Hermione Granger sat in a wooden chair, her hair pinned back and sleeves rolled up as she dipped a washcloth into a basin of cold water. Wringing the excess water out she turned to the man on the bed in front of her, his head propped on a pillow and his neck exposed. She dabbed lightly at the large gash extending from his left shoulder to the right side of his chest. Dried blood was washed off and she once again soaked the cloth in water.

She moved onto the several bite marks lining the left side of his neck down to his shoulder, lightly wiping at the affected areas. Setting the wet cloth down the witch leaned over the bedside table, taking a small vial of potion and uncorking it. Carefully she applied a few drops onto the long gash, the liquid making contact with the skin and healing it, smoke becoming emitted from the process.

A searing pain erupted through Severus Snape's chest and his mind screamed out. His lips didn't will to move just like all the other times he had become conscious in his head. He could hardly remember anything and was once again staring at the darkness in his mind. His senses were fogged up for the longest time and he went with it, unsure if he even wanted to awaken from his slumber if that's what it was called. He had never been at peace like this in his entire life but he also didn't want to live like this. His mind yearned for the knowledge of what was happening now and where he was.

As if the wills of the Heavens were with him, Severus felt the feeling in his body return, his hearing turning from muffled to clear. He could hear a figure on his left side, the sound of a vial being tipped over filling his senses. He willed his eyes to open and with great effort, his eyelids slowly started to flutter open, a large bright light the first thing he saw. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the light but didn't move, feeling the vial tip something onto his left shoulder.

Hermione heard the man let out a hiss but ignored it. For the past few days that Severus had be unconscious, he often hissed or screamed out in his sleep whenever she applied the potion. Ron refused to do it and Harry had spent his time with Celosia so much that it left Hermione to do this on a daily basis. Often time Severus would yell out protests, making Hermione think he was conscious when really he wasn't. She got used to it after a while and didn't let it faze her.

She put a couple drops of the potion onto the bite directly on Severus' neck, making the man cry out in protest and how much it stung and hurt. "Oh stop complaining you baby." Hermione muttered to herself, unaware that the man was now conscious and looking at her. She set the empty vial on the bedside table, washing her hands and holding a washcloth in her hands to dry them.

"Excuse me, Miss Granger?" The voice made Hermione jump straight out of her chair and she whipped around, Severus Snape staring up at her with a raised eyebrow. He felt the feeling in his body return and he carefully sat up, finally taking a look at the wound on his chest. "What happened to me?"

"Harry!" Hermione screamed, ignoring the man's questions. She backed towards the door and Severus was confused. He was even more confused when Harry Potter stormed into the room at a full run, stopping suddenly at the foot of his bed, Ron Weasley coming up behind him.

Green eyes met black and Harry looked at Severus in shock. "Professor, are you really awake?"

"Obviously." Severus rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he's definitely conscious now." Ron said behind him and Hermione smiled, holding his hand. Harry surprised Severus by breaking out into a grin.

"I'm glad you're here with us, Professor." The Boy Who Lived admitted.

"Yes, and where is this exactly?" Severus asked, looking around the unfamiliar room.

"We're at Celosia's home right across from yours." Hermione explained. "Well, what used to be yours; In your absence your house was raided by Muggles. Luckily you emptied the place before you left to be Headmaster."

Severus nodded, the memories slowly flooding back to him. His eyes looked up at Harry, who was still looking at him. "Why did you save me?" He muttered.

Harry walked towards his left side where Hermione was previously, looking at the wounds on his neck and chest. "I knew you meant something to my aunt." He said softly. "Your Pensieve memories were confirmation. I'm sorry I doubted you all these years, sir."

"I assume the deed is done then?" Severus asked, not wanting to get into an emotional apology.

"Yes." Hermione grinned. "Harry defeated Voldemort. For good."

"Good." Severus leaned back, looking down at his arm. Surely enough, his left arm was bare, forever gone of the Dark Mark.

A blood curling scream from the next room made Severus jump and it was soon followed by the same scream shrieking out Harry's name. The boy sighed and looked at Ron. "Can you check up on her? I don't want to leave right now."

"Yeah, of course." Ron and Hermione both left out the room and Severus looked at Harry.

"What was that?"

"More like who." Harry sighed, sitting down and shifting around the bedside table until he found some bandages. "Celosia hasn't been that well ever since she was in St. Mungo's."

"She was put into St. Mungo's?" Severus' brows raised.

"When you hit her with the Cruciatus curse, she went insane because it triggered her memories from when you cast it on her previously in her life." The boy muttered softly, carefully unrolling the bandages and starting to wrap them around Severus' chest, the ex-Potions Master willingly letting him.

"Has she told anyone I attacked her?" He asked quietly.

"She hardly remembered when she was in St. Mungo's." Harry said calmly, as if they were having a normal conversation, the boy tightening the bandages lightly as he moved up towards Severus' shoulders. "They didn't really make a fuss about it; believed it was because of Death Eaters."

"How is she now?"

"Just fine." Harry answered, ripping off the end and adjusting it so the bandages were secured. "She refuses to leave my side and I don't want to leave her either. Other than that she keeps screaming your name in her sleep."

"Why ever would she do such a thing?" Severus' brows furrowed.

"She misses you." He admitted, leaning back in his chair. "Wants you. Loves you. Needs you. I told her all about what happened to you and she's been hysterical ever since your body was moved into this house. You know, this was her room."

Severus looked around once again, starting to take in every detail of the room. It was very spacious and the wallpaper was a nice light green, stripes going vertical along the entire walls, light green on lighter green. The door and ceiling were the only things that were white, and the peach carpet at the bottom fit the room perfectly. A dresser was at the other side of the room, pushed near the corner. On it were several boxes and even from his seat far from it, Severus could tell that the entire thing was empty. Taking a look again everything seemed empty and useless.

"Celosia's been in my mum's room." Harry said softly, remembering how he saw that Severus loved Lily. Both of them knew that the love was long gone but it still made things slightly awkward. To Harry anyways.

"This room suits Celosia quite well." Severus said under his breath, the words escaping his mouth before he could stop them. Harry nodded in agreement, both of them taking the time to look around the room. At the other end, to Severus' right was a large closet for the entire wall. The doors were closed and a large mirror covered them. Severus looked at his reflection, seeing a scar on his cheek as well as his body looking thinner than he had remembered leaving it. He was of course shirtless because of the bandage application and this thought hadn't occurred to him until now. His ex-student looking at him half naked wasn't really a soothing thought.

Hermione stepped into the room again, arms crossed over her chest. "She keeps calling for you."

"I can hear that." Harry admitted. "Did you tell her everything?"

"Ron's trying now." Hermione sighed. "She didn't really listen to me. I think you should do it."

"I'm not leaving." Harry said defiantly, surprising Severus yet again. Why would the boy even want to stay with him of all people? Yes he saved his life but wasn't that enough? He didn't need to sit and wait for Severus' wounds to magically fully heal themselves.

"She doesn't believe it." The female explained. "Frankly I don't think it's wise to let her see him yet."

"I agree." Harry nodded. "However who knows, maybe it'll be better than hearing it from Ron of all people."

Sure enough, Ron walked into the room, looking slightly exhausted. "Yup, not working. She wants you and she said if she can't have you, she wants him." He motioned to his professor sitting on the bed.

"I think we should just bring her here." Harry admitted.

"I won't mind seeing her." Severus agreed.

"Yes but it might trigger some emotional thought." Hermione butted in. "By looking at you it can bring her memories back into view, the ones she absolutely detests. Playing on her psychological state-"

"Let's just bring her." Harry interrupted, making Hermione frown. "I'll be here too so she'll know it's fine. She's been in recovery for almost ten months now."

"How long has it been and exactly what happened?" Severus asked, suddenly conscious about the time.

"Well, you were dying so when Professor McGonagall came, she tried to heal you." Harry explained in short statements. "Mr. Weasley came and all three of you Apparated to St. Mungo's. There they got the venom out of you, which took a lot of hard work and potions, but it's all gone. Next they started to treat your wounds but you already lost a lot of blood and they needed a donor. All this took about three days, in which time I already defeated the Dark Asshole." At this Ron stifled a laugh. "So I went straight to St. Mungo's and turns out I was your perfect blood match, so they did a small transfusion, if you don't mind having some of my blood running through your veins too."

Severus didn't as much flinch or cringe at this explanation, which Harry was very impressed about. "After all that was done we got a few more potions in you, some instructions and you were good to go. However we didn't have a place to take you so we took you back here, where Celosia was with Fleur and Bill Weasley. They left once we arrived so we've been taking care of both you and Celosia. Your wounds are fine but still a little fragile, however now they won't open or tear if you say fell off a chair or got hit with a table. Not like we'd like to see or anything. So Hermione has spent the time to apply potions onto your wounds, clean them and bandage them up. Celosia wouldn't let me leave her side so I couldn't do it myself, and Ron looked like he would just about vomit whenever he would peel the bandages back."

Ron made a noise near the door but it was ignored. "It looks that bad, hm?" Severus raised a brow.

"Not anymore." Harry finished. "You healed perfectly. About two months have passed since then. It seems they did a little overdose on the potions so it prolonged the amount of time you were supposed to be unconscious. We were quite worried but we're glad you're awake. You're well enough to get up and walk and all that however due to the overdose side effects, you can't use magic effectively for a while and you'll get quite fatigued and imbalanced a lot. That's why I'll be staying with you."

Severus looked at the green eyes, which were staring back at him. "I didn't think you cared so deeply for me, Potter."

"Well, you did a lot for me, sir." Harry admitted, looking away as he felt a light blush creep across his features. Sure the man was a total dick to him in the past but it was an act he had to keep up, along with a nagging at his brain that this was James' son. Turns out he really did have a lot of Lily in him, more than Severus, Celosia or anyone else would have figured out.

Footsteps made them all look up and Harry stood up in worry as Celosia burst through the doorway, stopping in her tracks. Severus looked at the woman, her brown hair wavy and messy, bangs falling in between her eyes that stared at him. In that instant she looked a bit like Bellatrix Lestrange, a slightly delirious look on her face. She was dressed in a thin silk purple night gown, and did look as though she had endured all that Harry and the others had explained.

"Severus." His name slipped off her tongue so easily, her voice cracked slightly. She never spoke besides screaming or saying words to Harry.

Before anyone could do anything Celosia sprinted towards the man, jumping on top of him and smashing her lips to his.