Thanks again to my great Betas Persephone Lupin (original) and lucidity (translation)
o
Awakening
o
Voices...
...distant voices..
the hill…
fighting…
…Voldemort
…Potter
Kingsley…
Minerva…
Albus…
…blood in the grass
Albus…
-
The voices grew clearer…
He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids seemed like lead… so heavy… so tired… pain…
"Poppy, come here! Severus has moved!"
Albus' voice…
Distant steps coming closer…
"He has moved, Albus?"
"Severus? Severus, can you hear me?"
Snape tried again to open his eyes and a blinding light intruded through the narrow gap of his slightly opened eyelids. A silent moan escaped his lips, while he flinched slightly and clenched his eyes tightly shut again.
"Shush, Severus. Slowly… Keep them closed. You have been unconscious for some while now and you eyes are not adjusted yet to the brightness."
He heard Albus mumbling a spell to dim the light of the room.
The briefly caught glimpse of the surroundings told him, that he was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Obviously he had been saved. He could distinguish the smell of various herbs and healing potions and the cool hand caressed his face tenderly… Albus' hand.
"Severus is awake? How is he?" asked a deep, full voice some distance away. Kingsley. He was alive.
Snape tried again to open his hurting eyes and slowly became accustomed to the dimmed light. His pupils focussed and recognised Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey, bending over him. Albus' facial features reflected deep concern and his eyes were shimmering with moisture.
Snape's mouth felt like it was cotton-stuffed and his parched lips hurt. "Thirsty…" he tried to say, but all he managed was a feeble rasp.
Yet Madam Pomfrey seemed to have understood, as she reached for a glass of water on the nightstand. While holding up Snape's head, she raised the glass to his dry lips.
"Slowly, Severus…"
A few drops pearled down Snape's chin while he swallowed in small sips. The cool water did good, refreshing him. As his senses slowly returned, he turned his eyes and looked at Albus.
"Severus, child," said Dumbledore in a soothing voice. "It's over."
"Over..?"
"Voldemort is vanquished at last."
Those words that Snape had longed to hear for such a long time left him, he was surprised to find, relatively cold now. He tried to turn his head with the unfortunate result of feeling his dizziness and nausea rise.
"Severus, please don't move yet. You have lost a lot of blood and I had to administer some strong potions," Madam Pomfrey explained.
"How long have I been unconscious?" Snape asked in a laboured whisper.
"Five days," answered the nurse and began to dab off the beads of sweat from his face.
"Five…" breathed the sick Potions Master, furrowing his brow as a sharp stab of pain made him wince. He discovered his forehead bandaged and cast a questioning look to Madam Pomfrey.
"You have received some severe injuries, Severus, but now it's over," the nurse soothed him. "The wounds will heal."
Perhaps he was mistaken, but Snape thought he saw the glimpse of a shadow over the face of the nurse – a shadow of sad bitterness? To heal… These few minutes of awake time had already tired him and he closed his eyes again, exhausted.
"Yes, it's over now," said Dumbledore. "However, there are losses we have to bear," he added, his usually cheerful voice displaying a touch of regret.
Snape thought of Flitwick and opened his eyes again. "Filius…?" he asked, although he knew the expected answer already.
"Filius, Hagrid, Mundungus, Charlie Weasley and Tonks didn't make it… and Moody."
"Moody...?" Snape asked, not believing his ears. Alastor Moody beaten? That seemed impossible…
"It took seven Death Eaters to finally wear him down," Dumbledore answered, struggling with tears. "So many friends…" His voice faded.
"And Potter?"
The Headmaster fought back the tears. "Harry fulfilled the prophecy. Minerva and I provided him cover while he killed Voldemort. Tom Riddle was far too arrogant to recognise Harry's true powers." He nodded thoughtfully. "His arrogance was his doom."
The flash of a sneer passed over Snape's features. He always suspected that the Dark Lord would finally stumble over that unfortunate shortcoming of his.
"Where is Kingsley?" he asked, once again unsuccessfully attempting to turn his head.
"I'm here, my friend," he heard he voice of the Auror. "Wait a moment."
Snape heard the rustling of some bedclothes and the creak of an old bed. Shortly afterwards Kingsley came into his field of vision, smiling at him.
"Well, Severus…?" the tall Auror nodded towards the bedridden Potions Master. "I don't ask you how you are feeling, because first, following Poppy's instructions, you are not to speak too much now and second, I can imagine anyway," he added with a twinkle in his eyes.
Snape curled the corner of his mouth. He noticed that Kingsley's arm was in a sling.
"It's not as bad as it seems," stated the Auror. "Just a flesh wound. Poppy had some problems with the injury, though. She said it was caused by an unknown curse and she cannot close the wound magically."
Snape remembered the green flashes of light, which had unquestionably smelled of Dark Magic.
Kingsley's face grew serious. "It's going to be alright. However, your…"
"Alright," Madam Pomfrey stepped in, cutting him off. "Postpone your conversation to a later point, Severus has strained himself enough already. He needs to rest now."
As a matter of fact it was growing more and more difficult for Snape to keep his eyes open and he could hardly wrestle out another word. He could not see it, but he felt the healer rearranging his blankets and heard her taking something out of the nightstand-drawer.
"Rest now, child," said Dumbledore, while stroking Snape's cheek. The Potions Master blinked briefly to indicate that he had understood the headmaster.
Madam Pomfrey approached, bent down and touched his sweat-covered forehead. Obviously she was satisfied with his temperature, because she nodded with a slight smile. "I'm going to give you some potion for dreamless sleep, Severus. With this you should be able to sleep through the next few hours without problems."
Hours… Weeks would be more like it, given the exhaustion he currently felt, Snape thought, while the nurse again held up his head and placed a vial to his lips.
"Drink this, Severus… slowly… that's it."
Snape swallowed the potion he had brewed. What an irony, he thought, as a familiar comforting sensation spread within his body, announcing forthcoming sleep. His eyelids closed and while his consciousness slowly drifted over into the slumber, he heard some last snippets of conversation from the ward.
"Are you out of your mind, Kingsley! What did you think you were doing?"
"But…"
"In Merlin's name, Kingsley! Severus is far too weak yet, he must not be upset now. It is far too early for him to know the true extent of his injuries…"
The true extent of his injuries?Snape hardly had time to think over this declaration from the nurse, as the relieving, dreamless sleep finally caught up with his mind…
o
ooo
o