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Severus pushed past the frantic mediwitch and crouched low over Harry's body. He could smell the coppery scent of blood and see the sweat beading on the boy's forehead. For just a second, Snape's mind blanked. He had never considered that a stronger pain potion would also have amplified side effects. In the past that had never been the case with any sort of pain remedies. He had never thought of a cure for the situation which he found himself in.
Shaking his head to clear it, Snape thought quickly. Stop the bleeding first. He cast a quick succession of blood thickening and slowing spells, some of which were not exactly friendly and were more hexes than charms. Knowing that there would be limited time before Harry's heart stopped or his blood clogged an artery, he continued his train of thought towards a cure. Weave support into the vessels before attempting to repair them. Snape wove a matrix of magical intent and directed it at the limp body before him. The magic disappeared and he prayed that his idea was going to work. Now carry on as usual. Quickly! Snape summoned a vessel repairing potion and tipped it down Harry's throat, stroking his throat to make him swallow. He was grateful that the boy was unconscious for this. Skipping the blood replenishing potion for fear of its effects, Snape moved on to sealing the forming vessels with double the usual strength of incantations and giving Harry the neutralizing agent.
Just as Severus began to breathe calmly again, Harry began to choke and convulse. Snape smacked the boy's chest in just the right spot and he spit out a clump of blood. Severus knew he had to hurry. The boy's blood was slowing to a dangerous level. He cast healing spells to counteract his earlier hexes and fed Harry a replenishing potion that Poppy had run over and handed to him. Finally Severus stood up and took a deep breath. It appeared that the worst had passed. Harry's chest was rising and falling in a shallow but acceptable pattern. The blood was beginning to dry on his face as it stopped flowing out of his body. Maybe everything would be alright.
Poppy cast an appraising glance at the Potions master.
"I knew you had some healing abilities Severus, but that was incredible. You may have just saved young Harry's life. I don't know if he could have lasted until St. Mungo's healers arrived. Heavens. I don't know if those healers would even have known what to do! You are quite the mystery Severus Snape," she said. Severus held back a groan. Now the woman would be after him even more to help her with the sick little brats.
A soft whimper snapped their attention back to the bed beside them. Harry had regained consciousness and was curled up on his side, writhing back and forth in pain. Poppy grabbed his shoulders and pushed him to his back. "Hush now Mister Potter. You will be alright. You had a bit of a scare but it's all better now. Shhh. Lie back. We don't want any further injuries. You need to remain still to heal." With that Harry stopped struggling but continued a low keening noise that he seemed unable to stop. Poppy glanced at the silent figure behind her. "Could we give him a pain potion Severus?" she questioned. "Not the general type that caused the reaction, but perhaps a mild numbing agent?"
Severus shook his head, grimacing. "It can't be done Poppy. Any reintroduction of ambrosia could trigger a relapse. The boy will have to suffer until we can be certain that the danger is passed. Eight hours Poppy. Then you may administer the mildest form of Numbing Potion that you have. Nothing more." The keening was starting to wear on Severus's nerves. His heart was panging for the hurt that the boy was going through. My fault, he thought bitterly. If I had not been so concerned with distancing myself from the brat, I would have remembered to give him the warnings and we could have avoided this mess. Sensing eyes upon him, Snape realised that Dumbledore had entered the hospital wing.
"Severus," came the sharp acknowledgement from the old wizard. "What of the boy? Is he alright?" Snape nodded crisply, not trusting himself to speak through his guilt. Dumbledore strode over to the hospital bed and laid a hand on Harry's pale forehead. The keening was still going but had dropped in volume somewhat and was fading in and out as if Harry was trying to stop making the terrible sound but failing. At the contact from Dumbledore's hand his eyes opened again. "Hello my boy. Don't mind me. I am just checking in to ensure that you are on the mend," said Dumbledore. At that, the green orbs closed again. The old wizard turned his attention back to Severus. "We must look into Harry's situation, Severus. Where he got this potion and whether it was an intentional move against him. It was likely an accident of course, but we cannot be too careful. These are dangerous times as you well know." Snape dropped his gaze to the floor. He moved towards the corner of the hospital wing and beckoned the headmaster over.
In a hushed tone, he began to speak. "I would appreciate your discretion and forgiveness in this matter headmaster, but I shall of course accept whatever punishment you feel necessary for the situation. It was my ineptitude which caused Potter this difficulty. The boy was complaining of a headache and I gave him a vial of my new pain potion to take to deal with it. It would seem that I…forgot…" the word bitter on his tongue, "to inform Mister Potter of the possible negative reactions which could result." Dumbledore looked steadily in Snape's dark eyes. After a moment he nodded to himself and waved a hand.
"Not to worry Severus. The boy will live; no harm done. That said, I feel that it is appropriate that you should be the one to watch over his progress. Your mistake to remedy, as it were. Plus, I hear from Poppy that you are a natural healer. Who better to aid young Harry on the road to recovery than yourself?" When Snape began to protest, Dumbledore cut him off. "It will take less than a week for Harry's health to improve enough to leave surely?" At Snape's nod, he continued. "You can afford to spend a week in the infirmary. I will personally cover your classes until your return. Have no fear Severus. The children will be safe in your absence." Snape almost snorted with the last statement. As if he cared about the safety of his students. If they were safe then he didn't have to write up incident reports. Really he only watched them so closely to avoid the pile of paperwork he would otherwise accumulate. Clearly the headmaster would not be swayed from this course of 'punishment,' and really Snape in the depths of his heart was relieved to be able to keep a close watch over Harry, so he nodded and walked off to see whether Poppy needed any further help from him before he went for lunch.