Now on with the story! And remember: Peace, Love, and be a Marauder! I mean why wouldn't you want to be?
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! And that includes Harry Potter.
Chapter 5- Confrontations and Confessions a.k.a. Hell to Pay
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!!!" Was everyone's wake up call the next morning. Harry groaned, rolling over and pulling his pillow over his head. Didn't Madam Pomfrey know it was too early for one of her tirades about her patients. Harry's eyes snapped open. Pomfrey! He'd almost forgotten about last night. Fumbling for his glasses, he put them on and quickly sat up. Pomfrey was standing over Snape's bed where he lay still asleep; though Harry couldn't see how. Pomfrey was loud enough to wake everyone from Hogwarts to London.
"I'm taking care of my patient," Seri answered briskly, though with the underlying tone of barely constrained anger. And why shouldn't she be angry? This women had hurt her friend. A person she lo...cared about deeply. As soon as she found her wand there was going to be hell to pay.
"Your patient?! I was under the impression that I ran this hospital wing, Dr. Winter, not you! Since Snape is here he is under MY care," Pomfrey puffed. Seri's eyes narrowed dangerously as she slid off the bed, placing herself between the nurse and Snape.
"Your care," she mocked, "YOUR CARE!!! The only thing YOU'VE cared to do lately is to add to his torment," she thundered.
"How DARE you accuse me of anything!" Pomfrey bellowed back.
"Ladies, is there a problem here?" a quiet voice from the door asked, causing everyone to turn. Dumbledore was standing just inside the entrance, arms folded across his chest, his questioning gaze raking over them. He had his wand out, Harry noticed. Was the situation going to degenerate to that point?
"Yes, Headmaster, there is. These two," Pomfrey shot both healers a wilting glare, "keep coming here and disturbing the healing processes of my patients." Harry's loud, harsh laughter caught them off guard.
"The healing processes of your patients," he mimicked sarcastically, jumping off the bed and coming to stand next to Seri.
"Is it part of your 'healing process' to sneak in here during the night and curse the patient while he sleeps?" he spat. Pomfrey swelled with anger, but Dumbledore spoke first.
"Do you have any proof of this, Harry?" The question was stated carefully, not ready to make judgements till all the facts were known.
"Of course not, he's obviously lying," Pomfrey scoffed, turning her glare to him.
"The only proof I have are my eyes that saw what happened and my exhaustion from dispelling those curses," Harry admitted, "but, Pomfrey, there is one thing I strive not to be, and that is a liar." During the confrontation, his cane had hovered by his side. As his anger grew, the cane had risen. Now it was already shoulder level. He turned to the Headmaster.
"There is a way to show what I saw last night, isn't there, sir?" he asked hopefully. Dumbledore nodded, eyeing the cane warily.
"Come here please," he bade the student. Harry did as he commanded.
"Now empty your mind of thought, just relax and allow me to do the work." The Headmaster placed two fingers between Harry's eyebrows, eyes closing. The student was amazed as a surge of fire, curiosity, and power swept through him. He staggered, but a strong arm caught him, holding him steady. The surge concentrated it self in his head and he could feel it searching for the memory. He struggled, trying to sift through them to help.
'Just relax and let me do the work,' Dumbledore's voice reprimanded gently. Harry stopped looking, knowing he was probably being more of hindrance than a help. Finally, the search ended, apparently locating what it had been looking for. Harry watched as the scenes from the previous night replayed themselves. Some how, it seemed worse the second time around. Slowly the surge withdrew itself and Harry collapsed into the older wizard's arms, feeling completely drained and empty. Both he and Dumbledore fell to their knees; it affected the great wizard equally. Harry lifted his head and spotted Pomfrey inching towards the door, apparently trying to make her escape while everyone's attention was focused elsewhere.
"Oh no you don't," he growled softly. The cane, still hovering by him, pulsed a bright gold once and the door slammed in Pomfrey's face. She whirled around, giving off the distinct impression of a caged wild animal.
"I-I didn't, you-you can't prove anything...." she stammered, eyes darting around the room for another means of escape. Dumbledore straightened.
"Pomfrey," he addressed her formally. The cold fury in his voice made the nurse flinch.
"Why?" That one simple question with so many answers sent Pomfrey stuttering again.
"Albus, you-you can't really believe that Snape is on our side," she mumbled.
"Severus not on our side? He has put his life on the line many times just so that others who ridicule and tease him may live. And I will not, I repeat, I will not have any one, including my staff-especially my staff, hurting my child." Dumbledore radiated the same power now that he had at the end of last year. His eyes were blazing with liquid energy and the air around him crackled with suppressed power.
"But Albus he's a....."
"SILENCE!" he paused momentarily to collect a calming breath before continuing, "I believe, Pomfrey, that we are no longer in need of your services," he stated.
"What-what do you mean?" Pomfrey shrunk back from him, afraid of the answer. "He means," Seri interjected smugly, "that you're fired." This statement finally sent the nurse over the proverbial edge; her hand dived for her wand. Whether she was about to curse Seri or Snape or both, Harry wasn't certain, his only thought was that he had to stop her. Breaking from Dumbledore, he rammed into Pomfrey, cutting her off in mid-curse and slamming both of them into the wall. They grappled, Pomfrey attempting to jam her wand in his throat for a spell and Harry struggling to get it away from her.
'Think, Harry! Do something! Cast a spell, anything!' his mind yelled at him. He cried the first spell that came to him.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Instantly the women seized up, ceasing her struggle. Harry wrenched himself from her frozen grasp and stood, relieving her of her wand. He turned back to the others who were staring at him with slightly shocked expressions.
"What?"
"I guess it really was meant for you, it's never responded to anyone before," Kit commented, who had otherwise been silent through the whole ordeal. Now Harry was now confused.
"What responded?" Kit pointed to the floating cane at Harry's side. The black-haired boy started; he hadn't even realized it was there. Reaching out, he snatched it from the air.
"Your cane, Harry, it responded to you with out words or contact. What you did would be considered wandless magic and that is a rare gift. I can do it and so can Severus. I believe Voldemort can as well," Dumbledore explained, "Now, would you two help me take care of her," he nodded his head in Pomfrey's direction. The two healers readily agreed and followed Dumbledore and Pomfrey's floating form out the door. Harry watched them go, rooted to the spot. He jumped in surprise as a voice called over to him.
"Quite an impressive display, Harry, didn't know you had it in you," Snape's voice was weak but clear. Harry went to him.
"You scared me," he scolded the ill man. Snape simply raised an eyebrow.
"I scared you? I thought you were made of sterner stuff than that," he sounded very amused. Harry snorted in annoyance and plopped down in a chair by Snape's bed. He suddenly became very nervous.
"Professor, I want to thank you for saving me," he said finally.
"It's not as though I could have left you there, with those people," Snape waved away the boy's gratitude.
"Not just for that but for my first year too. You didn't have to save me then either, but you did. I thank you for that," Harry persisted. Snape was touched that Harry would do this. No one, excluding Dumbledore, ever thanked him for the things he did. He never looked for recognition, it had been too dangerous in his line of work. Any one could have helped both times, he had just happened to react first.
"Thank you for caring." The last part was so soft that Snape almost missed it. Harry thought he cared? Did he care? With a jolt Snape realized it did matter to him what happened to this boy. Hmmm, have to think about that later.
"Thanks goes to you too, you know," he said casually, drawing them back into a more comfortable topic. Harry looked up at him with a frown.
"For what?"
"For what?" Merlin's beard this boy really doesn't realize what he did, Snape thought as he perceived Harry's confused expression. "Harry, you saved my life. That Muggle would have killed me and...." he trailed off, looking away.
"And?" Harry prompted. Snape sighed heavily, but refused to look back.
"While I was under guard by the Death Eaters an.....an image of you came and told me I had to come back. People wanted me here, it said, so I came. I came home." "'Severus, there are people back at Hogwarts that are waiting for you, that care about you. You can't give up yet,'" Harry quoted himself. Snape's head whipped back around to stare at him in disbelief.
"How.....how?" Was all he could manage.
"I was there."
"How?" Snape repeated, the meaning of the question different..
"Did Professor Dumbledore ever tell you that my scar links me to Voldemort?" Snape nodded.
"This is just a theory, keep that in mind. What happened will probably not happen with any one else, I have a feeling. I sometimes have dreams about him, especially after the Triwizard Tournament. I've watched numerous raids and torturing. I've always been on the side line, no one can see me or hear me. I can't stop them from doing what they do either. Not this time; this time I was able to reach someone, you," Harry looked up at the Potions Master, eyes full of empathy.
"I'm glad you came back, Professor Snape." Snape smile slightly.
"So am I, Harry, so am I."
Pomfrey packed her clothes, painfully aware of the scrutiny she was under. Upon arriving at her room the binding spell had been lifted, allowing her to move about freely to collect her things. Dumbledore had excused himself, saying he needed to take care of the paper work for this, leaving the twins to watch over her. She fumed silently, shooting hate-filled glares at the two when ever possible. They were ignored by Kit and returned by Seri. She closed her trunk and locked it.
"There are a few of my things in my office, in the hospital wing," she said stiffly. Kit stirred from her place in a chair.
"I'll get them, what are they?" Pomfrey pursed her lips and responded curtly. "The books on the shelves, my orb, and a silver Hogwarts emblem," she listed. Kit nodded and left. (A/N: This can't be good right?) Pomfrey sat on the bed and waited impatiently for the girl to return. That's exactly how she thought of the two, as mere girls. She felt the rather intense glare on her back and turned, annoyed.
"What?" she snapped, hardly in the mood. Seri's eyes were narrowed almost to the point of being slits as she continued to give the ex-nurse her calculated look.
"I'm trying to figure out the answer to Albus' question," she stated as if it was obvious to any observer.
"What question?" Pomfrey's voice virtually dripped with disdain.
"Why? Why did you do this? Severus is a wonderful person albeit a little cold and distant but that can be fixed! Why did you treat him that way, you knew he was a spy." Pomfrey rolled her eyes.
"Because he's a Death Eater, that's why. I've seen what they can do, I've had to clean up after them! He's committed crimes he can never atone for, no matter how many lives he saves on our side."
"And since when are you judge, jury, and executioner! It is not your place to decide his punishment. Severus's own nightmares are punishment enough. Every night he dreams of everything he worked so hard to preserve and the people he tried so hard to protect die before his eyes. Every night! I now what happens at Death Eaters torturing sessions, I've cleaned up after them too. Severus tries his damndest to help those people and see how he's treated. This, from his own side. Sometimes," Seri paused a moment, voice becoming softer, "sometimes we are no better than the Death Eaters." Pomfrey jumped from the bed, snarling like an enraged bull.
"How DARE you accuse me of being like a Death Eater," she whispered softly, her voice low with rage.
"How dare you act like one, at this point I don't consider you any better than Voldemort." That was the final straw. Pomfrey growled and pointed her wand at her trunk, making it float behind her. She brushed past Kit who was standing just in the doorway with the items from the office. Pomfrey relieved her of them and stomped out the door. Suddenly she turned back.
"Don't think this is over, Winter. I will be back and Snape will not be the only one who pays next time." Pomfrey did a smart about face and marched out. Kit watched her go before turning worriedly back to her sister.
"You okay?" she asked in concern. Seri rubbed her temples slowly.
"I will be." There was a soft knock and the two healers looked up. Dumbledore came in.
"There's something I'd like to ask you two...."
A/N: Well that's taken care of. Hope that answers some questions. Hey did any one catch what Albus called Sev? "My child," We'll explore that a little later. Bye-bye for now.