Sorry for the delay-here it is…review! =D

~NayNymic

Chapter Six: Concerned. . .

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Severus Snape had always been somewhat of an enigma. To those either disliked or distrusted by the man, he appeared cold, unfeeling; a miserable, miserly man whose sole joy in life was to reduce others to his same state of unhappiness.

Thus, it might have proved somewhat of a shock to any who saw him as he was at that moment. He say, not with his usual rigid posture that so aggravated his would-be critics, but with a hunched over back, his head resting wearily in his hands; black hair spilling forward over his fingers, disguising nails-usually so perfect-bitten down to the quick in apprehension.

He had an air of resignation to him-an aura of melancholy that seemed to have seep into him, permeating his very bones. Such a defeated countenance, though unusual for the normally waspish Potions Master, wouldn't have been so very odd, if his dejected attitude had not come upon him while he was keeping vigil over the still recovering Remus Lupin.

The DADA professor had been unconscious for two days, seventeen hours, three minutes and forty-six seconds-not that he was counting, and it was positively driving him mad.

He knew that Pomfrey maintained that his love was indeed recovering-if Remus didn't wake up soon. . .He sighed. He wasn't sure what he would do. . .

Even as he thought this, the man in the bed stirred. Severus sat up abruptly, the pain in his back and neck from hours of sitting uncomfortably, aggravated by the sudden movement. He knew he shouldn't be so. . . excited; Remus had done this before without waking. He might end up doing the same now.

But Remus did wake-the sight of Severus sitting nervously by his bed the first that greeted his eyes. Severus, he noted, looked tired. //I must have been out a long while. . .//

"Hello," he greeted the dark-haired man with a small smile, his voice rusty from the earlier screaming, and the two-odd days of disuse.

"Hello, yourself," Severus replied, reaching out to take the injured mans hand. "How are you feeling?"

Remus shrugged. "I suppose I've been better." He smiled again. "What happened?"

Severus hesitated. He had the right to know, true. . .but he was still recovering. His body was delicate yet-could he afford to have such stress thrust upon him?

"Severus," Remus warned, his voice no longer soft, but still fond. "You will tell me what happened."

And he did.

An hour later, when he had given his lover all of the details, both of his rescue and of the bonding, erm, "situation."

By the end of it, the look in his beloved's eyes had turned decidedly dark. "Take me to Dumbledore. Now."

Severus knew better than to argue.

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At that exact moment-on the other side of the castle, Draco Malfoy's eyes snapped open.

. . . TBC. . .

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Hey, well there it is! I hope all of you are happy with the way it's going. More H/D in next chapter, I promise. =D Love you all! REVIEW!!! :p

~NayNymic