Chapter 7 – Beware the Plants
"You can't do that!"
Albus looked seriously at Harry Potter and calmly regarded the agitated younger man, who was now pacing the length of the headmaster's office. "This is important, Harry, as you know. I want the two most powerful wizards of the Order on it."
Harry stopped in mid-stride and pointed to the silent figure still seated on the second chair in front of the desktop. "But with him? Professor Snape and I are not known for our team-work. I feel that it would be better if we were not teamed up for any purpose." After his calm statement he sat back down on his chair heavily.
"I understand you, but I fear there's nothing to do about it. You and Severus are going to work together on this and you will leave as soon as possible. Try to lose no bodily-parts, will you? I know, this ingredient is highly important for your potion, Severus, but we need you both unharmed and in one piece, understood? ." Albus stood up and turned to Fawkes, stroking the Phoenix softly. He might as well have told them that they were dismissed.
If Severus had not known that Albus was helping him - and probably bursting with mirth - he would have been scared by the sudden mood changes. A minute before Harry had arrived, Albus had been in full possession of his warped sense of humour, offered him a lemon drop and some tea and tried to persuade him to play a game of Exploding Snap. Albus was a better actor than Severus had ever given him credit for.
He looked over to Harry, who was still slumped in his chair. Knowing Harry, he was pondering which deity he had pissed off to be forced through this nightmare. Suppressing a chuckle, Severus looked at said deity, sending Albus silent thanks. "Yes headmaster, I will be packed in half an hour." It was the first thing he had said since Harry had arrived.
With one fluent movement he got up and was already on his way to the door, before his words had registered with the other two occupants. Once he had reached the corridor safely, he let out a short chuckle. Things had gone incredible well. Albus had done more than he had promised. He had not only given Snape a chance to talk to Harry, he would also be alone with the man while talking.
Catching himself humming a tune he forced his features into a scowl and stalked on, banishing the music out of his head.
Snape had no idea of what to say, but he was reasonably sure that something would come to him at the appropriate point of the expedition. He himself had proposed to mix the highly volatile potion Albus had mentioned to Harry. It was definitely something that might tip the scales in their favour. And if it did not help as much as he and Albus hoped, then it would definitely not hurt.
Not even a day after he had told Albus everything – or almost everything – several possible solutions for their future problems had been put into motion. By the end of the next week Ronald Weasley would be stationed at Hogwarts, as a personal favour from the Ministry of Magic, to the headmaster. When Hermione's professor heard, that Severus Snape had offered her to join him on a research project he had just started, he had excused her and sent her packing straight away.
Both of them would be back at Hogwarts soon and that calmed Snape quite a lot. The two conspirators – Albus had coined the term with the most mischievous twinkling in his eyes, Snape had ever seen – had been convinced that the battle would have ended another way, if Harry, Hermione and Ron had been able to actually plan more. Make that plan at all.
Grabbing his pre-packed pack, Snape shrunk it to a manageable size and put it into one of the numerous pockets of his robes. He then paced his living room. "Severus, calm down", he muttered to himself. Since his NEWT's he had not been this nervous. Not even when he had received the Dark Mark. If he could not patch things up today, he might have changed that aspect of their common future and he might still end up losing Harry.
He grimaced, then ceased his pacing and just stared into nothing. Gathering all his willpower and courage, together he turned around in a sudden movement, making his way to the door swiftly and headed for the main entrance. "No time like now to find out." He felt the spell tugging at him uncomfortably. He still had some time left. Not much, but hopefully enough. The nervousness dissipated and purposefulness took its place.
Everything would go well, he was certain everything would go well.
Harry had not arrived at the entrance hall when Snape reached their meeting place. Standing there like he was lost for only a moment, he proceeded his agitated pacing. While his thoughts had been focussed on what to say and how to act around Harry Potter, Severus had completely forgotten to think about the dangers of the task lying ahead of them.
Dumbledore himself had talked to the Dwarves and asked for permission to enter one of their old mines. The plant they were searching for was elusive and dangerous. It was a solanaceous herb that had been bred from the common matricaria chamomilla. The Dwarves had adapted it to their realm as one of the few plants they had ever been interested in for it's healing properties. In order for it to endure the sun-less environment, extensive changes had been wrought on the herb, modifying the abilities and uses of the plant.
Under normal circumstances a composite plant like the matricaria chamomilla would not have been able to survive in the depth of the earth. Several generations of Dwarves had finally bred what they now called the blood-camomile. Early on in the evolutionary process, the plant had undergone, it had contracted a mushroom. Inocybe patouillardi, a poisonous mushroom, native to East Anatolia, had found it's way to the Dwarven city because of its brick red colour. Only with the help of this fungi – that had been brought home by a Dwarf who had forgotten his wedding-day for the 6th time in a row and was desperate to sooth his rather temperamental wife – the camomile had been able to survive. As had the mushroom, whose usual habitats were hills, lawns and mixed forests and who had almost no chance to survive in the sun-deprived home of the Dwarves.
Severus Snape and Dumbledore had spent hours in a closed conference with Professor Sprout in order to determine where the blood-camomile was most likely to grow.
Nowadays Dwarves tried to stay well away from the blood-red plant they had created themselves. It had seemed to develop a taste for Dwarves after a few centuries, especially fingers and noses.
A carefully phrased question if they could have one of these plants had been answered violently by the current leader of the Dwarves. It had taken Dumbledore hours just to re-open talks and only five minutes for them to agree to allow two wizards into the old part of their city. It had been hermetically sealed since the biggest blood-camomile had tried to eat the baby of its owner and preceded to bite off the ear of the distraught mother, poisoning her in the process.
When Harry Potter and Severus Snape set out for the grand city of the Dwarves early that morning, they had no idea what to expect. The Dwarves – wary of outsiders since Voldemort's reign of terror – had hidden themselves away with their own special kind of magic. They had always been an uncommunicative nation, preferring to keep to themselves and digging for ores and gemstones in peace. They only met with wizards when they traded, and only with those they deemed trustworthy.
In a way, it was exciting to meet some of them, but Snape was worried about how they would go about getting enough pollen off the violent plants without losing a finger or two. Further, Sprout had asked him to bring seeds or a seedling for her to grow some. He had seen the shine in her eyes at the prospect of being the first witch ever to add this very rare plant to her collection. Walking away from him, she had muttered about closing off a small amount of space in greenhouse six and shade it to create the perfect habitat.
Sneaking unobtrusive glances at his companion, Snape held his tongue in check. He had decided early on, that he would not say anything until they were in the Dwarven city. That way Harry could not just turn around and flee to Hogwarts. Once they had reached Hogsmeade they Apparated to the meeting place the Dwarves had chosen and subjected themselves to the blinding spell their guides had picked for them.
"Albus Dumbledore sends his greetings and his thanks." Besides Harry's voice only their breathing could be heard. The two wizards were carefully led along by their two guides, who kept them from stumbling and falling by holding fast to their charges' elbows.
After a moment of silence, a deep voice answered almost hesitantly, "You are welcome, wizard Potter. We have no use for the devilish plant at all, so why not allow you to pick some?"
The rest of the way they spent in companionable silence. When the Dwarves finally released them off the blinding spell Snape was relieved, being blind was not very comfortable and it made him feel so helpless.
To the obvious alleviation of the Dwarves, their visitors did not have to enter the new part of the city at all. Scared by the viciousness of the plant, they had escaped from the place of peril and dug a new gallery that branched off only about a hundred feet down the original entrance.
Their two Dwarf guides pointed at the tunnel. "It's this way, but we're afraid we can't come with you." Exchanging a frightened look, they smiled tentatively. "We'll wait here for you. You can't miss the plants, they're everywhere. Last time we sent in an expedition to check if the blood-camomile hasn't died out already, they came back in a hurry, saying half the city was overgrown."
Harry and Severus exchanged a glance, then thanked their guides again and set off at a comfortable walking speed down the sloping tunnel. The old city was lying deep under the earth, a lengthy walk away from the surface entrance. Parts of the way, they had to climb down long metal ladders, other parts were so low and narrow that they had to get down on their knees to navigate them. It was noticeable just how small the Dwarves were. They did not reach Severus to the shoulder, and while Harry was not quite as tall, he could not walk upright either.
It took them a good two hours of hiking, climbing and crawling to reach the huge gates leading into the old city. The hall, the tunnel ended in, was beyond breath taking and right into unbelievably beautiful. Oversized statues of Dwarves – nearly four times the size of a real Dwarf - lined the paved way that led into the city. And they were moving. Those looking into their direction practically beamed at their rare visitors and waved at them very slowly – almost in slow motion.
"Wow."
Silently echoing Harry's whispered word of admiration, Severus stepped on the glimmering road. Gemstones of all colours and sizes were embedded into the rock beneath his feet, shining so brightly it almost hurt to look at them. Treading on the precious stones gave him a funny feeling and the fine hair on his arms stood like he was being electrified. "I think there is a spell woven into the gems." They were known for their magical properties. Especially their ability to hold a stronger spell for a longer period of time than any other known material made them perfect for protection spells. It made Severus instantly suspicious, even though the beauty of it all was nearly overwhelming.
Harry appeared so silently next to him that Severus – in his contemplation – almost jumped when he spoke. "Yes, I think you are right. Just look at you, you're glowing."
Terrified Severus looked down. Indeed, he was enveloped in a soft, green light that intensified as he looked. It was the deep colour most of the emeralds in the pavement glowed in. A quick look to the right confirmed that Harry glowed as well. It was an odd mixture of deep red, streaked with a brighter green that moved over him in snake-like motions.
Welcome to Tozenguard. The nearest statue smiled at them in a friendly way and continued to address them. Are you here to free us of the monster plant? We started to feel lonely long ago, no-one visits, no-one comes to talk to us or tread on the path to Tozenguard anymore. The statue had a deep, rumbling voice that took on a decidedly sad tone.
Used to talking to the portraits Severus was not fazed. Of course they had had no idea that Dwarves could do this out of stone, but it was not completely outrageous. They were known for their accomplishments with stone in the form of carvings, after all they spent their whole lives surrounded by stone. A long time ago wizards had vied for the privilege of commissioning a statue to the Dwarves. To Severus knowledge they had never talked or moved, but there was a certain glow of life to them. "We were sent by our superior to get some blood-camomile pollen for potion ingredients. I fear, just the two of us will be unlikely to manage to get rid of a pest that has resisted the best efforts of your whole people."
All the assembled statues emitted dozens of sighs and some had pebbles fall down from their eyes. We know. But we dare not let our hopes sink, for we are the guardians of these gates. Exchanging glances with the female Dwarf statue to his right he sighed again. Our path has judged you worthy of our trust. You may proceed. May whomever you pray to, have mercy on your souls, if the dreaded plant catches you. We have glimpsed into our beloved Tozenguard every now and again and it is now overgrown.
The prospect of actually entering the lost city of the Dwarves became more and more objectionable, but there was no way back now. Harry swallowed nervously and looked at his companion to gauge his reaction to the revelation. Severus' face was set into a grim mask, like he expected disaster to strike. His lips formed a thin line that Harry interpreted as determination to deal with anything that dared to stand in his way and had his wand at the ready. Steeling himself for the worst, Harry pulled out his own wand and together they stepped closer to the gate. "Maybe we can find an effective way to deal with the blood camomile. If we do, we will of course inform your people." He could not help it but try and reassure these sad, lonely statues; even knowing they were not real people. He had seen the portrayed wizards in Dumbledore's office help him with vital things in the war, actively working for the Order, and it had changed his entire view of the wizards imprisoned in colour.
Two of the closest Dwarves stepped off their pedestals, this simple movement made the earth under their feet shiver. They approached the gates that were three times their size and swung them open with ease. Beyond was nothing but darkness.
The lights have been out since the last of our people left their home. We cannot bring them back to life. Tread carefully on the stairs. Knock against the gates three times and we will re-open them for you.
Two muttered 'Lumos' later Severus and Harry stepped into the darkness and watched the two colossal gate-wings close behind them. "Great, now what?"
"Now, Potter, we are going to find us one of those miserable plants, get enough pollen to last us for several years, nick a few seeds and return home." In his tenseness – and yes, a great deal of fear – Severus reverted to his normal coping mechanisms: Sarcasm. "Or are you afraid of the dark?" Without waiting for an answer Severus marched off in the obvious direction – away from the gate – and was lucky to see the first step before he stumbled over it. "Come on, I found the stair-case."
"Looks like Moira out of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings."
Raising an eyebrow Severus turned around to Harry, "And where do you think Tolkien got the information? He was a trustee of the Dwarves and when they felt it was the right time to branch out into the Muggle world, they allowed him to use one of their cities as stage for one of the scenes in his book. You really should read up on some of the history of the wizarding world." He turned away and continued to descend the stairs. "I am aware that Binns is the most boring person I have ever met in my life, that is however no excuse for a lack of knowledge. There are enough books on the subject."
Harry did not dignify that with an answer, resorted to rolling his eyes at the back of his companion and followed suit. The lights at the tips of their wands were the only one in the whole city and the fact that there was no railing on either side of the stair made him a little nervous. Both sides dropped down so far that the tiny light did not show them the bottom. "I don't want to fall down there."
"Try not to, then."
Severus was terrified. He would never confess that to anyone aloud, not even to himself, but there was a deep-seated fear of the blood-camomile, that he had taken with him from his school days. He remembered the story of one of his predecessors, trying to acquire pollen and being eaten alive by the plant he had picked. And now they were about to walk into a city that was overgrown with blood-camomile. He could not blame the Dwarves for running as fast and far as they could, when they did.
They were both relieved, when they reached the bottom, and started out along the paved way. It was bound to lead into the city. "We should be very careful now. I don't know how much you know about the blood-camomile, but considering how little you know about our history I would guess you have no clue." Rising a quick glance at the silent figure walking next to him, he suppressed any feelings. This was not the time to try and mend things. "They are of an ethereal beauty that will make you want to take a sniff, and while a smaller one will only attempt to bite nose, ears or fingers, the outgrown blood-camomile plants are actually able to bite off your head. I would appreciate it if you tried and kept it attached to your body, if you don't mind too much."
Suddenly a blossom, size of a boarhound, broke into the circle of light. Its pedals were slightly open to reveal tiny, spiked teeth. The stem was as broad as a small tree and very elastic as it shot at Severus, snapping for the outstretched arm that was holding the wand. It all happened so quickly, that Severus barely noticed the hard tug on the back of his robes that pulled him out of reach to the stationary plant. The blood camomile however, did not seem fazed by her victim's sudden misplacement; it changed direction and made for Harry, then suddenly stopped a good foot away from him, well out of biting range. It had run out of stem. Snapping at them regardless, the blood-camomile put it's blossom on the floor, opening it widely to reveal the blood red inside. A beguiling – almost intoxicating – fragrance started to rouse from the plant.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Severus' calm words startled Harry out of his slow movement towards the blossom. "Absolutely deadly, as you just saw. I have never heard of one this big."
Shaking his head, Harry looked at the man he had just saved from being eaten alive, he realised that Severus had done the same for him, though less spectacular. The scent was so intense and it went right to his head. "Thanks, Severus." Then he concentrated on the task at hand. "How about we burn the stem, so the blossom lies on the floor. We could levitate it to the stair and wait until it's not biting anymore and then take what we need." He received a startled look for that. "Well, it's just an idea."
"An excellent idea at that." Severus pointed his wand at the stem of the giant blood-camomile. "Incendio!" The plant writhed as if trying to put out the fire, but failed and after a while the blossom fell to the floor snapping and grinding it's tiny, translucent teeth. "Mobiliarmus." The two wizards hurried back to the stairs, putting the blossom at a good distance to the abyss to either side to stop it from tumbling down. They watched it silently until its movements became weaker and weaker and finally stopped altogether.
"The teeth are poisonous, try to not scratch yourself. While a small scratch will not kill you, it induces hallucinations that will make you highly violent and prone to run into your death." He stepped closer to the blossom, reaching into a pocket of his robes; he got out a bag with several large glasses. Without a word he handed one to Harry, who had donned his dragon-hide gloves and immediately started to gather the relatively big pollen. He then dropped them carefully into his glass. Severus himself broke off as many of the teeth as he could manage to fit into the second glass, then went in search for the large seeds that were hidden deep inside the blossom. Considering the aggressiveness of the plant they needed to protect the seeds from attacks of their own species. "I hope Sprout can handle these blood-camomile. I will suggest building a new high security glasshouse for them."
With a snap Harry closed his glass and handed it over. "Done." Putting his gloves back into the appropriate pocket he looked around, "Lets leave! This place is eerie."
An hour later they found out that the way up was more strenuous than the way down had been. The slope was ascending briskly in times while being almost even at others. The narrow tunnels were even more of a task now, that some of them very pretty steep, nearing 45 degrees. So when they reached a nice little natural bubble in the stone the Dwarves had obviously used as camp while working their way down, they decided to rest. Eating what they had brought in silence, they rested their hurting feet, elbows and knees. Crawling over rocks was not a very comfortable business.
Severus was finished first and got up to stretch his back. The last leg of their journey had given him a backache in addition to the scratches on his forehead when he had overlooked a rock that was protruding from the ceiling. "Harry, I would like to thank you for saving my life earlier. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that as well." He held out a hand to help Harry up and tried to think of something else to say, something to fix what he had broken on the first day back in time, when suddenly the mountain shuddered. In a split second the walls of their resting place started to crumble down and the only thing that saved Harry Potter from being buried under a mountain, was a heavy pull on his hand. After that, pandemonium broke out. Severus lost track of him as he desperately tried to protect his head from getting hit by the rocks. When one of them slammed into his chest and knocked him back, he banged his head severely on the stony floor.
It didn't take long until the rockslide stopped and everything was dark. As he was unable to move some rocks hit him, making his situation even worse. Luckily most of them were not sharp edged, but the dust in the air made his already laboured and erratic breathing even worse.
A few rocks were still falling now, but thankfully all of them missed him, although one fell down very close to his head. His arms both burned with pain and while the right one was definitely broken, his left arm and shoulder were only buried under sharp edged stones. They cut harshly into his skin, through the protective layers of his clothes. Listening into himself, Severus realised with aching slowness that he had also broken his right leg. Blood was trickling down his cheek and when he turned his head to the right he felt his stomach lurch at the motion.
A low moan echoed in the cave and then a bright light seeped into every crack with a muttered Lumos.
"That was quite unpleasant, wasn't it? Are you all right, Severus?" Harry's voice was balm on Snape's ears, but at the same time a little too loud.
Even though he tried, the Potion Master was unable to reply. His thoughts were sluggish and unfocussed, and the bright light – while welcome – hurt his eyes. Whatever escaped his lips was nothing more than a low groan. He shut his eyes and attempted to raise his head a little, but while it eased the pressure he felt in his head, he was too weak to stay in this position for long. The dizziness returned full force, once he carefully dropped his head back down, fighting to stay conscious.
"Severus?" Only a sliver of panic was audible in Harry's voice, while his mind was screaming at him that he should hurry. Rounding one of the bigger rocks that had fallen down from the ceiling a bad feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. The light, that emitted from his wand filled every corner in the now rather small looking cavern they had decided to take a short rest in. "Professor Snape?" He could not imagine Severus being so callous as to refrain from answering to his given name in a situation like this, but after what had happened he put almost nothing past the Potion Master. These dark thoughts were immediately pushed aside when he caught sight of a prone figure half buried under a small amount of rocks.
Without hesitation Harry flung himself at Severus Snape's side, careful not to jostle stones or any body part that was sticking out. "Merlin." With accurateness he had never given himself credit for, Harry recalled the first aid courses Madame Pomfrey had forced onto the members of the Order. "Nothing is as important as bodily contact. Patients are confused, have lost their orientation. They need an attachment figure and encouragement."
"Severus. Can you hear me?" Harry watched anxiously until he saw the Potion Master blink painfully into the bright light. Berating himself silently he muttered "Lumos Minima" to make the surroundings more comfortable for the injured man. "I'll touch your shoulder now; don't be alarmed, it might hurt." His hands carefully felt Severus' right shoulder, scanning the other man's face carefully for any reaction of pain. The Potion Master was paler than normally and he was taking shallow breaths that worried Harry instantly.
Severus eyes tried to focus on his face without success. "Can't breathe!" Pain and panic were mixed in his expression, with something Harry identified as regret.
The last baffled him for a bit, until his first aid training took over. "I'm going to clear away the rocks from your chest now."
"When a patient is in shock and you are too far away from mediwizard facilities to transport the patient there immediately, you need to put up the feet. If head, chest, stomach, pelvis or legs are injured you CANNOT do this. You need to keep them warm, keep them conscious and stop any bleeding. Check on breathing, consciousness and pulse regularly."
He needed to get the rocks off Severus to check for injuries. From the amount of rocks on Severus' body Harry had to assume that there were several injuries that could accumulate to a potentially life-threatening situation. Keeping his hand on the injured man's shoulder, he carefully levitated the rocks off his chest. The stones were stacked on top of each other loosely and he was afraid of causing another slide.
Rock by rock he uncovered his companion, checking every time if any had pierced the skin. He never so much as slowed down in his string of calming utterances.
"Foreign bodies are not to be removed."
Harry had no idea how much time elapsed between the rockslide itself to the point when he had cleared off all the debris. The only thing he knew was how relieved he felt about this. "I'm going to check you for injuries, Severus, this is going to hurt." The other wizard grimaced at the renewed pain in his chest as he carefully ran his fingers over his ribs. Obviously the removal of the weight had eased his breathing. Before Harry could seriously start with the examination he had to get rid of the clothing. Further he needed to make sure that his patient was comfortable and in the least painful position. "First I will try and make you more comfortable."
He reached for Severus' wand and after lighting it as well, stuck it in a crack between two stones near them. Pointing his own at his patient with a soft, "Diffindo", the cloth ripped apart almost soundlessly down the middle and at the arms. It fell down and left Severus almost naked but for the dark green boxer shorts he was wearing. Scanning the body he was shocked at the amount of abrasions, but relieved that he saw no bones stick out. No open fractions. While conjuration had never been one of his stronger points Harry immediately conjured a light blanket and spread it over the already shivering man.
"So cold." His voice was small and his teeth were audibly clattering.
The blue tinge of his lips made Harry's need to get the injured Potion Master off the cold rock floor. "I know. Don't worry; you'll be warm in a moment. I need to get up now." His knees were hurting from staying in one position too long and he could barely keep on his feet.
"Don't go!"
The anguished exclamation tugged at his heart. Severus' uninjured hand buried in his robes, trying to keep him close. "I'm still here Severus, I'm not leaving you alone." He kept up a string of chatter until he had finished his task. Conjuring a thick, insulating blanket he carefully spread on the clear space only a few feet away. Small pebbles would not be noticeable under it. The fist still clenched in his robes had not allowed him to move freely at all, but it was enough. "See? I'm still here," he soothed his agitated patient, gently prying his fingers open. "I will move you a little now, it won't hurt at all."
Harry did not dare to get up again this time; the excitement was not good for a man in Severus' condition. "Mobiliarmus." Severus floated up a little in exactly the position he had been lying in and very slowly moved onto the blanket. Only his bloody and torn robes were left behind. Moving with his charge Harry was always in touching range and the man clung to his hand as if it was a lifeline. Noticing the way the man tried to keep his head lifted a little and failed as his strength left him, Harry conjured a small pillow for him to rest on.
Still chatting with the silent man he finally started with the most alarming possible injury. He checked the ribs first and breathed a sigh of relief when no bones were sticking out. If they were broken at least they had not impaled the lungs.
He was still very pale and while Harry did not want to cause any more pain he had no choice but continue checking for injuries. He had to be sure the older wizard had nothing more life-threatening than a large bump on the back of his head and a severely bruised chest with the possibility of some of his ribs having cracked. "I need you to tell me where it hurts, Severus."
A painful cough shook Severus for a second before he could answer, "Right arm and right leg. I think they are both broken."
Harry moved his hands carefully from Severus chest that was already coloured red, blue and dark lilac and took a close look at the right arm. It was swollen above the elbow but it was not broken. The right arm was lying in the form it was supposed to be in, no odd extra joint. While that was uplifting, the right leg was a completely different matter. The bone was definitely broken. The swelling that had almost doubled the diameter was coloured purple and blue. It had a slight bend at a place where it should be straight.
Reassured that none of his injuries were life-threatening Harry settled down cross-legged next to his companion. There was nothing he could do now, only wait and hope the Dwarves would come in search for them.
"Harry ..." Severus sounded better already. His head was slightly raised by a thin pillow that Harry had conjured for him. "I need to tell you something."
His voice was weak and Harry did not want him to spend all his energy on talking, "It's okay, Severus, you can tell me later, after Poppy had a look at you."
"No!" Severus' reaction was a little too strong, he even tried sitting up and Harry had to gently press him back. "No, I need to tell you now."
Amazed at the strength the older man had shown, he carefully took his left hand.
"I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. It's just that I didn't know how to handle it and the residue of the spell was making me grumpy. I was behaving like the idiot you thought I am." The words rushed out of Severus mouth without going the detour through censorship. Severus did only hear them himself very dimly, like they were coming from very far away and definitely not like he was saying them. "I missed you so much and I couldn't even tell you because you don't remember."
"Severus ..." Harry tried to calm down the frantic man, whose babbling did not make much sense. All it did was confuse him. The Severus Snape he knew did not talk like that. He used long words, rarely used abbreviations and definitely did not patter like this.
Not giving Harry the chance to even get a word in edgewise, Severus ploughed on like the younger man had not said a word. "I'm dying Harry and I haven't done what I was sent to do. Hermione and Ron coming home earlier are only going to tip the scales so much, there is so much I need to tell you, so much I've been dreaming of telling you. But there is no time." He closed his eyes, feeling horribly weak. Everything ached and the only thing that gave him the strength to stay conscious was Harry, whose fingers were gently stroking his left hand. "Dumbledore sent me back in time, Harry, to safe you Ron and Hermione from walking to your certain death. We thought you had defeated Voldemort, we thought you were just as dead as your two friends. But I found you." Taking a wheezing breath he suppressed a cough. The dust in their cave itched in his eyes and throat.
"What are you talking about Severus? 'Sent back in time'? 'Certain death'? I don't understand." Maybe he had misjudged the severity of Severus' head-injury. He was hallucinating or mingling reality with dreams he had had.
"I'm not crazy!" Severus' had opened his eyes again, staring accusingly up at Harry, who in turn had a very sceptic expression on his face. "Albus sent me to change the fact that you, Ron and Hermione Weasley march into a battle that you cannot win. While Ron and Hermione died you did not, you lived, in a coma in a Muggle hospital. Until I stumbled over you on a mission and brought you back home, home to Hogwarts. You had lost your memory and Poppy said it would never come back."
Misery enveloped him.
"You would never remember what we shared, that you loved me and lived with me in our apartments. That you had completely changed my life and made me a better man. She said you would never recover and that the most we could hope is for you to regain some of your abilities by re-learning them." He felt the tears he had dismissed so often during Harry's time back at Hogwarts, well up. "And then – then Voldemort came back. He had hidden in you, Harry; after all you had done to get rid of him he was inside your head. There was nothing we could do without endangering you and Albus sent me back, to solve our problems at the root." After this eruption of emotion he had spent all his strength. Closing his eyes again he tried to gather everything he had left to at least give Harry a chance to survive.
"Severus." Harry's voice was nothing but a whisper. He had not heard much after the mention of time travel but the bits suddenly made sense. "I believe you. Merlin ... why didn't you tell me this earlier." He fell silent for a second to put together all the pieces, the changes, and the different behaviour. "You used the Tempus Via spell, didn't you? That day, when I chewed you out for leaving your classes without a word, when you dismissed the class after a few minutes, you had just jumped in at that point." Realisation dawned on him, "You were suffering from the pain that it induces when travelling. Who is your anchor in the future, Severus?" He paused only long enough to take a shallow breath then he answered his own question. "Albus. It's got to be him. You two idiots! How can you two jeopardize the time line and your lives just to keep me safe?"
Attempting to sit up again, Severus gave up when the pain in his chest exploded again. "Because we love you." There was no anger in his voice, just desperation for the other one to understand.
With a flabbergasted look Harry echoed Severus' words back at him, "Because you love me?" He shook himself. "You love me?"
Severus gave up on trying to get up and instead disentangled his good hand from Harry's grip, grasped the other man's collar and pulled him down for a searing kiss. Stunned by the sudden action Harry did not respond for an endless seeming amount of time. Just when Severus released his hold on the motionless DADA teacher the young man suddenly sprung into motion. Holding on to Severus hand like a lifeline and deepening the kiss with a passion that made Severus feel like he had just come home.
When they parted for air, both of them were flushed and Harry smiled shyly, "You know, I love you too, you big dolt. I've been trying to find the courage to approach you since I started teaching at Hogwarts. We'll have to talk about the time travelling business later, when we're back home and Poppy has had her wicked way with you." Grinning broadly at the groan from Severus he went on, winking, "I'll make sure she behaves."
"Just leave me here, I think I prefer dying to her bed-side manner."
Typically Severus, Harry thought with delight. He had not forgotten all that talk about dying before and it had made him feel uncomfortable. The return of the acid tones was a definite improvement. "I see you're feeling better already."
The following banter was disrupted by the appearance of a hole in the rock barrier, that blocked their way out. A hand holding a candle was stuck through, then a head and before long, a Dwarf crawled through. Both Harry and Severus looked at him in amazement, wondering how the rather stocky being had managed to squeeze through the pretty tiny tunnel.
"I've found them!"
A/N: Comments? Criticism? Suggestions? Review :). I'd appreciate it.