The Prices of Family

Harry woke up a few hour later. His head was fuzzy and as he tried to sit up, he became dizzy and had to lay down again. His chest felt constricted and it hurt to breathe deeply. He was all around miserable. And as if it couldn't get worse, he'd started to cough blood and some gross yellow-green stuff, brilliant. He felt so weak and helpless, which he didn't like one bit. The door opened and Snape entered the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Hey Harry, how are you feeling?" Harry didn't answer but started to cough so violently that he shook, giving him a headache, just what he need right now. Snape patted him on the back until he was finished. He looked in horror on what Harry had coughed up.

"Hush, lay back." he said gently, pushing him back. He put the back of his hand to Harry's forehead. A raging fever burned there. He was becoming increasingly worried. He knew Harry had no internal injures, so where was the blood coming from? He pulled back the sheets, which he noticed were damp with sweat and pulled off Harry's ragged and ripped oversized t-shirt. He lay his hand over one of Harry's lungs. He could feel Harry struggling for breath. He pulled out his wand.

"Revelio." he said. The tip of his wand turned red then yellow and finally blue. "Shit." he said.

"Harry?" Harry looked at him. "Are you feeling any pain?" Harry nodded. "Where."

"Abdomen." he moaned. "Dad, what's wrong with me?" Snape smiled. Harry had called him dad without even realizing it.

"Shhh, its ok. It seems you've gotten Bacterial Pneumonia, and its taken a far greater hold than it normally would in someone you age."

"Figures."

"Just relax Harry. There's really nothing we can do but keep the fever down." Harry looked at him. "There's no potion or spell to treat pneumonia Harry. We'll just have to ride it out."

"Great."

"Ok, now I know why Poppy says you're hard to deal with when you're sick. Injured, fine. But sick, run for the hills." he said, kidding him.

"Oh haha, very funny, extraordinarily witty." he turned over, not in the mood. Snape conjured a cool, damp cloth and lay it on Harry's burning forehead. "Feel better?" Nodding reluctantly, he turn back to his father.

"Tell me about my mum. I've heard alot of James but nothing of her." Snape thought for a moment.

"She was the most beautiful thing I've ever layed me eyes on. We were friend in first year. Secretly of course. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor being friends was a surefire way to get yourself cursed every two feet. In sixth year we started dating. By then James, Black, Lupin and I had patch things up a bit, well not with Black so much. I'd found of Lupin's secret so I became, if you'll believe it, one of them."

"You were a Marauder?" Harry said in awe.

"Yes, I was. So was Lily."

"Then you must be an Animagus and why aren't you listed on the Marauders map?"

"Yes, I'm a Black Panther. Your mother was a White Dove. The Marauder's Map was made before your mother and I joined and we decided not to change it. After school, Lily and I married. James was our best man. And then Dumbledore butted into our lives and ruined it all." he said bitterly. "I told you the rest on the Knight Bus. James helped us out." he pulled a picture out of an inside pocket of his robes, tapped it with his wand, and it became two pictures. He handed one to Harry.

"That's the last picture we ever took together." There were 6 people in the picture. Snape and his mum stood in the front, Snape holding a baby he recognized as himself. James Potter stood behind them along with Remus and a sulking Sirius.

"Thanks, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's my trunk?" Snape pulled it out of his pocket and enlarged it.

"What do you want?"

"There's a red, leather bound book in there. Can you get it?" Snape dug around and pulled it out, handing it to Harry. He opened it, flipping through the pages. It was his photo album. He came to the last page which was blank. He added the picture there and shut the book, putting it on his bedside cabinet.

"Where'd you get that?" Snape asked.

"Hagrid gave it to me after I got back after the Sorcerer's Stone incident."

"You got a letter." Snape said, changing the subject. "From Miss Granger." he handed it to Harry.

Dear Harry,

Where are you? Ron and I haven't been able to get a hold of you. Fred and George went over to the Dursleys and you weren't there. What's going on, we're worried. I hope you get this,

Hermione.

"Oh crap, they don't know I'm here and are starting to panic." he tried to sit up but Snape pushed him back down.

"I'll write to them, explain everything, you rest." Harry nodded and closed his eyes. Hey, better Snape than him.