TO MY REVIEWERS (still love you all):
Anne Rosemary McSommers: Well, without spell checking you would all have to suffer through my terrible spelling and the fact that I type too fast to really know what I'm spelling.
Setsuri: You know you're my favorite reviewer, right? Lol and thank you for another wonderful review and the cyber cookie.
Nickole Riddle: Thank you.
Sirius' Secret Lover: He's not weak; he's just a little frail. And Sirius never mentioned you to me. *sobs* Heh.
Oriana Dumbledore: Thank you for your input; I hope you got my message.
Midnight Flower: Thank you also and I hope you got your email as well.
WritingAgain83: I haven't read one where Harry is blind, Kind of sad to know that too many other people have done that. well, I had written another one that was halfway done at 21 chapters, but it was a fifth year book and when OOTP came out, I kind of didn't wish to continue it. In that one, Harry had a disability, too. But it was a more cliché one: he was in a wheelchair. Lol. Shinigami061 (Jamie) was my beta for that. She is for this one too. Anyways, I'm not going to make it to where he can't do anything. That would be boring. ^_^To Doc and Mandi from
Fusionchat: I love your input on everything, though your constant demanding (Doc) for chapters (Doc) is getting out of hand (DOC). I'll talk to both of you later, as I'm sure you are /desperately/ awaiting this chapter (. Doc).
To Shinigami061 (JAMIE) : Thank you so much for posting my story, talking for hours with me on the phone, and actually stooping so low as to talk with me at school where people might see you. ;-) (SEVVIE! PRACTICE YOUR MATH XD) everyone else, just ignore that, I had a really weird and disturbing dream that I told Jamie about. Really, you don't want to know.
On with the chapter.
##.....## Harry's thoughts **..** Dumbledore's thoughts
THERE ARE BOOK 5 (Order of the Phoenix.obviously) SPOILERS. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!
Chapter 5
Wheeling Harry back to the room with the strange dark man fallowing behind, Melinda began pondering what exactly had happened to the boy. Surely, no one would hurt such an innocent looking child as this in such a way. It was inhuman. His voice was deep and husky, so she supposed she had guessed wrong on his age. Closer to seventeen would be her revised estimate. Melinda still did not know who the tall man with the head full of black greasy hair was but naturally assumed it was his father, seeing as he had been concerned as to where the boy went and had seemed to reprimand him for wandering off.
As they turned to corridor, Melinda looked over her shoulder at the man and said, "Could I ask you your name, sir?" The boy looked in terrible shape and she didn't want to leave him with someone she didn't know, she was growing attached to him though she didn't even know him.
Severus looked up from his fixed gaze on the floor, thinking of many disgusting ways to penalize Harr- Potter's Muggles. He raised an eyebrow and replied, "I am Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Severus knew he was overly proud of his teaching position, but you had to be top notch at what you do to work at Hogwarts under Albus Dumbledore.
Thoughts flicking to Dumbledore while the nurse nodded and pressed on towards Potter's hospital room, Severus stopped his own planning for the demise of the Dursley's. He shuddered involuntarily as he began to contemplate the punishments in store for the lousy muggles; anything Severus could do, Albus could do ten times the damage with twice the pain. You can't harm one of Dumbledore's students and get off scott free. He's the only man that Voldemort fears, for Merlin's sake!
When they arrived at the room, Severus watched as the nurse (the name on her identification tag read Melinda) tried to help Potter into his bed, but the boy flinched away. He felt around the bed until he confirmed a stable grip and hoisted himself up.
All the movement and exertion had really taken it out of Harry. While he lay on the bed, he could hear people and things being moved around him. He felt a blanket being laid on top of him and he could only assume that Melinda was 'tucking him in'. Harry heard her shuffle off to the other side of the room, then whisper to Professor Snape. He closed his eyes and sighed. ## I'm blind, I'm not stupid. act like I can't hear you, yeah right. ##
Melinda leaned over and whispered in Severus' ear, "I'll be back in about half an hour to check on him, sir." Severus nodded and the nurse left, closing the door behind her; leaving the two of them alone.
After a few moments of silence, Harry spoke up, "I'm not deaf, you know."
Being lost in thought on several things, (most revolving around the boy in front of him, unfortunately) Severus started and looked up, "Pardon?"
Harry sighed and repeated, "I'm not deaf. On the contrary, I find that my hearing has improved significantly. And I don't appreciate people whispering when they think I can't hear them, I'm not some fragile piece of china; I've been doing fine up until now." He didn't mean to sound like he was complaining, but he was tired of being treated like a child.
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Severus replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Oh yes, Mr. Potter, you seem to be doing 'fine'." Suddenly, he caught something in the words Harry said, "What exactly do you mean by 'up until now'" Severus watched as the boy's eyes darted to the left, as though trying to think up something quickly, "Merlin's beard, how long has this been going on?"
Sensing that he could not get out of this as he had already let out too much, Harry said, "Nearly my whole life, since I was left there." he looked up to where he thought he had heard the professor's voice across the room and shouted louder then he intended, "But it doesn't matter!"
Utterly shocked that the boy's cocky attitude was unfazed, Severus said angrily, "What do you mean it doesn't matter?! Of course it matters! You're Harry Potter and-"
"Exactly." Harry said scathingly, shocking the potions master with the bitterness in his voice. He continued in a mock voice that sounded oddly like Molly Weasley, "Oh, poor pitiable Harry Potter; lost his parents and godfather. Such a sad boy. Bah!" If looks could kill, Severus would be full of broken glass and dead before he hit the ground. Harry was raging now and nothing could stop him from having his say. He added sarcastically, "Oh yes, let's add another little trial to Famous Harry Potter's life: his uncle is a sadistic bastard who raped and beat his nephew." He glared in Severus' direction, "You're like Ron, aren't you? You think I like this. this attention! Well to hell with it, send me off to a Muggle school where no one knows my name and I'll be a thousand times happier then I am living in a place where all anyone ever does is gawk at my scar of claim that I love the lime light so much I'm turning green!"
Severus stared at the nearly sixteen-year-old youth in front of him. He had been wrong; Severus Snape had been wrong (A/N: Amazing concept really, but let's continue with the story, eh?). Having believed all these years that the small simpering boy had thrived in the praise of others for something he had done as a baby, the professor was surprised and disturbed by the teen's outburst.
Rubbing his forehead, Severus said as calmly as he could muster, "I must go write to the Headmaster. He should be arriving soon." Closing the door behind him the potions master watched as Potter lay back down and pulled the blanket up over his head, as though he was hiding from the Mistress of Burden that seemed to plague his life at every turn.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry lay quietly for a log time, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes and moaning. He couldn't believe that he had yelled at a professor like that. Professor /Snape/ even. Lord, Harry knew he had made a very big mistake when he did that, judging by the way the man had to restrain his voice. Harry had not been lying when he said his hearing had improved. He could hear the patients in the rooms adjacent to him, and there were two elderly wizards in the hall debating over the Quidditch that had past this summer.
Falling into a restless sleep, Harry was nonetheless welcoming the darkness that swept over his already shadowy world.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*DREAM*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry was flying around the Quidditch field and. Merlin's beard, he could see colors. Oh, he could almost cry. Colors; red, green, white, orange, black, white, so many of them. Harry had thought he would never see the beautiful scenery of the Quidditch field again.
But then, there were dark clouds on the horizon; coming steadily closer. Harry eyed them, but returned to flying, relishing the feeling of the wind in his hair and the broom beneath him.
Abruptly, there was a shattering sound. Feeling something moist on his face, the young Gryffindor reached up and touched one of his cheeks. He stared down at his hands in utter disbelief, they were colored red with blood from his eyes and his broken glasses lay in pieces in his outstretched palms.
Falling from his broom in shock, Harry fell for what seemed an eternity to the plush grass beneath him. But he never hit the ground; everything disappeared, leaving nothing bust vast black. That was all there was to describing it: Black. There was no particular air temperature, no sounds or vibrations, no signs of movement. But he kept falling, pummeling further into the dark abyss.
Then, three haunting laughter's filled the air. The first was the well known cackle of Voldemort, torturing Harry's mind with the pain buried deep inside him. Following shortly was the mad chuckle of his Uncle while the man muttered disgusting things about Harry. Then came the usually wonderful bark-like laughter of Sirius Black. His heart ached to hear the voice of his godfather, but his only father-figure seemed to be laughing at Harry and his misfortunes.
Harry covered his ears, trying to block out the madness around him as he slammed his eyes shut. The blood still careened down.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*END DREAM*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Back in the hospital room, Harry's sleeping form was convulsing violently in the small white bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Severus caught Holmes on his forearm as the giant black bird came soaring through the window in the hospital's owelry. He marveled at the fact that the raven seemed to know exactly when he was needed. Severus pulled the small slip of paper from Holmes' foot.
//Severus,
I shall be arriving soon by means of the Knight Bus. (I always have enjoyed the rides.) I will be seeing you in an hour's time so we can discuss the living arrangements of Mr. Potter. He shall be staying with us at Hogwarts, but he will need a mentor.
- Albus Dumbledore //
Groaning audibly, Severus knew already that he would be the boy's mentor. The other professors would not have the patience necessary to train Potter. And trust Dumbledore to be the one person in the world to actually take pleasure in riding that blasted bus.
Holmes tucked his head under Severus' hand, waiting for his master to pet him. Chuckling slightly, Severus stroked the head of the affectionate raven. He watched as he then flew up into the rafters and sat beside a large eagle owl.
Deciding it was time to go back to the room and deal with the rampant Gryffindor, Severus made his way down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. He had always preferred doing things the hard way. Besides, the potions master was extremely claustrophobic.
When he arrived at the room, Severus was almost positive that the boy was merely asleep, until he began tossing and turning violently. Instead of calling for help (which would have been the most rational thing had he gotten more then an hour of sleep the previous night), he jumped on the bed next to Potter and wrapped his arms around the boys shoulder, trying to calm the quaking.
He began to mutter nonsense to the boy, feeling the trembling body become serene in his embrace.
"It's okay," Severus said quietly, trying his hardest to still Potter, "That's right. Just calm down and go back to sleep." He sighed heavily with relief when the body in his arms became relaxed and the boy's breathing slowed to a normal pace.
Knowing somehow that it would be best to keep hold of the boy instead of letting go to sit in his chair, Severus loosened his grip somewhat and lay back against the pillows next to him. Fatigue kicking in and pulling his eyes closed, Severus allowed himself to adjust slightly in the bed into a more comfortable position.
Still holding onto his once most hated pupil, Severus fell into a quiet and dreamless sleep as darkness overcame him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Albus Dumbledore arrived in the waiting room of St. Mungos a half hour after he sent Holmes off with a letter to Severus. Though he enjoyed the rides of the Knight Bus immensely, the headmaster was in a hurry to reach one of his most prized students.
The head nurse at the front desk eagerly showed the famed wizard to the Nurse's Aid Station and left him with another mediwitch named Melinda. Dumbledore looked over the witch who barely stood 5'3 tall, coming just up to the headmaster's chest. She had such flaming hair it would put the Weasley's to shame. A pale complexion that suited her nicely was accented by dozens of freckles slashed across her face.
Melinda smiled at the man in front of her, "Hello, Mr. Dumbledore. Come with me this way," she turned in the direction of Harry's room, "I was just going to check on them."
While Dumbledore followed after the petite nurse, he caught bits of chatter going on behind him; gossip that had obviously been interrupted by his arrival.
"Did you see it? One of the sweetest things I've ever seen!" said one witch, dressed in bright blue scrubs and a pale pink robe.
"Oh my, yes." Whispered the woman next to her, "I saw it when I walked past to take the paperwork to Dr. Michael. Almost makes you want to cry."
The witch standing at the counter filling out forms spoke up, "It's hard to believe anything that bad could happen to the boy when his father obviously loves him so much. The way he's holding onto him!"
The three of them shared a simultaneous "aaaaaw" of appreciation and went on with their hospital gossip as they continued their work.
Melinda, turning around and seeing the Headmaster listening in on the conversation said, "We all highly respect Mr. Snape." Dumbledore turned around and began walking with her again, "From the Distress Sensors we set up around the rooms, we detected that Harry had some sort of seizure the same time Mr. Snape came back to the room. The house elves tell us that they've been sleeping since."
Dumbledore looked down at the witch as they continued to the room; Melinda was beaming with pride that one of her patients was being cared for so well.
"You all think he's a good father, then?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes. My, my, so the 'I am a bastard get away from me before I throw you in a cauldron and feed you to my raven" Snape has a heart. Astounding.
"Oh dear me, yes!" Melinda said, looking shocked that the other man even had to ask when it was so obvious. "Just wait until you see them, your heart will break."
They turned left into a smaller corridor and Melinda opened the door on their right. Dumbledore felt the skin of his face stretch into one of the largest smiles he had ever had. Indeed, he felt his heart would crack in two from the bliss it felt.
There was Severus Snape, famed Mr. Don't-give-a-damn. The middle-aged man was lying above the blankets, sleeping soundly; and in his arms was none other then the-boy-who-lived. Severus had a small smile on his face as though he was content and at peace with the world. And Harry had a complete expression of trust and dependence etched in every inch of his being.
**Good. They both need to be happy for once in their lived. Now all we have to do is deal with them when they wake up.** Dumbledore took the chair at the end of the room and pulled it up beside the bed. Pulling out the newest copy of The Daily Prophet, the headmaster began reading up on the attack of Flesh Eating Slug while periodically looking over at the two sleeping figures on the hospital bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
T-t-t-th-that's all folks!
A/N: HA! Another one, ok. Just wanted to (AGAIN) thank everyone for their reviews. You know what? It only took me a day to write this. actually, only 3 hours. Amazing, no? No, not really I suppose. I know, its been 5 days since I updated, right? But I didn't have the inspiration. Besides, those were my days off. The family I work for went on a short vacation. I got a few emails asking if I would continue writing when school began, and I will. Because I have no life and I learned that I won't have lunch with anyone I know. *sob* JAMIE! WE WON'T HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER!!! Anyways, so yes I will continue for all you weirdo, obsessed fans (DOC!!!!). Um yeah, a/n is getting a little long. And remember kiddies: Heart attacks are mother nature's revenge for eating her little animal friends. Love you all, REVIEW OR I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!
-Sandi Author Thing
Anne Rosemary McSommers: Well, without spell checking you would all have to suffer through my terrible spelling and the fact that I type too fast to really know what I'm spelling.
Setsuri: You know you're my favorite reviewer, right? Lol and thank you for another wonderful review and the cyber cookie.
Nickole Riddle: Thank you.
Sirius' Secret Lover: He's not weak; he's just a little frail. And Sirius never mentioned you to me. *sobs* Heh.
Oriana Dumbledore: Thank you for your input; I hope you got my message.
Midnight Flower: Thank you also and I hope you got your email as well.
WritingAgain83: I haven't read one where Harry is blind, Kind of sad to know that too many other people have done that. well, I had written another one that was halfway done at 21 chapters, but it was a fifth year book and when OOTP came out, I kind of didn't wish to continue it. In that one, Harry had a disability, too. But it was a more cliché one: he was in a wheelchair. Lol. Shinigami061 (Jamie) was my beta for that. She is for this one too. Anyways, I'm not going to make it to where he can't do anything. That would be boring. ^_^To Doc and Mandi from
Fusionchat: I love your input on everything, though your constant demanding (Doc) for chapters (Doc) is getting out of hand (DOC). I'll talk to both of you later, as I'm sure you are /desperately/ awaiting this chapter (. Doc).
To Shinigami061 (JAMIE) : Thank you so much for posting my story, talking for hours with me on the phone, and actually stooping so low as to talk with me at school where people might see you. ;-) (SEVVIE! PRACTICE YOUR MATH XD) everyone else, just ignore that, I had a really weird and disturbing dream that I told Jamie about. Really, you don't want to know.
On with the chapter.
##.....## Harry's thoughts **..** Dumbledore's thoughts
THERE ARE BOOK 5 (Order of the Phoenix.obviously) SPOILERS. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!
Chapter 5
Wheeling Harry back to the room with the strange dark man fallowing behind, Melinda began pondering what exactly had happened to the boy. Surely, no one would hurt such an innocent looking child as this in such a way. It was inhuman. His voice was deep and husky, so she supposed she had guessed wrong on his age. Closer to seventeen would be her revised estimate. Melinda still did not know who the tall man with the head full of black greasy hair was but naturally assumed it was his father, seeing as he had been concerned as to where the boy went and had seemed to reprimand him for wandering off.
As they turned to corridor, Melinda looked over her shoulder at the man and said, "Could I ask you your name, sir?" The boy looked in terrible shape and she didn't want to leave him with someone she didn't know, she was growing attached to him though she didn't even know him.
Severus looked up from his fixed gaze on the floor, thinking of many disgusting ways to penalize Harr- Potter's Muggles. He raised an eyebrow and replied, "I am Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Severus knew he was overly proud of his teaching position, but you had to be top notch at what you do to work at Hogwarts under Albus Dumbledore.
Thoughts flicking to Dumbledore while the nurse nodded and pressed on towards Potter's hospital room, Severus stopped his own planning for the demise of the Dursley's. He shuddered involuntarily as he began to contemplate the punishments in store for the lousy muggles; anything Severus could do, Albus could do ten times the damage with twice the pain. You can't harm one of Dumbledore's students and get off scott free. He's the only man that Voldemort fears, for Merlin's sake!
When they arrived at the room, Severus watched as the nurse (the name on her identification tag read Melinda) tried to help Potter into his bed, but the boy flinched away. He felt around the bed until he confirmed a stable grip and hoisted himself up.
All the movement and exertion had really taken it out of Harry. While he lay on the bed, he could hear people and things being moved around him. He felt a blanket being laid on top of him and he could only assume that Melinda was 'tucking him in'. Harry heard her shuffle off to the other side of the room, then whisper to Professor Snape. He closed his eyes and sighed. ## I'm blind, I'm not stupid. act like I can't hear you, yeah right. ##
Melinda leaned over and whispered in Severus' ear, "I'll be back in about half an hour to check on him, sir." Severus nodded and the nurse left, closing the door behind her; leaving the two of them alone.
After a few moments of silence, Harry spoke up, "I'm not deaf, you know."
Being lost in thought on several things, (most revolving around the boy in front of him, unfortunately) Severus started and looked up, "Pardon?"
Harry sighed and repeated, "I'm not deaf. On the contrary, I find that my hearing has improved significantly. And I don't appreciate people whispering when they think I can't hear them, I'm not some fragile piece of china; I've been doing fine up until now." He didn't mean to sound like he was complaining, but he was tired of being treated like a child.
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Severus replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Oh yes, Mr. Potter, you seem to be doing 'fine'." Suddenly, he caught something in the words Harry said, "What exactly do you mean by 'up until now'" Severus watched as the boy's eyes darted to the left, as though trying to think up something quickly, "Merlin's beard, how long has this been going on?"
Sensing that he could not get out of this as he had already let out too much, Harry said, "Nearly my whole life, since I was left there." he looked up to where he thought he had heard the professor's voice across the room and shouted louder then he intended, "But it doesn't matter!"
Utterly shocked that the boy's cocky attitude was unfazed, Severus said angrily, "What do you mean it doesn't matter?! Of course it matters! You're Harry Potter and-"
"Exactly." Harry said scathingly, shocking the potions master with the bitterness in his voice. He continued in a mock voice that sounded oddly like Molly Weasley, "Oh, poor pitiable Harry Potter; lost his parents and godfather. Such a sad boy. Bah!" If looks could kill, Severus would be full of broken glass and dead before he hit the ground. Harry was raging now and nothing could stop him from having his say. He added sarcastically, "Oh yes, let's add another little trial to Famous Harry Potter's life: his uncle is a sadistic bastard who raped and beat his nephew." He glared in Severus' direction, "You're like Ron, aren't you? You think I like this. this attention! Well to hell with it, send me off to a Muggle school where no one knows my name and I'll be a thousand times happier then I am living in a place where all anyone ever does is gawk at my scar of claim that I love the lime light so much I'm turning green!"
Severus stared at the nearly sixteen-year-old youth in front of him. He had been wrong; Severus Snape had been wrong (A/N: Amazing concept really, but let's continue with the story, eh?). Having believed all these years that the small simpering boy had thrived in the praise of others for something he had done as a baby, the professor was surprised and disturbed by the teen's outburst.
Rubbing his forehead, Severus said as calmly as he could muster, "I must go write to the Headmaster. He should be arriving soon." Closing the door behind him the potions master watched as Potter lay back down and pulled the blanket up over his head, as though he was hiding from the Mistress of Burden that seemed to plague his life at every turn.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry lay quietly for a log time, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes and moaning. He couldn't believe that he had yelled at a professor like that. Professor /Snape/ even. Lord, Harry knew he had made a very big mistake when he did that, judging by the way the man had to restrain his voice. Harry had not been lying when he said his hearing had improved. He could hear the patients in the rooms adjacent to him, and there were two elderly wizards in the hall debating over the Quidditch that had past this summer.
Falling into a restless sleep, Harry was nonetheless welcoming the darkness that swept over his already shadowy world.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*DREAM*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry was flying around the Quidditch field and. Merlin's beard, he could see colors. Oh, he could almost cry. Colors; red, green, white, orange, black, white, so many of them. Harry had thought he would never see the beautiful scenery of the Quidditch field again.
But then, there were dark clouds on the horizon; coming steadily closer. Harry eyed them, but returned to flying, relishing the feeling of the wind in his hair and the broom beneath him.
Abruptly, there was a shattering sound. Feeling something moist on his face, the young Gryffindor reached up and touched one of his cheeks. He stared down at his hands in utter disbelief, they were colored red with blood from his eyes and his broken glasses lay in pieces in his outstretched palms.
Falling from his broom in shock, Harry fell for what seemed an eternity to the plush grass beneath him. But he never hit the ground; everything disappeared, leaving nothing bust vast black. That was all there was to describing it: Black. There was no particular air temperature, no sounds or vibrations, no signs of movement. But he kept falling, pummeling further into the dark abyss.
Then, three haunting laughter's filled the air. The first was the well known cackle of Voldemort, torturing Harry's mind with the pain buried deep inside him. Following shortly was the mad chuckle of his Uncle while the man muttered disgusting things about Harry. Then came the usually wonderful bark-like laughter of Sirius Black. His heart ached to hear the voice of his godfather, but his only father-figure seemed to be laughing at Harry and his misfortunes.
Harry covered his ears, trying to block out the madness around him as he slammed his eyes shut. The blood still careened down.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*END DREAM*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Back in the hospital room, Harry's sleeping form was convulsing violently in the small white bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Severus caught Holmes on his forearm as the giant black bird came soaring through the window in the hospital's owelry. He marveled at the fact that the raven seemed to know exactly when he was needed. Severus pulled the small slip of paper from Holmes' foot.
//Severus,
I shall be arriving soon by means of the Knight Bus. (I always have enjoyed the rides.) I will be seeing you in an hour's time so we can discuss the living arrangements of Mr. Potter. He shall be staying with us at Hogwarts, but he will need a mentor.
- Albus Dumbledore //
Groaning audibly, Severus knew already that he would be the boy's mentor. The other professors would not have the patience necessary to train Potter. And trust Dumbledore to be the one person in the world to actually take pleasure in riding that blasted bus.
Holmes tucked his head under Severus' hand, waiting for his master to pet him. Chuckling slightly, Severus stroked the head of the affectionate raven. He watched as he then flew up into the rafters and sat beside a large eagle owl.
Deciding it was time to go back to the room and deal with the rampant Gryffindor, Severus made his way down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. He had always preferred doing things the hard way. Besides, the potions master was extremely claustrophobic.
When he arrived at the room, Severus was almost positive that the boy was merely asleep, until he began tossing and turning violently. Instead of calling for help (which would have been the most rational thing had he gotten more then an hour of sleep the previous night), he jumped on the bed next to Potter and wrapped his arms around the boys shoulder, trying to calm the quaking.
He began to mutter nonsense to the boy, feeling the trembling body become serene in his embrace.
"It's okay," Severus said quietly, trying his hardest to still Potter, "That's right. Just calm down and go back to sleep." He sighed heavily with relief when the body in his arms became relaxed and the boy's breathing slowed to a normal pace.
Knowing somehow that it would be best to keep hold of the boy instead of letting go to sit in his chair, Severus loosened his grip somewhat and lay back against the pillows next to him. Fatigue kicking in and pulling his eyes closed, Severus allowed himself to adjust slightly in the bed into a more comfortable position.
Still holding onto his once most hated pupil, Severus fell into a quiet and dreamless sleep as darkness overcame him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Albus Dumbledore arrived in the waiting room of St. Mungos a half hour after he sent Holmes off with a letter to Severus. Though he enjoyed the rides of the Knight Bus immensely, the headmaster was in a hurry to reach one of his most prized students.
The head nurse at the front desk eagerly showed the famed wizard to the Nurse's Aid Station and left him with another mediwitch named Melinda. Dumbledore looked over the witch who barely stood 5'3 tall, coming just up to the headmaster's chest. She had such flaming hair it would put the Weasley's to shame. A pale complexion that suited her nicely was accented by dozens of freckles slashed across her face.
Melinda smiled at the man in front of her, "Hello, Mr. Dumbledore. Come with me this way," she turned in the direction of Harry's room, "I was just going to check on them."
While Dumbledore followed after the petite nurse, he caught bits of chatter going on behind him; gossip that had obviously been interrupted by his arrival.
"Did you see it? One of the sweetest things I've ever seen!" said one witch, dressed in bright blue scrubs and a pale pink robe.
"Oh my, yes." Whispered the woman next to her, "I saw it when I walked past to take the paperwork to Dr. Michael. Almost makes you want to cry."
The witch standing at the counter filling out forms spoke up, "It's hard to believe anything that bad could happen to the boy when his father obviously loves him so much. The way he's holding onto him!"
The three of them shared a simultaneous "aaaaaw" of appreciation and went on with their hospital gossip as they continued their work.
Melinda, turning around and seeing the Headmaster listening in on the conversation said, "We all highly respect Mr. Snape." Dumbledore turned around and began walking with her again, "From the Distress Sensors we set up around the rooms, we detected that Harry had some sort of seizure the same time Mr. Snape came back to the room. The house elves tell us that they've been sleeping since."
Dumbledore looked down at the witch as they continued to the room; Melinda was beaming with pride that one of her patients was being cared for so well.
"You all think he's a good father, then?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes. My, my, so the 'I am a bastard get away from me before I throw you in a cauldron and feed you to my raven" Snape has a heart. Astounding.
"Oh dear me, yes!" Melinda said, looking shocked that the other man even had to ask when it was so obvious. "Just wait until you see them, your heart will break."
They turned left into a smaller corridor and Melinda opened the door on their right. Dumbledore felt the skin of his face stretch into one of the largest smiles he had ever had. Indeed, he felt his heart would crack in two from the bliss it felt.
There was Severus Snape, famed Mr. Don't-give-a-damn. The middle-aged man was lying above the blankets, sleeping soundly; and in his arms was none other then the-boy-who-lived. Severus had a small smile on his face as though he was content and at peace with the world. And Harry had a complete expression of trust and dependence etched in every inch of his being.
**Good. They both need to be happy for once in their lived. Now all we have to do is deal with them when they wake up.** Dumbledore took the chair at the end of the room and pulled it up beside the bed. Pulling out the newest copy of The Daily Prophet, the headmaster began reading up on the attack of Flesh Eating Slug while periodically looking over at the two sleeping figures on the hospital bed.
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T-t-t-th-that's all folks!
A/N: HA! Another one, ok. Just wanted to (AGAIN) thank everyone for their reviews. You know what? It only took me a day to write this. actually, only 3 hours. Amazing, no? No, not really I suppose. I know, its been 5 days since I updated, right? But I didn't have the inspiration. Besides, those were my days off. The family I work for went on a short vacation. I got a few emails asking if I would continue writing when school began, and I will. Because I have no life and I learned that I won't have lunch with anyone I know. *sob* JAMIE! WE WON'T HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER!!! Anyways, so yes I will continue for all you weirdo, obsessed fans (DOC!!!!). Um yeah, a/n is getting a little long. And remember kiddies: Heart attacks are mother nature's revenge for eating her little animal friends. Love you all, REVIEW OR I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!
-Sandi Author Thing