The bell went off, signalling the end of classes for the day and Severus Snape waved his wand, slamming the door shut behind the last dwindling students and put his head in his hands. He had a throbbing headache, and what was worse was that he was being forced by Albus Dumbledore to participate in the dreaded staff meeting later tonight. He had been called out of the school to Voldemort's side twice this week already and had barely three hours of sleep per night due to the recurrent injuries and nightmares. He truly was not feeling well at all. He dragged himself out of his chair and stumbled into his living quarters where he collapsed onto his large, four poster bed where he cast 'tempus' and realised he had forty-five minutes before he had to go upstairs for the staff-meeting, to meet with all of the people who disliked him and did not give a damn whether he lived or died. He grabbed a headache potion from his personal stores and lay back to relax for a while before the horrendous gathering was to take place.
The staff began to arrive in Albus's office, wanting to get the meeting over and done with as fast as possible, so they quickly took a seat and waited for Albus to begin. However, Albus looked at Minerva McGonagall, with a questioning look in his eyes as if Minerva would know where their surly Potions Master was. Severus was late, again. 'I'm not going down to the cold dungeons to get him', Minerva complained. The rest of the staff laughed, but Albus that knew Minerva had a soft spot for Severus as she was already teaching at Hogwarts when Severus was just a young boy. She reluctantly got up: "fine Albus, but you owe me". She walked down to the dungeons, only to find them dark and cold as usual. 'Obviously, the boy would have a locking charm on his doors', she thought to herself. 'I doubt I'd be able to open it', but surprisingly, the doors to Severus' private quarters opened easily with no charm at all in place. 'Severus?' she called into the darkness. She heard a groan and started to get a little worried. 'Severus, are you okay?' she called, uncertainly. 'I'm fine, just a headache' the Potions Master called back, but his voice was croaky and his usual sarcasm was lacking. 'Why are you in my room?' Minerva rolled her eyes and walked over to him, placing a hand on his warm forehead. 'Get off me!' Severus exclaimed, pulling away from her. 'You're late for the staff meeting', Minerva stated, 'and you're way too hot'. 'I'm fine. I was simply tired after working all day and time just got away from me'. 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, let's go'. Minerva noted the way that he did not question how she got into his rooms, clearly the man was feeling too ill to think straight or even lock the door behind him. Nevertheless, it was not her job to look after a grown man who clearly did not want to be looked after, so she watched him get up gingerly, wince as he touched his head, and then walked back to the staff room with him.
'Sorry I'm late, Headmaster', Severus apologised with no explanation. 'That's okay, my dear boy. Do try to be on time next time though', the Headmaster replied with a twinkle in his eye. Severus and Minerva took their seats, and the meeting began. About an hour into the tedious meeting, Severus's headache was pounding so much that he felt nauseous and he thought 'I might just rest my eyes for a minute', so he rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. Little to Severus' knowledge, he quickly and silently fell asleep. 'So, Severus, what is your opinion on the new curriculum for Potions?', the headmaster asked, looking at him and realising for the first time that the Potions Master was not awake. The staff all laughed loudly, but Minerva quietly said to the headmaster: 'I don't think he's feeling very well, Albus. He was sleeping when I went down to get him, and he said he had a headache. I don't know if he has taken any Potions for it.' Albus gave a look of realisation and told the staff to quieten down. 'Poppy, could you please discreetly take Severus' temperature without waking him up?' 'Of course'. Poppy took Severus' temperature, and exclaimed 'It's 40°C! Albus, we need to wake him up and cool him down as soon as possible!' Albus was shocked at the dangerously high temperature and the staff were murmuring to each other and looking at Severus, who had now become the latest gossip. 'Ok, everyone out, quickly. I need to look after Severus. This meeting is postponed until a later date, I will get in touch with you all later' Albus worriedly announced, and the staff started filing out. 'Poppy and Minerva, I need you both to stay'.
'Severus? Severus, wake up child', the Headmaster had his hand on the Potion Master's shoulder, gently shaking him. Severus could just hear the Headmaster's voice when he realised, embarrassed, that he had fallen asleep during a staff-meeting. He opened his heavy eyes and was just about to stand up and apologise when his stomach rebelled. His face physically turned a shade of green and Poppy thrust a hastily conjured bowl in front of him just before he threw up. He could feel Albus rubbing his back soothingly, and Minerva was filling a glass of water. His head was spinning and even he had to admit to himself, now, that he was clearly ill. 'So, is this how you feel about staff meetings, my boy?!', the Headmaster joked with a twinkle, trying to keep the atmosphere light. Severus shakily responded: 'Must you always make everything into a joke, Headmaster'. Poppy held one hand on his rolling stomach, willing it to calm down. Minerva passed him the glass of water and told him to rinse his mouth. He glared, but complied as he did not feel well enough to argue and spit into the bowl that Poppy gave him, which had been cleaned of its previous substance.
Poppy asked Minerva to go and fill a cool bath, as Severus' temperature was still much too high. Severus took offence to this: 'I am a grown man, I can decide when I need to bathe' he complained, but Poppy argued 'You don't get to make your own decisions until you can at least stand by yourself'. He gave in, and let Poppy and Minerva guide him over to Albus's bath, one on each side helping him. They undressed him down to his underwear, and they concernedly observed how thin and scarred Severus truly was. They never realised how much his meetings with Voldemort were affecting him until now. Still, they helped the almost-delirious Potions Master into the tub, letting the cool water wash over his feverishly warm body while holding him under his arms to keep his head from falling in the water. After a while, Poppy took his temperature again which had decreased a slight bit. 'Ok, his body temperature is no longer dangerously high, so we can get him out of the tub now'. They helped Severus, who was almost asleep again by now, out of the tub and into some of Albus' own pyjamas.
Albus sat on the edge of the ill wizard's bed and held his hand. 'Poppy informed me that you're currently suffering from Wizard's Flu, most likely due to your low body weight, lack of nutrients and lack of sleep. From now on, we will be monitoring your meals and you will take a Dreamless Sleep potion every night until your nightmares cease. 'Dreamless Sleep doesn't work anymore. I've taken it too much. I'm immune' Severus mumbled. Tears formed in Albus's eyes when he realised just how much of a toll this double-agent life was taking on the young man. He lay back and pulled the poorly Potions Master in close. Tenderly stroking his long black hair, Albus whispered 'I'm sorry', but the Potions Master was already fast asleep.