A little something for the second round of THC with the general topic "Everybody Needs Companionship". How true.
House: Slytherin
Class: DADA
Entry: Standard
Prompt: [Positive Pairing] Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape
Betas: Butterflies765, VanillaAshes, Fires of Eden Red Rose Aurora
Word count: 2653
Enjoy reading!
Lifesaving Patience
Minerva sighed as she pushed the stack of ungraded essays away and checked the grandfather clock for the fourth time in the last ten minutes.
She really didn't know why she had allowed herself to be pulled into this mess time and time again. She wanted to blame Albus for it, but she couldn't. The headmaster might be the one who had inspired her actions but she refused to learn from her mistakes. She had insisted on waiting for Severus, so the last three hours were solely on her.
Thinking back, she hadn't gotten along with the Potions Master at first. Even back when he had been a student himself and she had taught him the art of Transfiguration, she had never been able to get through to him. Severus had been a very introverted young man, always pensive and quiet. The only people he had associated with had been his peers from Slytherin and Miss Evans.
When Minerva had found out about his friendship with the Gryffindor, she hadn't quite believed it. The two had been an odd pair, like day and night. Yet, Lily had brought out a side in him that had surprised the professor.
But as it was with everything else, the public opinion had been too much for their friendship to last. She had not been present when it had happened but that hadn't been necessary. She had felt the difference. Lily had been quiet and when being talked to her temper had taken control of her more times than was normal for the girl. Severus, on the other hand, had taken a turn for the worst. He had stopped handing in his homework, his grades had slipped, and she had seen him time and time again with Mulciber, Carrow, Malfoy, and the like. It had unsettled her and she believed that part of that uncertainty she had felt back then had still not left her.
But time had changed and so had they.
Her fingers tightened around the cup of tea she had been nursing for the last hour as her eyes travelled back to the clock. He should have been back by now and although she knew better, she couldn't help but worry. She knew Severus could look after himself and she knew he'd done so more often than she'd had to, but… She was worried.
Minerva sighed, frustrated, and placed the cup back onto its saucer. The tea had gone cold ages ago and even a strong Heating Charm couldn't bring it back to life. Besides, a rewarmed tea tasted horrible. It was just as bad as forgetting to take out the teabag and ending up with a brew that turned out far too bitter. Not even milk could save it at that point, let alone some lemon juice.
She pulled her gaze away from the seemingly unmoving hands of the insulting grandfather clock. It wouldn't do her any good to just sit here, twist her hands, and wait for Severus to return from the Summoning. It was horrible feeling this… useless, this utterly out of control. How Albus could sleep soundly every night was a mystery to her. He wholeheartedly supported one of his teachers risking his life day in, day out, only to give the Order information no-one could be sure of anyway. Who said that Severus wasn't the only spy on both their side as well as in You-Know-Who's ranks?
She slowly closed her eyes and shook her head. No, she wasn't allowed to think like that; she didn't really believe those stress-driven thoughts. She knew that he could be trusted, at least to some extent. But that didn't make her worry any less. Who could guarantee that You-Know-Who's followers, or even the dark wizard himself, didn't know what Severus was doing? Who could guarantee that Severus was safe? That was a risk she would never take voluntarily if she were in Albus' shoes. It almost felt like throwing the Slytherin into the cage of a hungry dragon while shouting after him "Don't worry, it won't bite!"
This constant feeling of worry and restlessness was slowly eating away at her confidence. She was someone who valued honesty, loyalty, and selfless bravery. Severus was brave, yes, but he wasn't selfless.
The clock struck 2 am and Minerva couldn't sit still anymore. She was buzzing with nervous energy as she pulled herself out of her chair, a heavy sigh escaping her. A loose strand of grey hair had escaped her hairnet and was tickling her neck. She brushed it away and pulled her nightgown a bit tighter around her body. It was a cold, stormy night, and the centuries-old walls of the castle couldn't hold the warmth of the burning fire within her private chambers.
Silently, she cursed Albus again. Albus and his constant, subtle manipulation. Oh, she knew what he was doing with all of those comments on how Severus' work was valuable and how they should all support each other as best they could. She knew what he wanted to achieve with those little talks and she hated to admit that it was working. All of that was the reason that she had volunteered to keep watch that night. It hadn't even been necessary; she had just gone and offered her service. Just like that. If she didn't know better, she'd say she'd gone insane some time along the way.
But she couldn't have helped herself. It wasn't something she liked to admit, even to herself, but she was scared for Severus. Constantly. There wasn't a day which she began with a clear conscience, and when the Potions Master had seemed nervous that morning at the breakfast table… She had known something was going on. Her colleague never talked about the Dark Mark or his past as a loyal Death Eater, but how could you resent him for that? When he hadn't been at the Heads' table at dinner, she had known what had happened and had taken Albus aside as the last student had left the Great Hall. She had wanted to make sure Severus was alright, and those nagging thoughts were slowly driving her crazy.
Just as Minerva turned back around, considering to brew herself her seventh cup of tea in hopes of calming herself down and maybe even get her mind to focus on grading some essays, the flames in her fireplace shot up and turned bright green. With a loud, aggressive hiss, a cloaked figure tumbled out of the fireplace and collapsed right in front of her feet.
"Severus!" Minerva's cry echoed off the walls of her office as she hurried over to the twitching figure on the stone floor. Her knees buckled right before her legs gave way underneath her. She had known something wasn't right! He should have been back ages ago!
"Severus, can you hear me?" With trembling hands, she reached forward and pulled the hood of his cloak from his head. The silver-black mask glared back at her and sent an involuntary shiver down her spine. With a wave of her wand, she banished it to the other side of the room, away from her, away from her colleague, but as she realised what was behind that mask, she baulked.
The fir wood wand bounced off of the stone floor once, twice, before rolling to the side. Minerva's eyes widened further and further as she stared at the sight in front of her. She was horrified. Cuts of various sizes and depths covered Severus' pale skin. The blood that was oozing out of them ran along his face in thin trickles and dropped onto the floor beneath him.
A tremble shot through his body, forcing her gaze away from his face and onto -
Blood. There was so much blood.
Minerva's hands trembled horribly as she reached forward. Fingers numb from both the cold of the chilly air as well as from shock, she struggled to undo the buttons that held his robes together. The fabric was drenched in something warm, and she knew that if she were to look at the insides of her hands right now, they would be deep red.
It took a few seconds to get the Potion master's clothes off of him and to reveal his chest, which, much like his face, was covered in so many severe-looking cuts and wounds. For a short moment, she felt panic overtake logic. There was so much blood. Severus was shivering and hadn't stopped twitching ever since he had landed on her floor…
She shook her head from side to side, forcing her brain to restart. She needed to focus. She needed to help Severus and figure out what had caused the damage in the first place.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Minerva leaned over her colleague and began analysing the wounds. Every few seconds she shot him a glance, making sure he would stay conscious. "Stay with me, Severus."
A soft grunt sent a wave of relief through her as she focused on the cuts again. They didn't look like anything she had ever seen before. The edges were sharp and clean like those caused by a normal cutting spell, yet their depth and the general structure of the wounds looked ragged and uneven. A Severing Charm like Diffindo wouldn't cause something as severe as this.
A heavy sense of dread overcame her. She didn't know what curse had been used and the cuts had not stopped bleeding. The small puddle of blood that Severus was lying in was growing and within the next few seconds, it would reach her knees and start to soak into her nightgown.
"I will get Poppy," Minerva muttered hurriedly as she scrambled to her feet. "I don't know what you've been hit with, so I have no idea how to stop the blood flow."
A wet hand gripped her wrist and pulled her back down. With a soft squelching sound, her knees hit the ever-growing puddle of blood.
"N-No," Severus whispered brokenly just before a heavy coughing fit hit him. He retched and spit out even more blood that ran down his chin and dribbled onto her thighs. "Don't get Poppy. She w-won't be able to help."
"Oh, don't be stubborn, Severus!" Minerva could feel the panic creep up again as realisation his her. He wouldn't allow her to get help. He'd rather die.
She bit down a sob as his body cramped up, immediately followed by another coughing fit. "N-No, you d-don't understand, M-Minerva."
"No, I don't but that isn't of importance right now, is it? Tell me how I can help and I will!" She reached to her right and picked up her wand. With a swift motion, she waved it over the bleeding man and cast various diagnostic charms. She didn't dare to try anything else as any manipulating spell, healing or otherwise might interact with the dark magic that was laced in those wounds.
The diagnostic charm didn't tell her anything that she didn't know already - he had forty-three cuts littered over his entire body, focussed on his torso. They had various depths, some were bleeding heavily, others barely. He had a concussion and showed signs of being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse sometime during the last two hours.
She clenched her teeth and stared him straight in the eye, waiting. She would save him. If he didn't want her to get the nurse, he'd have his reasons. She trusted his judgment and she needed to stay focussed.
"Just tell me what I need to do."
Wheezing, Severus turned his head slightly and looked at her. His eyes looked oddly calm as if he was just lying on the ground because he'd been sitting at his desk for too long.
"I invented this curse," he whispered weakly and Minerva had to lean forward to understand him.
"You what?"
He ignored her and reached for her bloody wrist again. His grip was weak and Minerva's fear spiked once again. "I will now tell you w-what you need to do, alright? It w-will be o-okay."
Minerva looked at him and swallowed. She didn't say anything, just stared down at his bleeding figure.
"I t-trust you, Minerva."
Taking a deep, calming breath, she nodded once and raised her wand. She didn't notice how the great grandfather clock behind her struck 3 am, her entire focus on Severus' mumbled incantations that she softly repeated over and over again while waving her wand over his entire body.
He would be fine, she told herself as she felt the energy drain out of her and into the slowly closing wounds on his chest.
He would be fine.
*~*HP*~*
As her alarm charm went off the next morning, Minerva groaned loudly. She was exhausted, her head hurt, and she had an odd taste in her mouth. Overall, if she had to summarise everything - this day promised to be a bad one.
Slowly, cautiously, as to not aggravate her head even more, she sat up and sighed. What had occurred last night felt oddly far away, as if it had happened to someone she knew instead of herself. Thinking back, she honestly couldn't say how she had managed to patch Severus back together. The way he had looked - broken, bleeding on her floor… She suppressed a shiver at the mental image. It had been horrifying to see someone she knew and respected so close to death. And no matter how often he had told her after the bleeding had stopped that he was fine, it hadn't done anything to calm her down. Twisting and turning the whole night, she'd been kept awake by nightmare after nightmare.
Thank Merlin that today was a Saturday. She would take it easy, force herself to eat something, drink a nice and hot cup of tea, and allow herself to breathe.
Sluggishly, she went through her morning routine and twisted her hair up into her go-to knot as if on autopilot. After her mirror had told her that she looked presentable, she grabbed her warm winter cloak and left her chambers. The storm had taken a turn for the worst overnight and if the dark clouds at the horizon said anything, it would be raining very soon.
The walk through the castle was rather uneventful. She didn't see many students out and about, even though it was rather late for her standards, the majority of the student body was still safely tucked in and sleeping peacefully.
Despite her quiet stroll through the corridors, the Great Hall already had some lone students starting to trickle in as she moved through the grand entrance. The elves had begun dishing the tables when needed, Apparating drinks and food from the kitchen and onto the waiting golden plates.
Usually, she was one of the first who ate her breakfast, and one of the first leaving the hall again. She thought back to the stack of untouched essays that still lay hazardously abandoned on her desk from last night. The only thing she really wanted to do today was lie down on her bed and sleep for a few more hours, not read through thirty or so essays all saying basically the same thing.
A sigh escaped her as she did her best to ignore the students at the Hufflepuff table trying to get her attention when a tall, cloaked figure moved past her. Absentmindedly, she looked up and saw the person opposite her falter. After a short, stiff nod and a muttered "Good morning", Severus hurried past her and quite literally fled the slowly filling Great Hall.
Odd, that one, she thought, amused, as she turned back around and made her way towards the Head table. I will stay up every night if that's what's needed. I trust him and he deserves someone to make sure he's alright.
And Minerva kept her promises.
I struggled so much towards the end. I have a headache. I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless!
Until next time - see ya!
