His eyelashes fluttered gently against his tired eyelids, almost gracefully. It was as if he were taking his first breath all over again. But instead of having a clean slate to begin with, he had re-awoken to the same nightmare that he had tried so desperately to escape from. Gingerly, he opened his eyes and allowed them time to adjust to the brightness of the room. In his mind he was hoping that it had all been one bad dream, and that he had woken up 100 miles away, in a completely different situation, in a completely different life. He knew almost instantaneously, that he was wrong. This was the hospital wing, and he was still at Hogwarts.

His body felt like a dead weight. The useless formation of skin and bones (though it felt like lead) now lay limply upon the bed beneath him, whilst his mind was racing to recall what had happened. Looking down at his wrists, stitched and pale, (he could still see in his minds eye the cascades of blood that had escaped from them) it dawned on him only too quickly that he had attempted to take his own life. Closing his eyes tightly, he wished the images to disappear, as well as the newly forming tears in his eyes, but neither seemed to listen to his command. A voice that he didn't recognise at first escaped his lips whilst sobs racked his weak body.

"Why can't I just die? I couldn't even kill myself for gods SAKE" he smacked his fists against the mattress angrily, and was taken-aback slightly when he saw a figure stir from the end of his bed.

"Oh my god Rachel, Rachel HES OK" the outline shouted, as it ran through the billowing curtain of white. Before he could even question what was happening, a goblet had been pressed to his lips, which was full of the most unpleasant ingredients one could imagine. He drank it reluctantly, and tried his hardest not to wretch, it tasted awful.

"That is a regeneration draught Mr Snape, you will have to take it daily for at least a week. That, and bed rest should ensure a complete recovery. Now if you'll excuse me, Miss Dolton would like to speak with you" and with that Madame Holley turned on her heel, and strode out of his view. He then realised with a jolt of panic, that she had said the name Dolton. Why would Serena be visiting him? Maybe there was a professor Dolton or something, coming to lecture him about what he had attempted. That was what was going to happen, he convinced himself. There was no way he would let Serena see him in this state (he could only imagine what he must've looked like, because the fleeting thought of looking into a mirror made his stomach heave violently)

But the girl who stepped into his view against the immaculately white curtain was none other, than Serena Dolton.

Would it have been some years previous, he might have found the fact she was with him comforting, but not now. Surprisingly, he could still remember the first day they had met. Both their mothers were old school friends, and were delighted when their two children became friends, also. It had been a hot day in mid August when his mother had first introduced her. They had spent all day playing in the fields behind his mother's house, whilst herself and Mrs Dolton had tea, and from that day on they grew quite inseparable. He had liked her from the very start, but as he grew older his feelings only grew deeper. On many occasions he had tried to tell her how he felt, but could never quite get the words out. It was only when his mother died that everything changed, and by the time they were both at Hogwarts it was as if they were strangers. He had been sorted into Slytherin, and she Ravenclaw, but the feelings he had had for her never left him.

And now, the 16-year-old Serena was standing in front of him, but she looked far different from how he remembered her in those summer days of innocence. She had become startlingly thin, and more care-worn. Dark circles had appeared beneath her eyes, which themselves seemed red and agitated. He had a weakness for those eyes, and turned his head to avoid meeting her concerned gaze.

"H-hi Severus-," she said shakily, taking a seat beside his bed

"How are you feeling?"

He answered her question with an emotionless stare.

"Now that is an understated question," he said coldly, facing the window.

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just. Well, I'm just so happy to see you awake." She stammered.

"So am I to presume you have seen me asleep often a time?" Snape drawled lazily, raising an eyebrow.

"I've been here with you everyday since you were brought in…since you…-,"

"Go on" he stated.

"Since…I found you" she finished quietly.

The silence that followed after her words was thick enough to suffocate the whole castle, it seemed. After several awkward minutes, Snape turned his head to face her and looked her in the eyes.

"I…I wish you hadn't Serena," he said in barely a whisper. He wasn't ashamed to let the tears that had been begging to surface appear. They slid silently down his pallid cheeks, and dropped onto the white bed linen. She rose out of her seat, and sat beside him, shaking. She then wrapped her arms around him, and he winced slightly at the shooting pain in his wrists. She clung onto him as if he were about to be snatched away from her at any moment, stroking his hair delicately.

"Don't you ever say that Severus. You didn't deserve to be treated that way, and you don't deserve to die."

"You never were one to see things that were right in front of your face," he sneered.

"But…" she felt his embrace loosen.

"I didn't want to be saved-," he began, tears of anger stinging his skin.

"I wanted to die Serena and you were the one who kept me in this nightmare. As far as I'm concerned you are as bad as the rest of them. Did you want to keep me here to torment, to hurt, or to simply feel sorry for? Do I make you look good Serena? Does playing the saint gain you popularity? Well here's your fucking prize," he hissed maliciously, showing her his wrists.

"Take a damn good look and I hope you never forget"

She stood up slowly, her legs shaking so much she nearly lost her balance. His obsidian eyes continued to bore into her, it was as if he were looking straight through her.

"Do you know what it feels like, Severus, to watch someone you care so much about wither away before your eyes? Can you even imagine it? Yes, you lost your mother at an early age, as did I, and it is killing me to see the same thing happen to you" she paused, her breath catching roughly in her chest.

"And if you want to let that happen so be it. I was a fool-," she choked on her tears.

"I was a fool to try and save the only person I love" With that she ran out of the hospital wing as fast as she could, not looking back once. Snape sunk slowly into his pillow, wishing it would take him under and drown him. He thought of her until he fell into a troubled sleep, as the rain outside continued to lash against his window.

A/N: Oooh dark. Personally, I liked this chapter, I don't know about the rest of you. Thanks so much to Risi for your constructive criticism, I have taken your points into consideration and will correct the vast majority later on in the story. Sorry about the language, but it only seemed necessary and greatly helped emphasise the angst. I will try and write the next chapter soon, but I have a full day of exams tomorrow and what with taking up smoking I now seem to have very little time on my hands. Thanks to all my current reviewers, and I hope you will review this revised chapter.