"Harry! HARRY! Are you ok? Answer Uncle Padfoot, Harry!" Sirius was trying to peek at Harry with a concerned look, all the while wriggling to shake off Remus, who had fallen right on top of him.
From Severus' arms came the elated giggling of Potter, who seemed to find the Potion Master's robe buttons amusing.
Sirius and Lupin sagged with relief.
Dumbledore and Severus would have found the whole scene very amusing, if it wasn't for the fact that the latter had just been soaked in very hot water.
Hot water.
Severus snorted.
The water wasn't simply hot, no. It was almost friggin' boiling. Why was it always him?
"Oh my god, Severus! Are you all right?" the question came unexpectedly from Lupin, who had freed himself from the jungle of limbs that he and Sirius made, not one minute ago, on the floor. Now, the werewolf was staring at his back, worrying his lower lip.
"Yes, Lupin. Stop worrying; I'm definitely 'all right' as you so eloquently put it." Severus tried to turn around to face him, but winced in pain. His back skin was most likely suffering a burn and he would need to apply a salve as soon as possible.
Dumbledore's keen eyes caught the fleeting signs of pain he hadn't been quick enough to mask.
Dammit.
'Shut your trap, Headmaster, or I swear to Merlin I will slip something in your pumpkin to convey Severus, with a glare to the old man.' Severusthought loudly, hoping the Headmaster would pick up on it with his legilimency.
Albus' eyes only twinkled before he spoke.
Severus wanted to groan.
"Severus, my boy, there's no need to put up a brave...
"Him? Brave? Seriously?" commented Black from behind them.
"He just saved Harry and the Headmaster from getting injured! Do us a favour and shut your mouth, Pads!" hissed Lupin.
Sirius settled down again with a vague expression of guilt.
"...front." Dumbledore went on, ignoring the squabbling duo in the background. " You are amongst friend, after all...I'm sure Sirius has something for burns..." said Dumbledore, with all the fake innocence of a boy caught with his hands in a cookie jar.
"So you are injuried, eh Snape? Let me see your back." There was no pity in Sirius' voice, nor disgusted mockery, just ice cold steel. It wasn't a request, it was an order.
"And why would I want to leave my back exposed to you, Black? So you can laugh and point at me like you did in first year?Or so you can stab a slimy Slytherin in the back? No, thank you very much." snarled Severus.
"Even if the second option would be very entertaining, unfortunately no. I am a fully trained Mediwizard and, as such, I need to asses the damage before giving you anything, you sod." Well, Sirius' patience hadn't lasted long, it seemed.
" Where did you study? Or did they gift you the certificate because they pitied the poor, handsome, runaway pureblood? " sneered Severus.
"I apprenticed under Madame Pomfrey, you prick. Now, do you have other oh so very intelligent questions or can we proceed?" bit out Sirius.
"Yes. I have another question. Why did you become a Mediwizard?"
"It's none of your fucking business" answered Sirius heatedly.
Lupin coughed, shifting awkwardly.
Snape smirked.
At least now Severus was in a familiar territory; he would never admit it, but Black's behaviour had unsettled him.
Without replying, Severus carefully put Harry in Dumbledore's lap and, with a flick of his wand, vanished his black long sleeved robe, remaining clad only in his trousers.
Remus gasped, Sirius stuttered.
" ... I-It...does-doesn't look so bad, best treat it now though..."
"Yeah... Best treat it now" echoed faintly Lupin.
Severus sighed. If Black was stuttering, his back must be in worse shape than he feared...
At least, while he was still standing facing the Headmaster and the baby, he couldn't see how Lupin had paled or how often Sirius's eyes flickered between his back and the bandages he was preparing.
Dumbledore, however, was ever attentive and registered their reactions with a pleased smile on his lips (which waned immediately when he realized Harry had been happily chewing his beard...)
Prying gently, he freed his beard and conjured a black dog for Harry to play with.
Sirius choked.
Albus only smiled and conjured a wood stool next to Severus.
" All right, Sniv-Snape, it looks like our whole tea set is embedded in your back. I'm going to remove the shards. Please, sit."
The Potion Master complied.
"Moony, pass the pain-reliever."
Sirius uncorked the vial and passed it to Snape, while Remus inched slowly closer to the Slytherin. Unbeknownst to him, Snape was about to get a double dose of pain reliever, and would risk to fall unconscious once the potion started to work.
"Snape, I need you to take it now."
Seveus sniffed briefly the vial to make sure the potion was of good quality. Not finding anything wrong with it, he downed it in one go; after all, the potion wouldn't become less disgusting if he waited.
After a few seconds, his eyes unfocused and he started swaying on the stool. Lupin was less than a metre away and caught him, holding him upright.
"Good, now I will extract the shards, ok? Moony tighten your grip, he's probably going to trash around."