This is actually the sequel to the first chapter. A few people have asked for it, so here it is, in all it's pathetic glory. Huzzah, people, huzzah.

The yet-unnamed sequel to the yet-unnamed suicide fic in the first chapter.

By Harmony Marguerite

Snape looked down at the petite boy in the bed next to him, hand clutching the younger man's. Occasionally, his hand drifted and he rubbed Harry's arm briefly before returning to his hand. With a tired sigh, he allowed his head to rest on Harry's shoulder, maneuvering himself so he could watch the other boy breathe.

It was too close. Far too close.

Harry stirred, opening green eyes to blink at his Professor. "Sir?" He murmured.

Snape sat up in his chair, allowing himself to indulge in petting Harry's hair. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly, or the edited version?"

He almost smirked at that. "You can be honest, I won't tell."

"I feel like shit, uh, sir. Someone told a hoard of goblins there's gold in my head and now they're digging there. And my wrists hurt like hell." He blinked, lifting the hand Snape wasn't attached to, to gaze at the bandages. "Why do my wrists hurt?"

In response, Snape pulled out a small vial. "We found this in your system. It's a form of an invitus cupienter potion."

Harry worked out the translation in his head. "Desire against my will?" He asked.

Snape nodded. "It makes you do the thing you long to do deep in your heart, but would never normally do. In this case, the potion forced you to slit your wrists."

"My deepest desire was to kill myself?"

"It may not have been. One way the potion is found to have worked is to make someone do the one thing they deeply desire never to happen. It's an odd side effect, which is why I would never have used this particular version."

Harry almost smiled at that. "So I either secretly want to die, or I really never want to die?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

"I love it when life is easy. How did the potion get in my system?"

"Someone slipped it in your food..."

"A Gryffindor?"

"They're the most logical at the moment, but anyone could have put a house elf up to it."

Harry leaned back with a sigh. "I remember... I remember you helping me. You were there, and so was Malfoy... Why were you there?"

"Sometimes my students find it easier to talk to me about things that are bothering them in a less formal setting than my office."

"That makes sense. I hope I didn't stop Malfoy from talking to you."

The corner of Snape's lips twitched in a version of his smile. "I assure you, once Mr. Malfoy is in the mood to unburden himself, the end of the world would not stop him. We talked while you slept."

Harry smiled.

"Speaking of Mr. Malfoy, he would like to be one of your visitors when you're allowed to have them. He feels the need to cement the fact that he will have a living rival for the rest of his natural life."

"I'd like that. You can tell him I promise not to do anything stupid until he gets a shot at me."

"I told him what you said when we found you. At the time though, we didn't know you were under the potion's effects." Snape looked down, unable to meet Harry's eyes.

Harry studied him seriously. "I meant what I said." He spoke quietly. "It may not have been something I wanted to say ever, but I don't regret saying it." He tugged his hand out of Snape's grip but only to grab the man's shoulders and pull him close.

In a moment of weakness, Snape crawled on the bed, curling around Harry and holding tight. "I meant what I said too." His voice as quiet as Harry's had been. "I don't know how..."

Harry quieted him with a touch of his fingers. "We'll figure it out as we go along." He assured the other man. "If you think I'm letting you go..."

Snape gave him a wry smile. "Someone has to keep an eye on you."

"You seem like the perfect man for the job."

Snape traced Harry's face with a finger, gazing at him, before leaning in to give Harry a gentle kiss.

"Be my strength?" He murmured against Harry's lips.

He could feel Harry smile. "Only if you be mine."

"It's a deal."