Chapter 3
It was midmorning when Severus Snape woke to find himself lying in a bed in the all-too-familiar Hogwarts Infirmary. His body felt tired and sluggish, and rather numb all over. All of the oddly mild, involuntary twitches of various muscle groups told him that last night hadn't all been a nightmare, in spite of the odd lack of true pain. Madam Pomphrey certainly knew what she was doing. At least, he hoped it was only last night...every other time his father had Crucio'd him, he'd been in a fair bit of pain for several days after, and hard-put to suppress the residual shaking. There'd been no way he could ask anyone for help in dealing with it, though, his father would quite literally kill him for being useless if Severus ever told anyone.
How he hated seeing that deceptively nondescript barn owl heading towards him of a morning, bearing another much-dreaded summons to meet his father somewhere just outside the castle. Thank Merlin it was never more than once a month! Those summons always, always ended with him in a fair bit of pain, of one type or another. But skiving off wouldn't do him any good; Tobias Snape would just be that much more furious with his son the next time the man got his hands on him. Severus was naturally never given permission to stay at Hogwarts over any holiday, not for any reason.
It wasn't like he had anywhere else he could go, to escape the man. Even if Lily had offered, her house was quite simply too close to his and definitely not magically warded at all, let along anywhere near strong enough to keep his father out. Being under-age, neither of them could correct that problem--both for fear of expulsion from Hogwarts for using under-age magic, and because there was no way they'd be able to do anything strong enough to work, anyway. And Severus would die before he let his bastard of a father get his wand to Lily!!
He wasn't quite sure what his father expected him to tell Madam Pomphrey had happened to him. It would have been excruciatingly clear to her what curse he'd suffered, or she'd never have been able to so successfully treat it. It was equally obvious that no student at Hogwarts would have been able to cast an Unforgivable of such strength. They simply weren't old enough to be magically mature enough--even the handful of prodigies. That left one of the teaching staff, which would be pretty much unthinkable--or someone unauthorized who'd gotten onto the grounds, which would have everyone going over the wards and security procedures for the castle with the proverbial fine-toothed comb.
(That certainly wouldn't set well with Tobias. Severus felt a grim sort of smile pulling his lips back from tightly clenched teeth. He was all in favor of anything that annoyed his father--anything that he wouldn't be held responsible for, anyway.)
All of which meant one Severus Snape was going to be thoroughly grilled in whatever way would get him to spill the identity of whoever cast the curses on him, even if they had to use a Pensieve and watch his memories for themselves. Or maybe one of them would try Legilimency on him--he'd bet the Headmaster knew the mind-reading spell, and was probably very good at it. That was the main reason Severus was reluctant to ever look the old man directly in the eyes; he refused to make it easy for Dumbledore to steal his thoughts the way his father did upon occasion.
Severus really didn't fancy the thought of anyone else actually seeing what his bastard of a father had done to him. It was embarrassing enough when Madam Pomphrey had taken to seeking him out whenever he returned to school, to patch him back together. At least she didn't lecture him on anything but taking it easy until her healing magics had worked fully on him; he couldn't handle anyone's pity, especially as no one could offer him an alternative but for caving in to his father's wishes.
Since coming to Hogwarts, Severus had started entertaining the idea that, maybe, he wasn't the one at fault, all those times his father so painfully cursed him--that maybe, just maybe, that wasn't how fathers were truly supposed to treat their only sons. That his father might be the "bad" one, delighting in causing him pain. Being the brunt of the Marauders' attentions hadn't exactly helped him with this idea; they'd started in on him without ever bothering to get to know anything about him, and were hardly ever punished at all for hurting him. Then there were the horror stories he'd found out about some of his fellow Slytherins, that weren't that far off from his own 'family' experiences...
He wasn't sure the rest were telling the truth about their idyllic-seeming home lives, or if they were simply weaving tales they wished were true. He certainly never spoke of his own home life. Though the letters and packages many of his classmates got from home were always eagerly awaited and left them in quite happy moods when they came...
Lily--his first and only real friend--was the one to first even getting him to suspect things could be different.
Her parents would never dream of hurting her. Or even of hurting him, who wasn't even remotely of their blood. As a matter of fact, though he tried not to think about it, Lily's parents had patched him up numerous times when he was a child, when Lily would drag his aching carcass over to her house as soon as she figured out he was hurting.
It had taken the Muggle couple a good week to recover from their shock when they found out that there were spells that could be used on wizard children to simulate pain, without leaving any physical evidence for it. He hadn't elaborated; he'd just whispered that there was magic to do that, not even admitting that's what he was suffering from, let alone who had done it to him.
That had been Severus' first ever experience of a hug. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had securely wrapped him in their arms, tucking him between them, as if they'd like to protect him from the world at large. It was his second-most treasured memory ever, right behind Lily saying she wanted to be friends with him.
Lily's parents seemed to become more and more worried for him over the years, trying to get him to admit who was doing such unspeakable things to him; going from hinting, to outright telling him that they'd be more than willing to help him get away from the abuse; even trying to counsel him as best they could in how to deal with it. He'd caught sight of the Muggle books appearing on their bookshelves dealing with child psychology and child abuse, that they'd bought over the years since meeting him; and by the wear that quickly showed on the pages and bindings, they had studied them carefully.
Severus hadn't been at all sure what to do about people who took such an intense interest in his welfare--especially as he wasn't even remotely kin to them! They had no reason to put themselves out to help him, other than their daughter liking him! What in Merlin's name were they getting out of all that effort?
He couldn't accept their offer, though. They were Muggles, after all--Severus didn't want to even think about what his father would do to them, for interfering with his control over his only son. They never stopped offering, though the offers now came more in the form of speaking looks, gestures of affection, and strongly expressed reluctance to let him leave whenever he came over to their house.
His father had cursed him with the Cruciatus enough times now that Severus was quite familiar with the after-effects. This time--this had been the worst yet. There was no way he could have remained silent during it, this time... There was no way he would remain silent about it; not any longer. His father was going to end up killing him anyway. He wasn't going to make it easy for the bastard!
He would not ever serve that egomaniacal double-talking nutcase his father practically worshipped!! The wizard was insane! All anybody had to do was put an average Muggle-born in a room with a wizard who was pureblood practically all the way back to Merlin's time, and it was easy to see how sickly, weak, and/or neurotic the pureblood tended to be in comparison. Likely because Muggle-borns weren't inbred like pureblood wizards were; anybody into breeding animals of any kind could see the parallels. He shook his head in disbelief at the idiocy of some pureblood wizards, firmly turning his thoughts away in an effort to crawl at least partially out of his usual pit of depression.
Severus figured he should have been pretty much debilitated for the next few days butfor Poppy Pomphrey's skill, however he'd gotten to her. He wondered morosely just who had found him out on the grounds, and how much trouble he was in for being out of his dorm after curfew. It wouldn't be a surprise if it were his screams that had brought help; his father had been too angry at his son's refusal to cast a single silencing charm. Maybe Hagrid had been led to him by one of the monsters living in the Forbidden Forest that were so oddly friendly towards the half-giant.
He didn't regret standing up to his father so plainly for the first time. He refused to regret it. He'd never do as Tobias was demanding; he wouldn't become another Tobias Snape!! Even if it killed him!
Which it certainly would, now... All on his own with no other family to turn to as he was, unpopular with his entire peer group thanks to the Marauders' efforts, he knew his mere defiance was hardly going to be enough to save him. He'd likely be dead before this school year was out.
Oh, now there was a thought to promote quick healing...
Severus was snapped from his bleak thoughts by the sound of quiet footfalls. He lifted and turned his head slightly as he dragged his eyes from their idle perusal of the ceiling to find the Headmaster, himself walking towards him. A faint quiver of unease increased the tremors still dancing randomly through his muscles. Severus grimaced at the crawling-ants sensation just under his skin before schooling his face into his usual blank expression, letting his head drop back to the pillow as he dully watched the old man approach.
He might not be in as much pain as he by rights should be, but his body's exhaustion was hardly inconsiderable. One of the reasons the Cruciatus was classed as an Unforgivable was that it was so difficult to counter even the after-effects; there was no quick spell or potion fix. A bit of Severus' mind trailed off to wonder if he might be able to create a potion that would help more than anything available to date. It certainly couldn't hurt to try, and so far his potions experimentations had been turning out very well...
Dumbledore stopped right by Severus' head, looking calmly down at the dour-faced boy who only stared back for a brief moment before firmly directing his dark eyes up to the ceiling so he wouldn't be directly meeting the powerful old man's prying eyes. A boy whose brief but direct black gaze had been hard as diamond, to cover a nevertheless still noticeable complete lack of hope. The Headmaster was rather puzzled to see it, though he didn't let the emotion show in his heavily bearded face. Surely the boy had already arranged for his own protection; self-preservation was a strong Slytherin trait, after all, along with cunning.
The young Slytherin had no reason to think the old man was there for his benefit. He inevitably got in more trouble than his tormentors, when the Headmaster got around to "sorting things out"--never mind that he was very rarely the one who started things. The bloody Marauders put him in the Infirmary for a whole day at four-to-one odds, and got maybe a couple days of detention with their Head of House, basically doing their homework...while when he defended himself from one of their "pranks", and one or more of them spent a whole five minutes while Madam Pomphrey reversed his curse(s)--he was given two weeks' detention, with Argus Filch! There was certainly no homework done during his detentions.
Severus held back the snort of nervous hysteria that wanted to burst out at his bitter thoughts. As far as he could tell, the Headmaster had it in for him simply because of his House, with maybe some reinforcement by his blood--Dumbledore certainly knew what Tobias Snape was, and probably figured Severus was going to follow along in the man's rotten footsteps.
Which just went to show that the Headmaster's reputation as all-knowing was most likely based on the pipe-dreams of a gullible populace full of former students.
After a couple moments the Headmaster's lips quirked in a small smile that didn't quite reach his non-twinkling eyes. He bent forward to say in a slightly fake-seeming approximation of a friendly manner, "Mr. Snape. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, thank you, Headmaster." Severus' voice was dead, without inflection. He obviously didn't believe the Headmaster's concern was genuine. One eye twitched briefly along with the rest of that side of his face in another involuntary muscle spasm, one that skipped quickly down to his left leg before settling to stay for a while over in the back of his right hand, twitching and jerking at his fingers. Severus ignored it, as did Dumbledore.
"I believe you have something to explain to me, about last night...?"
The Headmaster's quiet request might have fallen on deaf ears, for all the response the boy gave. The man had said it in a serious, expectant tone of voice that told Severus he had supposedly done something horrible, and had best explain himself before his punishment was meted out. Severus stared bleakly up at the ceiling in stony silence, knowing very well after four years at Hogwarts that nothing he said would make the slightest difference in what would happen to him, anyway. Unless he started cussing at the Headmaster, that is; then he could expect his punishment to double, at the least.
This was no different than when the Marauders painfully cursed him, causing broken bones, horrible bruising, painful transformations...it was always written off as "boyish hijinks that will eventually go away if he'd only be wise and ignore them."
"Ignore them"--Ha!! He'd already tried that! It just encouraged the prats to try harder for a reaction, resulting in more pain for him! Severus clenched his teeth tighter, working hard to keep his face a stony mask of indifference.
Sighing softly with regret that, perhaps, wasn't as...deep...as it might have been, Dumbledore easily forbore putting a hand to the touchy Slytherin boy's shoulder to comfort him. The Headmaster doubted it would be appreciated, antisocial as Mr. Snape was under normal circumstances; and especially considering what he had yet to say. There was no way the Headmaster could offer the boy any solid promises of safety, not this soon; Tobias Snape was a moderately powerful political figure, and any steps the Headmaster took would have to be carefully considered or they'd do more harm to the boy than good.
Tobias Snape could be brutally vindictive when he was crossed, and Dumbledore certainly didn't want to fail in his efforts and end up with a student in his care maimed for life; or worse--dead. From what young James Potter had told him, Dumbledore realized there truly was a very good likelihood of Tobias Snape killing his son before Severus could even finish his education at Hogwarts. He might not be especially fond of the prickly young Slytherin, but he certainly wasn't going to stand by and let the vast potential that could be made out even through all that anti-social snark go to waste. Most of the boy's teachers considered Mr. Snape to be brilliant, especially Professor Slughorn--and for Horace to cast even faint praise on a student with no connections to return the favor, was really saying something. To have him actually recommend an apprenticeship for the boy--Mr. Snape must certainly be a Potions prodigy!
Reading the closed expression on the Headmaster's face but missing any hint of the thoughts the old man had buried away, Severus was bitterly and thoroughly convinced that no amount of reluctance would have stopped the "comforting" gesture towards a Gryffindor student. Or a Ravenclaw. Or even a Hufflepuff...
...any House but Slytherin.
There were days Severus really wondered about people. How could Dumbledore revere Gryffindor so much when the last Dark Lord, Grindelwald, had been of that House?! That Dark wizard had caused more death and destruction to wizards and Muggles alike than any other Dark Lord in history! Severus would have thought that Gryffindor would have more rightfully earned the old man's loathing, than Slytherin! And it wasn't as if Dumbledore himself had been in Gryffindor; according to Hogwarts: A History, the Headmaster had been in Ravenclaw.
He realized Dumbledore was speaking again, so Severus wrenched his mutinously scattering thoughts and attention back to the here-and-now, little though the Headmaster's words pleased him.
"--me that James Potter found you last night, Mr. Snape, and brought you here."
That involuntary jerking of his body wasn't caused by spell-residue. Severus kept his face from twisting with loathing at Potter's name only by extreme willpower. He wouldn't give the Headmaster the satisfaction of seeing how much it bothered him to be saved by that--that prat!
"You should be sure to thank him when next you see him; you might not have been found until much too late, if it weren't for him." Stern blue eyes that always seemed to twinkle for the members of any other House of Hogwarts but Slytherin bored into the already jaded and cynical black eyes of the injured boy as he demanded something Severus would quite frankly rather still be lying outside suffering the untreated effects of the Cruciatus curse than give. Then again, the Headmaster was always demanding Severus basically bow down before the supposed magnificence of his pet Gryffindors, no matter what evidence there was that the four of them were the biggest and meanest bullies at Hogwarts for the last fifty years! No Slytherin could be in the right in the Headmaster's eyes, oh, no! of course not!
Severus yanked his eyes firmly back to the ceiling without uttering a word as despairing bitterness washed over him. He knew there was nothing the Headmaster was willing to say or do that would help him in any way; and he was unwilling to ease any nascent conscience the old man might be developing over the matter. He dulled his awareness of things around him, sinking purposefully into his own resentful thoughts.
It was always his fault when he was involved in any "altercations," of course; as a Slytherin, he must obviously have started things, he simply must have been somehow "asking for" whatever the Marauders always felt determined to do to him. At four-to-one odds, sometimes worse. He must certainly deserve all the times they'd sent him to the Hospital wing. There were never any witnesses taking his side, after all; no one ever spoke up for him.
--but for Lily Evans, of course. But Lily had been Sorted into Gryffindor, while he'd chosen Slytherin--and her House-mates were always careful to try and never do anything to him where she could personally see it for herself. Her being Muggle-born meant she didn't really ascribe to the House divisions, and saw no reason not to be friends with the only other student in their Potions class who was even remotely serious about learning that subtle science--never mind that they'd already been friends since well before coming to Hogwarts. Severus didn't want his only true friend to think of him as a whiner, unable to take care of himself, and so he was careful to downplay whatever things he did slip up and mention to her. He wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he pushed away because of whinging on about the Marauders.
Bullies made Lily absolutely livid, easily knew just as many hexes as Severus did; and was quite creative and unrestrained in using them, when she got in a full temper. Amusing as the thought of the fiery Lily Evans declaring all-out war on the Marauders was, Severus truly didn't want her to have to be at odds with her own House for defending a "slimy Slytherin". He, of all people, knew how awful that could be.
A wave of grief washed over him as it suddenly hit him right in the gut that it would be better for Lily, for her very safety, if Severus didn't allow her to continue trying to be his friend any longer. He wasn't worth what could happen to her if his father ever found out he had dared to be friends with a Muggle-born. Severus just couldn't protect her well enough anymore--he couldn't even protect himself! He certainly would not ever trust her House-mates to even notice the danger, not until it was much too late!
Slytherin wasn't entirely innocent of its bad reputation, either; there were several of his House-mates who truly would like nothing more than to see all Muggle-borns done away with, though it wasn't that much higher a percentage of students than in the other three Houses. The bigots in the other Houses just hid their beliefs more diligently than those in Slytherin did. All it would take was gossip from a House-mate through their relatives getting to his father, and the man could pass back the directive that Lily Evans was to be "taken care of"--immediately.
They were incredibly lucky that hadn't happened yet. Likely Tobias hadn't bothered with school rumors before now, because his son hadn't been so determined to oppose him.
Severus felt something quite painful clench inside his chest, and refused to think of what would happen to Lily if his father found out about their friendship. From five years before Hogwarts, he'd always been so careful that the bastard wouldn't get even a hint that he might possibly be friends with a Muggle-born, all for fear of what the man would do to "nip it in the bud". His mother had helped him, covering for his absences when he went to see Lily, teaching him how to cover his tracks and mislead his father without actually lying to him. At school, most of their meetings were secluded from casual observation, or in places like the library, where they were so obviously and boringly studying that no one paid them any mind. They were teacher-assigned partners in several of their shared classes, after all, and so required to study with each other.
It was his own fault he and Lily weren't in the same House, anyway. Severus hadn't realized, as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, just how deep the division between Gryffindor and Slytherin was, when he demanded the Hat absolutely not put him in the same House as the two prats who'd tormented him so for no good reason on the Hogwarts Express. His grief at his mother's death had been too fresh and raw for much rational thought; he hadn't been able to stand the thought of sharing a dorm for seven years with those two--prats! He hadn't particularly wanted to go to Slytherin either, fond as he was most definitely not of snakes; but his father's House of Ravenclaw hadn't appealed all that much, either. Even then he'd known there was no way he'd ever be put in Hufflepuff; he might be hard-working, but he was nowhere near compassionate enough to be a Badger.
He hadn't known his refusal of Gryffindor could result in losing his only friend.
Severus ignored the Headmaster, until the old man gave up on him and left. It didn't take long. The Headmaster of course had no sympathy and no patience for a Slytherin; he didn't stay even five minutes. Severus did wonder why Dumbledore hadn't deducted scores of House points from Slytherin, though; that was rather odd. He shrugged it off, too tired to wonder about it. Probably it had been done while he was still unconscious, before the Headmaster even thought to question him. It wasn't like there was anything he could say that would change the old man's mind, anyway.
It was rather unfortunate that Severus didn't know the Headmaster left so quickly because he was already mentally composing letters to certain allies within the Ministry, to start procedures for the emancipation of a minor from an abusive household where Unforgivables were performed. Dumbledore hadn't wanted to get the boy's hopes up before he knew things would definitely go through; it was possible, thought not likely, Tobias might catch wind of the proceedings in time to put a stop to them. Dumbledore figured the young Slytherin would have plans set to safeguard himself, that would last long enough for Dumbledore to present him with the final step--the legal paperwork for the boy to sign. Hopefully it could progress beyond stopping before the students were next sent home, for the long Easter holiday.
In a decidedly short-sighted attempt to prevent anyone from guessing he was going to help the boy, he had taken points from Slytherin, for Mr. Snape being out of his dorm after curfew. Tobias Snape would certainly never guess the Headmaster would deduct points from a child he was helping; the man would feel safe that his power over his son was undisputed, and so not take further steps to protect his interests. The boy simply must stay at Hogwarts until the legal procedures were well underway, or it would all be for naught.
The Headmaster had never really understood Slytherins all that well. Ravenclaws were highly intelligent, but not all that intuitive about human emotions and motives. Dumbledore had forgotten that no matter their House, they were still children, just like any others at heart. Slytherins were simply better at hiding their true thoughts and emotions than any of the other Houses, as well as almost obsessively plotting to protect and advance themselves. That points loss would not earn Severus any friends from his own House, and would even further alienate the boy from the Headmaster.
An unexpected rustling of cloth at the foot of Severus' bed drew his attention, as there was nothing there to make the sound. Severus carefully, shakily pushed himself up on his elbows, quickly sweating from the effort while silently cursing his body's weakness, all the while staring intently at nothing; a niggling suspicion working its way through his still rather sluggish thoughts, preoccupied as they were with his habitual bitterness.
Then he groaned and flopped back down, closing his eyes and throwing an arm over them to block out the vision of James-Bloody Hell!-Potter's head suddenly appearing to float over the foot of the bed. He'd been caught by Potter and his mates using that damned Invisibility Cloak too often to be particularly surprised by the sight, the teaching staff flat refusing to confiscate the damned thing for some unfathomable reason. He figured that as Dumbledore had said Potter had been the one to find him last night, the Gryffindor prat must be there to collect the ordered thanks.
Severus briefly wondered if he could use wandless magic to Accio his wand from wherever Poppy had stashed it before Potter hexed him in some new, unusual and of course humiliating way--because that "thanks" would only come with the Headmaster standing over him, wand drawn and ready to hex him with another Unforgivable curse, Imperius! He'd neither wanted nor asked for Potter's help. How long the hex he just knew was coming would last, depended on where Poppy was--and why in Merlin's name wasn't she anywhere in sight?! She, of all people, would know how vulnerable he was just then--and how prone his enemies were to ambushes at the worst possible times! She was the one who usually had to patch him up when things went too far. She normally kept quite the close watch on him when he was in her care, the Marauders had tried to hex him while he was in the Infirmary a couple times before.
Hmmm...he really should add Poppy Pomphrey to that too-short list that to date held only Lily's name. He was pretty sure there were now actually two people living who would at least notice, if he were to disappear one day. He fondly remembered the last time Sirius Black had tried to get at him in the Infirmary, and ended up filling a bed of his own for two days from the special wards Madam Pomphrey had set around Severus. She'd refused to use the counter-curse on Black until Severus was back in his dorm, too.
Maybe Madam Pomphrey and Lily would more than just simply notice if he was gone...that was a disturbingly comforting thought.
After the past four years' worth of experience, Severus certainly didn't expect how things actually went with Potter from that moment on, starting with the very first words out of the other boy's mouth.
"I'm sorry."
Severus froze in shock, not even breathing, wondering just what type of hex Potter had cast on his ears. He was obviously not hearing correctly! He slowly drew his arm back down and strained to raise his head, eyebrows heading for his hairline as he stared at a remarkably contrite looking James Potter. He consciously re-started his lungs to ask tiredly, "What are you up to now, Potter?"
The Gryffindor winced, though Severus was certain there hadn't been anywhere near the usual amount of venom in his tone. He was too exhausted for even verbal sparring. He just wanted to sleep, until Poppy released him back into the wilds of the Hogwarts student body...
"I'm not 'up to' anything, Snape."
Severus blinked at Potter's use of his actual surname instead of one of the usual insults, as well as the lack of hostility in the Gryffindor's level tone. He was too confused to interrupt as Potter went on, "I...I followed you out there, last night. I--saw--what happened. I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner; I should've done something the first time he cursed you--"
The stuttery, yet seemingly heart-felt explanation was cut off as Snape shot upright, almost flinging himself from the bed but for the weakness in his muscles. He glared death at Potter as rage and shame both burned through him.
"Just forget what you saw, Potter! It doesn't concern you!" Snape's lip curled in disgust as he sneered at his school nemesis. He added in a low snarl, "It's not like you'll be doing anything but tormenting me about it, anyway." He wasn't sure why he'd let that pop out of his mouth, but he was feeling much too sore and tired and hopeless to regret it.
The flinch was harder this time, and Potter's face actually went red with embarrassment as he seemed to sink into himself, though it was hard to tell with that damned cloak still covering the rest of him from the neck down. There was no anger in the Gryffindor's face, though. Severus felt his rage slip a bit, replaced by astonishment as Potter only sighed and hung his head, then came around and hopped up onto the bed next to Snape's, shoving the cloak back over his shoulders so he was completely visible. Black eyes stared in astonishment as Potter pulled his legs up and settled himself cross-legged, arms resting on his knees, apparently meaning to stay for a while.
"Potter--what are you doing? In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't your dorm; and I'm certainly not a Gryffindor!"
Potter looked straight into his eyes, slowly drawing his wand to hold it flat on his open palm. Severus couldn't help flinching back from sight of that wand in the hand of his nemesis while he was without his own. He watched warily, hauling himself upright once more and scooting back a bit, tense in grim anticipation of the curse that was sure to come. He'd never known any of the self-styled 'Marauders' to miss an opportunity to hex a Slytherin when he was helpless--especially him. The prats even went en masse after Slytherin girls!
Except--no hex came. The words of slow and solemn formality that were spoken instead couldn't help but convince Severus of the Gryffindor's sincerity, even as shock left him light-headed and feeling faint enough to slouch against the headboard. Which feeling he hastily blamed on side effects from Poppy's potions, that she'd undoubtedly poured down his throat while he was unconscious.
"I, James Edward Potter of Gryffindor House, do hereby give my Wizard's Oath to Severus Snape of Slytherin House; that I will not allow him to be forced into service to the Dark Lord against his will, not by kin, false friend, enemy, or anyone else; and I will ensure him sanctuary when and as he needs it, for so long as he is in such need, and as often." With a deep breath, the Gryffindor added the magical and binding third part to the Oath, "Furthermore, I swear to treat him with the respect and dignity that are his due as a fellow wizard regardless of House or other affiliation, the same as I would were he my own brother. So swear I, from this moment onwards to forever."
AN: For those who wonder about Dumbledore, just remember that this has been mostly from various teenage points of view, and none of the kids have enough experience to accurately define just what's going on behind those manipulatively twinkling blue eyeballs. Not that the Headmaster's totally without fault, at least in this version of him--he doesn't really understand or like Slytherins all that much, and Severus' snarky manner is rather off-putting if you don't take the time to understand and learn to appreciate it. But the old man's not completely hopeless! It's just that he's not grooming any of these boys to be The Savior of the Wizarding World, so he's treating them more like normal students--kids who really don't have a right to know everything that's happening to everybody around them. Especially what's happening to other kids who have never been even vaguely friendly with them. Albus might be a manipulative old coot who plays favorites more than he should, but he's not intentionally malicious.
And yes, Snape's a tad bit...er, angst-ridden. Hey, the kid's certainly got more than enough reasons, especially from his point of view! He's also suffering the after-effects of a nasty-painful curse, which will certainly cause a bit of additional depression in and of itself, painkiller potions or not. So in all, he's currently buried in depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and quite a bit of not-all-bad shock that's only increasing as the world as he knows it goes really, really weird on him--it's no wonder his wits are stumbling a bit. =] I figure he's going to be acting almost like he's dreaming for a while, waiting for the infamous other shoe to drop on him!