Mwahaha, I'm testing my suspense skills with you today :) In this waaay too long chapter (I'm sorry!!)

With the print of Ginny's lips lingering on his burning mouth, Harry contemplated the rows of white doors that passed before his eyes – eyes that couldn't see anything else than the inside of his brain, on which was projected an image of Ginny. His steps were an automatism, a simple routine of left, right, left, right. Once in a while, a turn would offer some form of distraction, and, three times during the entire walk, Harry was blessed with a flight of stairs – a real challenge for his brain and feet. Soon enough, though, he was forced to stop, the crowd of people he was following having done so. He looked around, and saw the world he was about to enter was also a host of Ginny, and though this Ginny wasn't kissing Harry, she was flesh and bone, and far more beautiful than any memory. Harry was satisfied. He looked around. The rather large group of members of the Order had stopped in a doorway, which led to a small room – Snape's, most likely. Harry was rather close to the door, standing behind the adults only. Behind him were massed the five other Hogwarts students, all intently absorbed by their doing nothing whatsoever. Bill and Charlie had left the group a while ago, when they had entered St-Mugos. Both of them wanted to pay a visit to a few of their friends who had been resting at the hospital some for a year or so, some for only a few months, and many for years now. Ah, the dangers of dragon taming. Stuck between tall backs and silent teenagers, Harry pouted with impatience. Without waiting a second more, he slithered his way in front of the pack.

Thalia was walking gingerly towards a bed surrounded by a white curtain. A nurse was standing not far away from her, but apparently couldn't care less about the woman: she had her two fingers pressed on a patient's arm, and was staring blindly at her wristwatch, counting the beats. The patient in question was sitting on his bed, which was beside the tiny window that somehow managed to shower the entire room with sunlight. He was pale, and immobile. Harry wondered for a second how in Merlin's name the tall witch could find a heartbeat somewhere in the livid carcass of the man. Only, his interrogations were cut short by a cry of surprise, that escaped from Thalia's lips as she tore the curtain open and jumped on the mattress that had been up until then concealed by the white sheet. Seconds later, she was laying on Snape's body, her arms between his back and the bed, and her mouth blend with his. As Harry regretted leaving his old, blind point of view, the tall nurse let go of the pale man's arm and ran towards Snape. "Get off that bed!" she shrieked in a high-pitched voice. "I won't have anyone killing my patients!"

Thalia put and end to the kiss but remained, stretched out, on the bed. "Don't worry, I don't mean him no harm," she whispered with a smile. Snape's face was close to hers, and both seemed radiant.

"You might not kill him, but you'll send a few of us to our graves," Sirius said, cutting short to their moment of euphoria. Sirius was smiling. Snape, on the other hand, suddenly stiffened. "It's alright love," Thalia started as she turned his face in her direction, forcing him to gaze straight into her eyes. "Last night we smoked the peace pipe."

"I don't know what was in that pipe, but it must have been very, very strong," Snape replied, coughing a sarcastic giggle, and turning to observe Sirius with barely hidden disdain. "No, love," Thalia said, forcing him to face her once again. "It was a true, honest reconciliation."

"We don't have the same crimes to erase."

"Ah, but the tide of support will be strong enough to erase them all."

There was a short silence in the room.

"What?" Snape finally asked.

"I'll explain later. Sadly, there is zero poetry in you, my love." On that, Snape simply shut his eyelids. "Well," Sirius started, considering their conversation was over, "that was quicker than I thought it would be."

Thalia laughed as Snape oppened his eyes and stood up. "I told you his skull wasn't that thick. Sirius doubted that you'd accept this peace offering as quickly, or at least," she explained for the confused man's benefit, "not until you knew about every little word enclosed in it."

"Well then, I guess I'm not so bad."

"Not so bad at all," Thalia added with a smile, pulling Snape down towards the bed, her lips approaching his.

"DON'T GET ANY CLOSER TO MY PATIENT!" The nurse picked up what looked like a bed sheet and frantically waved it in Thalia's direction, as if she had been shooing flies away. Thalia smiled, got up, and walked away from the bed, in her friends' direction. She gave Snape a wink, and the man simply smiled back.

"I'm happy to see you have Severus' well-being at heart," she told the witch, who was now magically erasing the creases on the sheet.

"Oh, yes, Madam Demetear has taken great care of me. Consequently, my leave is soon enough… When again, Madam Demetear?"

The nurse rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Like you didn't know already, Mister Snape. Today, at four thirty."

Miss Beauregard's eyes widened instantly, as she stood, jaw-dropped but nevertheless radiant. As she slightly moved towards the bed, hinting towards Snape, the nurse threw herself between her and the one she apparently considered "her" patient. "No you don't! You'll have plenty of time for that AFTER his leave!" Thalia smiled, apparently finding Madam Demetear's zeal rather amusing. "Alright. I'll let him rest in peace."

As Snape muttered a low "Way to make me sound dead!", the nurse replied: "I don't trust you." She was glaring at the woman, apparently trying to size her up, and apparently not liking the conclusions she made from said evaluation. Sirius placed one of his large hands on one of Thalia's shoulders. "Don't worry mam', we'll make sure she stays out of the bed. I for myself do not want to see that again."

The nurse moved her radar a few inches away, taking Sirius as a target this time. Sirius froze, suddenly remembering he wasn't supposed to be seen, well, anywhere were civilization had its mark. Everyone imitated him as they made the same reflection, a second later. Two nervous blinks of an eye later, her inspection was done. "Alright. I'll be back in half an hour for the last checkup." On that, she left, still eying everyone suspiciously. As she threw her dirty look on Ron, he frowned. "Now, what did I do?" Thalia was as insulted as Ron. "She trusts a runaway criminal, murderer of twelve, more than me?"

"Hey, we should consider ourselves lucky she didn't recognize he was a runaway criminal murderer of twelve," Remus pointed out.

"Guys, you sound like I actually did it!" Sirius complained.

"Oh please, the whole "innocence" thing is simply futile!" Tonks joked.

"Hum, I think we have more important subjects to discuss," Arthur pointed out.

"True," Thalia said, a frown suddenly erasing any joy from her features. Arthur nodded, and then turned on the spot. "Hey kids! Why don't you go ask the receptionist if she can help you find Neville? I think they have a magical GPS."

"A what?" Fred asked as all of the younger members of the order suddenly went frantic.

"It's one of these muggles devices that tells you exactly where you are!" Arthur exclaimed, happy to see for once his wife would not cut short to his celebration of the muggle world.

"Why, their eyes aren't good enough to do the job for them?" George replied, starting a wave of laughter that could still be heard as the group of students turned the corner and exited the corridor. Arthur was still astonished by his own children's lack of intrest in the muggle world. "At least they're gone!" Sirius finally exclaimed, partly to comfort his friend and partly to bring the conversation back on tracks.

All of the adults entered the room, some sitting on the chairs scathered here and there, others standing in corners. "So, what was wrong?" Thalia burst.

"Why didn't the nurse tell us?" Sirius asked, intrigued.

"Why do you even care?!" Thalia replied.

"No Thalia, it's relevent," Snape said. "Dumbledore had to make sure this information didn't leave the hospital. Only a few Healers were allowed near me… though their assistance was not needed. Officially, I have a bronchitis-like infection caused by an unknown potion supply."

"Can he be trusted?" Remus asked, gesturing towards the man Snape was sharing his room with.

"He's a medical conundrum, lost each and every one of his senses about a month ago. Dumbledore thought him to be safe." All the members of the Order present had to agree with the man's judgement.

"Ok, so, what do you have, for real?" Thalia asked, getting impatient.

***

"Neville!" the group of kids shouted as the young boy stepped out of the hospital washrooms. The student paused for about five seconds, and then let a smile make its way to his lips. "Hey you guys! What are you doing here?" Five mouths suddenly went in action, trying to deliver an answer to that question. As Neville struggled to catch one trail of voice amidst the others, Harry thought it was a good thing they had found their friend emerging from a bathroom – rather than in his parents' room. Seconds later, Neville abandonned the idea of understanding a single word being pronounced around him, and waved at Harry, who was standing behind the pack of students. "How are you going?" he asked, as everyone else ceased talking.

"I'm fine," Harry replied. "We're here to visit Snape. How are you?"

"Great." Harry understood why he, on the other hand, did not want to expose the reason of his visit.

"Hey, do you want to come and spend a few days of the Christmas vacations with us? We have some extra space and thought it might be nice."

Neville grinned widely. "Are you serious?"

"Of course!"

"Well then, yeah, sure! I just have to talk to my grandmother, but she'll be fine with it, I'm sure." He immediately ran off.

"Why is it that you always have to talk?" Fred asked.

Harry laughed. " Because I don't mind waiting." Everyone giggled.

"Oh dear God, George, tell me now, is it that I just caught a glimpse of Heaven, or is our cousin Victoria in room 542," Fred asked, dramatizing his every words.

"No, it's Victoria."

"Fiouf, I thought for a moment I was stuck with boring Heaven."

"You're kidding, right?" Ron asked his two older brothers.

"Dude, even we know you don't kid with someone like Victoria."

"She's more than a body, you know. She's really nice," Ginny pointed out.

"Ginny," Fred explained with an exagerated sigh of despair, "one day you'll understand there are some people you just HAVE to kiss."

The three Weasley brothers walked away as Ginny and Harry blushed. "I better go and make sure they don't harass the poor girl," she said as she litterally ran away from Harry.

"I hope she's not actually their cousin Victoria," Hermione said. Harry laughed. He then switched to a more serious matter. "Hey, Hermione?"

"Um?" She was trying to stare into Victoria's room. "Wow, she is incredibly pretty!"

"Hermione!" Harry caught her attention once again.

"Sorry."

"When they come back, can you tell them I went downstairs?"

"Wait, what?"

"I'm going back to Snape's room."

"Harry! Stop eavesdropping!"

"It's for Dumbledore. He asked me to check on Thalia."

"Harry are you stupid? The room is filled with members of the Order, Dumbledore'll know about this in less than an hour, and he'll know about the entire thing, not about a few sentences you caught here and there."

"Alright then, it's for me! Just… cover up, please." The boy walked away before Hermione had time to complain. He nevertheless stopped when she called his name, as he was about to enter the elevator that would bring him back to floor 7.

"What?"

"Promise you'll tell me everything later."

***

"It was a spell. A simple spell. Resisterat purgare."

Thalia was astonished, as all the other occupants of the room looked simply puzzled. "Erm, what spell?" Tonks asked.

"Severus created that one. Years ago," Thalia explained.

"I guess you can say he's had a taste of his own medicine," Sirius pointed out, sounding bitter.

"I thought peace had been made," Lupin reminded him.

"I was just pointing out the irony," the animagi defended himself.

"The spell is designed to permanently injure whoever is attacked?" Tonks tried.

"No, not at all," Thalia answered. "It's a defensive spell. It… it puts someone's life on pause. That person's state cannot worsen or improve for a certain time."

"How much time?" Remus asked.

"Until the person in question can be brought to safety. In my case, the second I stepped into this hospital," Snape explained this time.

"Wow. It's a great spell. So… protective," Remus remarked.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Snape replied.

"It was. We definitely need to teach that one to every member of the Order."

"Yeah, well…" Snape started, uneasy.

"It is issued from a… darker branch of magic?" Mr. Weasley supposed.

"No, it's… it is issued from that branch as you say, but because of its effects it's considered as neutral magic, or something like that. The problem is… I haven't been able to test it that much, and it might have side-effects," Snape explained.

"Side-effects…" Remus urged him to continue for everyone's benefit.

Snape sighed, seeming resigned to explain the truth to the other members of the Order. "We know for sure there are side-effects. We just can't seem to pin them down, identify them acurately. But it is absolutely certain something nasty is bound to show up. Resisterat purgare stops time inside someone's body while time still runs all around it. Not the safest of spells..."

"Couldn't identify the side-effects? How come? Couldn't you simply observe the patients?"

"We did. And found out they vary from one individual to another. One… one has died (on that Thalia raised her eyes to the ceiling, clasping her hands together) but it was because the Dark Lord had… abused of it. I for one seem to be reacting properly to it, but the side-effects might come rushing into my life in ten or twenty years – when we meddle with time, time always manages to meddle with us."

"So everything is good then?" Sirius summed up. "One of your faithfull friends has used this spell on you hoping you'd suffer from terrible side-effects and has failed?"

"No," Snape replied, finding Sirius' theory amusing, "one of my faithfull friends tried saving me from the Death he thought I was promised to."

Thalia ignored everyone's reaction. "Who?"

"You actually believe Bella would try saving my life?"

"Oh my God, Sev, he came to talk to you."

"Yes."

"They let him in!?"

"Who are we referring to?" Tonks asked, inserting herself in their tête-à-tête conversation.

"Lucius Malfoy," they replied in unisson. Remus, who had been standing all the while, let himself fall heavily on the ground. "Okay," he let out, "explain, everything. Now."

"Bellatrix is a high-ranked Death Eater. Though we – they," Snape corrected himself, "do not follow an actual hierarchical system, some are closer to the Dark Lord than others. I was one of these, and so as Bellatrix. The other Death Eaters usually receive orders from such people, and so Bella used that power to convince the few who were supposed to invade Hogwarts for a night that there was a second aspect to the plan. Cornering me, and forcing me to admit my true allegiances. If such actions did not succeed, Malfoy was to take my place."

"So, he did so thinking those were well, You-Know-Who's orders?" the werewolf asked.

"Exactly. And he thought that since the Dark Lord was doubting me, I would probably end up dead at the end of the operation, whatever path was taken. So after Bella… had her fun, he subtely hexed me with this spell. And… voila. The Dark Lord learned the truth about her undercover operations. Apparently she was hoping to return to his side with some proof of my treason to compensate for her unacceptable behavior. As to this day, Bellatrix is a paria within Death Eater circles, and my position is now stronger than ever."

"Great," Thalia whispered.

"That's a change of perspective," Arthur added. "At least it's a good one."

Harry was smart enough to understand it was time to leave the angle, hidden behind the room door, in which he had been hidding.

"Well, Severus," Remus said, "I'm glad to see this turned out so well." He got up and put on his coat, which he had held in his hands during the entire conversation. He placed his hands on the bed's frame. "Will we still be seeing you for the Christmas vacations?" he asked, facing Thalia and Snape alternately. Snape stared at Thalia. Suddenly, they spoke as if they had been alone in the room. The man started. "I never went before, so I don't really mind."

"I had fun."

"You'd still have fun with me to take care of?"

"Yeah, I guess. Can you behave?" she asked with a smile.

"For you, I guess I can."

Thalia turned towards Remus, who was trying to hide a chuckle, in vain. "With pleasure."

"So, when did the nurse said his leave was?" Tonks asked as Remus started taking his coat off. Thalia stopped the man half-way through his manoeuvre. "Erm, we won't be joining you tonight. We'll probably drop by tomorrow, or the day after…"

There was a forced silence in the room, which was finally ended by Mr. Weasley's intervention. "Alright, we're all adults here. You diserve your time together."

Thalia laughed. "Thanks for the support. It's also because I have food enough stacked up at my place to feed the entire Order for a week. I'll have to take care of that."

Remus and Sirius burst into laughter. "We went to high school with you two. We're not believing that," Sirius said as Remus nodded frantically. Thalia smiled, apparently amused, though she sighed in desperation. "Just, leave," she told everyone. They all bade them goodbye and walked out of the room, Sirius nevertheless lingering a few seconds more. "Have fun eating," he told Thalia as she pushed him out the room with a look she apparently wanted to be angry, but which she destroyed herself with her half-hidden grin.

She finally slammed the door shut. "I'm sorry."

Snape pulled the sheet in which he had buried his face. "It's fine, I guess. It's just weird… you know them so much better. It's like they can kid about your part of the couple, but not mine…"

"You see sides in our couple?" Thalia asked, intrigued.

"No, there aren't any, that's the problem," he replied with a laugh.

There was a small silence, and the woman sat on the bed, gently petting her boyfriend's hair. "So Malfoy came?"

"Yeah."

"You trust his story?"

"It's the only one that makes sense."

"Yeah, that's what I though too. And I like the idea of keeping a friend."

"Yeah, well, that only applies to you."

"Why, what happened?"

"I asked him… why he had accepted to take my place. And you can guess the answer. I told him that coming from a friend, a married friend, as it is, it wasn't an appropriate answer."

"So, you won't see him again."

"Oh, I will. He insists that we stay friends… while he secretly hopes he can one day steel you from me."

Thalia only replied after a moment. "We have been living that way since what, fifth grade?

"I guess… Though he's never went that far."

The door suddenly swung open, and the two wizards found themselves observing a suspicious Madam Demetear. "You were only sitting on that bed, right, Missy?"

"Of course I was." The Missy in question got up, and the nurse took out a small, metallic box from one of her pockets. She untwisted the cap, and handed it to her patient. He sat up, and delicately placed the cap on his forehead, face down. After five seconds, it turned white. "Alright, mister Snape, you're clean."

"Thank you, Madam, for the lovely stay."

"Yeah, yeah," she simply replied. "Did they found out what you accidentally swallowed?" she asked, apparently uneasy with the thanks.

"Erm, yes, I believe it was distill of porcupine thorns." Behind the nurse, Thalia chocked in what seemed to be air. "Well, it's four thirty, so you can leave. You can dissaparate from the room without any problem, that way you won't be interfering with any possible urgent arrivals." She then gave a dry, rapid nod in Thalia's direction, and left. Thalia burst into laughter. "How stupid do they think you are?! Drinking distilled porcupine thorns? Even a Hogwarts second grade knows not to do that!" Snape shared her disbelief. "They told them I had confused the mixture in question, which I was using for a potion, with my glass of pumpkin juice."

"Yes, orange and deep maroon being very similar colors."

They ragged on about the subject for a while, almost insulted that the hospital personel find it normal for a Potions Master to do such a ridiculously stuid error, and not to know how to react properly. When there were no more words, and no more giggles, Thalia slipped her body beside Snape's, finding a place between the sheets.

"Madam Demetear is a charming lady," she said, sarcasm dripping out from her mouth and staining the pillow on which her head rested.

"Incredibly."

The woman rolled towards the right, until she was resting over Snape.

"That's probably why you got along so well," she whispered, as she suddenly pinned her mouth against his. As her hand slipped somewhere under his shirt, both the wizards dissapeared with a small "pop".