, Snape was already irritated with them. He wanted nothing more than to be left alone, angry at being so weak and having been talked into remaining the headmaster. House came to his room around 10:30 a.m., a book under his arm and settled down into the chair in Snape's room.
"Must you read here? Do they not have chairs in the library?" Snape rasped out.
"Yep, they sure do," House agreed, opening his book and starting to scan the pages.
"Then get out," Snape ground out, although the effort put him into a coughing fit that needed House's help to stop it. House held a glass of water for him to drink a few swallows then returned to his chair.
"I think it's only fair to tell you that I'm not going to leave you alone, no matter what you say and there isn't anyone else that will stop me either. I know, you don't want company, you don't want to be here, you don't want to be injured, hell, you don't even want to be alive. I've been there, for different reasons than you, but I've been there and I can finally admit that what I wanted more than anything was for someone to fight hard enough to stay at my side no matter what. So this time, I'm the one who needs to fight to be at your side and one thing I'm pretty good at is defying authority," House said, finishing with a smirk.
Snape pointedly looked at the hospital wall, frowning angrily when House just chuckled and returned to his reading. Snape remained sulkily silent for over an hour then finally turned to face House again.
"Why did you stand up for the Malfoys?" Snape whispered.
"Because they were about to get mobbed by a crowd in a hospital. Since I got shot in the same hospital I was working in, I'm a little sensitive about scenes like that," House answered, not looking up from his book although he was paying close attention to Snape's reaction.
"But to live in your flat?" Snape continued. "Why?"
"Truthfully, because your ministry is crucifying them to make an example out of them. They only had charges against Lucius and he died, so now they want to take out all the anger and pain of the war on the two of them. Great way to make yet another dark lord. I don't know what they think they are proving by banning them from leaving England while refusing to allow them into their properties or any of their money to live someplace else. That's completely idiotic. So, I invited them into my flat, went with Draco to the Ministry to bully them into allowing him to gather personal clothes and effects from the Manor as well as opening his school vault at Gringott's since they are requiring him to return to school to repeat his seventh year. In exchange, they are both helping me learn what I need to know to live and work in this world."
Snape nodded. The explanation eased his worries about Draco and Narcissa. He agreed with House's opinion on the Ministry's actions against the Malfoys and was pleased at the very Slytherin exchange of room and board for knowledge. That did, however, raise a new worry for Snape. House had saved his life, by doing the research into the potion regimen and ritual needed to heal him as well as bullying St Mungo's healers into action. That meant he owed House a life debt, and a lesser debt to Bill Weasley too for that matter.
Snape fell asleep again as he pondered what to do about the life debt and when he woke again, Draco had arrived and was going through potions theory with House.
Draco was going through common potions ingredients' properties from the third year potions curriculum, Snape noted. Draco named the ingredient and House rattled off the properties from memory, doing quite well at it. He missed a few here and there but added in muggle alternative medical uses and properties in. Draco listened closely to the additions, sometimes asking questions of his own and jotting down what House added in a notebook. Finally House asked Draco a question that he couldn't answer and Snape spoke up to answer him. Draco was startled but he noted that House was not, that he had already known that Snape was awake.
"You're absorbing this all very quickly," Snape added when the other two moved their chairs closer to his bed. "Some of the muggle uses I've never heard of."
"I read several different medical journals every month, from several different countries," House responded. "It helps me keep up on both obscure and new treatments as well as ongoing research."
"You should get Potions Quarterly. It is much the same as a medical journal," Snape offered, lapsing into a coughing fit.
"Draco mentioned the same thing to me yesterday," House replied as Draco poured Snape a glass of water. "I think I will subscribe to that and Collingsworth has already set me up with the Healer's Quarterly."
"How are you feeling today?" Draco asked, taking the other chair.
"Still very sore and weak. How is your mother doing?" Snape asked, quickly shifting the focus of the conversation.
"She's doing well. Deep into putting together lessons for Professor House on Wizard history, etiquette, and culture. Keeping herself busy doing that. But I know she's still worried, still mourning Father," Draco answered, letting a little of his own grief show. "There's plenty in my school vault for both of us to live for quite a while but when that runs out I will hopefully be able to get some type of job to support us both. If anyone will hire a Malfoy," he added bitterly.
"I told you both that you can stay with me as long as you need to," House interjected. "Once you and I are up at school, she'll have the flat to herself until June. That gives us nine months to get on the Ministry's ass to open up at least one of your properties and vaults."
"Spinner's End is also open to you both, but I can't see your mother living in that run down muggle neighborhood," Snape responded. "Best to stay where you are for now."
Draco nodded, somber at the thought that they might be locked out of their property for months to come though he was relieved that his mother would be able to stay at House's flat.
"Draco is also teaching me spells," House commented, deftly turning the conversation.
"Yes, he's actually picking spells up pretty fast," Draco responded, relieved for the change of subject. "I don't think he was as low magical blood as you thought when you were both thirteen."
"Flitwick thinks that it might be that moving around every few months as a military brat might have dropped me between the cracks of different schools," House offered.
"Possible," Snape allowed. "How far have you gotten on spells and how quickly? Are you teaching him potions or just theory?" he added to Draco, lapsing into another coughing fit.
"He's already on third year spells," Draco answered. "I haven't been brewing potions with him though. We really don't have a place to do it in the flat in Hogsmeade. We're about to start grade four spellwork, probably by the end of the week. It's hard to say without knowing his bloodline how powerful he might become or any lineal traits, like inventing spells in the Prince line," he added, nodding at Snape.
"You invented spells as well as potions? Sweet," House said with a grin and a fire of curiosity in his eyes. "But I do know what bloodline I came from. Found out at Gringott's."
"Which family are you from?" Draco asked as Snape looked on with interest.
"MacDougal. Son of Herbert, son of Alexander, son of Robert. The goblins gave me the names of my cousins and half brothers and sisters. I haven't contacted them yet. Not sure if I'm up to the risk of being rejected by yet another family," House added quietly with a bitter undertone.
Draco was curious to know more but wise enough to recognize now was not the time to ask, even before the warning glance from Snape. He would, he decided, make sure that his mother knew, so that she could talk about the MacDougal line in her lessons with House more than she might have otherwise.
"The MacDougal line has a lot of Ravenclaw affiliations," Snape commented. "That certainly fits with how quickly you absorb information."
"They're a pure blood line, like the Potters, but not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," Draco mused aloud. "I've heard that they are interested in defense and ancient runes. Once you've finished your crash course in wizardry, you would probably enjoy ancient runes and arithmancy. I can help you with that too, if you like, although you could get help right from the professors while school is in session."
"Maybe. Maybe I'll keep the tutor I have. I get him, he gets me. Better than trying to figure out yet another person," House said in a casual tone but nodded meaningfully when a surprised Draco met his eyes.
"You really wouldn't mind learning from a student instead of a professor?" Draco asked, finding it hard to believe.
"You know your stuff on the subjects?"
"Draco has carried top marks in both classes since third year, challenged only by Granger," Snape informed him.
"There's your answer. I'll keep the teacher I've got. Now, I really need to get going. My other teacher is waiting for me and she's a strict taskmaster," House said, putting his books in his bag and getting to his feet. "See you tomorrow, Snape. Draco."
