Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Kay? So don't sic your lawyer friends on me!

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Hermione Granger was usually in control of her emotions. She liked to look at life as though just observing it for research. But when she opened the plain envelope containing the Hogwarts seal, expecting the supply list, she couldn't help but cry out at the news contained there. "Oh, Harry!"

Ron Weasley was a laidback guy. He didn't freak out about stuff very often (well, if it didn't have to do with spiders). If he failed a test, no problem, He would just copy off Hermione the next few essays to bring up his grade. But when his eyes fell upon the notice contained in his Hogwarts letter, he couldn't help but whisper under his breath. "Bloody hell. Harry."

To Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley,

Your friend Mr. Potter has been suffering from the remains of Basilisk poison in his body. His body is riddled with fever, pain of the arms and lungs, trouble breathing, and other symptoms. It is a quite serious illness, and no cure is yet found.

Even though you are not family, we entrust this information to you by Mr. Potter's request. We hope that this will not be divulged to the press. Visitors for Mr. Potter can find him at the Hogwarts Infirmary.

With Best Wishes,

Madame Pomfrey.

Severus bit his lip in concentration, scratching down his latest theory about the venom's cure. Pulling out another book, Snape scanned the lines.

Basilisk poison is one of the most unique venoms in the world. The poison spreads almost immediately, and kills by melting the lungs, and even after death, spreads throughout the body and burns organs. There is a myth that hatchlings drink the mother's own venom to become immune to their own.

Severus scratched down a note on the myth, almost certain that it would come in handy. Flipping through a different journal, Snape didn't notice the door opening until the visitor spoke.

"Any progress?" Severus turned to face the headmaster, noticing that the old man's robes were not bright and bubbly like usual, and instead they were a dark green color.

"Some." Snape answered. "I have a few ideas on how to counteract the venom, but I still have to find the right composition and whether or not dark magic will be needed."

Albus smiled sadly. "Need any help?"

Shocked, Snape stuttered, "W-what?" The Headmaster was willing to use dark magic?! "Albus, you don't need to… I know how you feel about casting dark magic."

The old man sighed. "What kind of man would I be, if I don't help Harry simply because I'm afraid of tainting my soul?"

Snape nodded his head, still shocked at the turn of events. Dumbledore sat by Snape and looked over the research. "Hmm…" Albus picked up a few heavy tomes and flipped through them. "You really are trying, aren't you?"

Snape scoffed. "What kind of man would I be, not doing all I could for a boy I could save simply because old grudges?"

Albus glanced at Snape. "Oh? Have you put your hate for James behind you?"

Snape didn't say anything at first, but after a moment, he replied. "I noticed that the boy and James Potter aren't as alike as I thought…" He flipped through a book absent mindedly. "If Potter had gone through the symptoms the boy did, I'd say that he'd demand the best doctors available, and spend his days complaining and dwelling in self pity…"

Snape fiddled with a strand of his greasy black hair. "The boy hasn't asked for help at all. Though still a annoying characteristic, being too proud to ask for help, he at least doesn't share it with his late father."

Albus was positively tinkling now. "It's also a trait he has in common with you." The seemingly-innocent comment brought forth a glare from Severus.

"It doesn't mean I'm going to bond with the brat, Albus." Snape picked up a potions journal and skimmed the contents. "Don't start having delusions about me adopting him, or another of your insane daydreams."

Albus simply gave him a knowing smile, and pulled out a quill from his robe. "Enough chit-chat, we have a cure to find!"

"Oh, dear. Your fever is up again…" The nurse fussed over Harry. Madame Pomfrey bustled through the ward, and into her office. She quickly came back with a bottle of fever relieving potion, handing it to Harry.

Harry quickly gulped the sour tasting medicine down, but sighed in relief when his fever lessened. "Thanks."

She smiled. "It's no problem, dearie. I just hope you don't get another fever… Your body wouldn't be able to handle that amount of dosage!" She patted his head and doddered off into her office.

Harry frowned when she left. Was he going to die? Shifting into a more comfortable position on the white cot, Harry mused this turn of events.

Unless Snape could find a cure, it seemed that he was going to die. Harry wasn't sure if he should have been more upset at that possibility than he was. He had a really terrible life thus far, and finally getting rest sounded good to him. It wasn't like he was going to kill himself if he didn't die, he'd rather be alive than dead, but it didn't really seem that horrendous. He just accepted it.

Harry sighed, bored. What was he supposed to do? Just lie there? Snape could of at least brought me my trunk, Harry complained mentally. I wonder if Snape just left all my stuff in the Leaky Cauldron…

"BARK!"

A huge dog rushed into Harry's sight, and jumped on top of the boy. Harry gaped, was this the same dog he ran into after he left Privet Drive? "What are you doing here, buddy?" Harry asked the mutt.

The dog gave a roughish doggy grin, and seemed to wink? Harry stared, slack-jawed. "You're a really smart dog, aren't you?" Harry ran his finger through the stray's thick coat. "I wonder how you found me…" Harry smiled when the dog butted it's nose against the palm of his hand.

At least he wasn't bored anymore. "You ought to have a name, if your going to be hanging with me." The dog let out a bark of agreement. "Kay… So.. How about Sparky?"

The dog let out a sneeze of 'no'. "No Sparky? How about Oreo?" The mutt gave Harry a doggy-glare. "Huh. You're picky. Thunder?" A growl this time. "Sheesh. Fine then. Ashes?" The dog stayed silent.

"Is that okay?" Harry asked, perplexed by the dog's silence. It gave him a look that clearly said 'well if that's the best you can do…'

"Kay! Ashes, then!" Harry was oddly cheerful for a kid that had a possibly fatal disease. "I wonder if Dumbledore would let me keep you in the dorm…" Harry asked, not feeling odd at all about speaking to a dog.

"Why is there a dog in here?" Madame Pomfrey questioned when she walked into the room.

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. Just a stray that attached itself to me. I named him Ashes!"

The nurse glanced at the boy and his dog. Well, it was fine with her if it cheered the poor dear up. She knew it must be hard to have a fatal illness. "Just make sure he doesn't get the whole place dirty…" She then switched train of thought. "Oh! What would you like to eat, dear?"

"Um…" He wasn't really that hungry, but he knew she wouldn't get off his case if he didn't eat. "A small salad…"

"I'll call a house elf, then." She snapped her fingers and called, "Suna!"

A female house elf popped into the ward. "Yes, Mistress Heal?" Harry didn't know that Hogwarts had house elves, but he wasn't really that interested, so he didn't bother to make a remark on it.

"Yes, get a small salad for the boy, and a steak for the dog. Oh, and a glass and bowl of water." Poppy requested.

"Yes, Mistress. Suna will be doing that." She popped away, and came back a few minutes later with the food.

Harry took his, thanked her, and inspected his food. It looked pretty good, and his appetite increased. Digging in, he missed the smile from Poppy.

But he could hardly miss the stomping of feet in the ward, and looked up from his lunch. "Huh?"

"HARRY!" A bush of brown hair attacked him, pushing him back. He glanced down at Hermione, her arms attached to him. He then saw Ron awkwardly standing near the bed, debating whether or not it would be all right to hug Harry, or if it was a girl thing.

Hermione got up after a few moments, and he was saddened to see tears in her eyes. "Harry, we heard about your sickness…" Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. Poppy excused herself, knowing a serious and private conversation when she saw it.

"It's no big deal, guys." Harry laughed nervously when he saw their stares of disbelief.

"You might bloody die, and it's no big deal?" Ron shouted. "It's a big deal, mate! Your important to us!"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, Harry. We love you, you know that, right?" Harry looked down at his hands, not sure how to respond.

"Yeah… I know that…" He finally said.

Both of Harry's friends sat next to him on the bed. "So what's with the dog?" Ron finally asked, pointedly staring at Ashes, who was sitting on the floor.

"Just a stray that decided to adopt me." Harry answered. "His name is Ashes."

"You know that dogs aren't allowed, Harry." Hermione scolded. "I read about it in 'Hogwarts, A History'. It's really interesting, seems that the founders didn't make it law, but since Salazar owned a dog, it kinda became a precedent after he left not to own one…" She trailed off when she realized neither of the boys were paying attention to her. "Oh. Well. They aren't allowed."

Harry replied, "I know they aren't, Hermione. Maybe Dumbledore will let me keep him for protection or something, against Black…" The dog's ears seemed to perk-up at the mention of the convicts name, Harry noticed. "But if he doesn't, I bet that Ashes could stay with Hag-" He broke off suddenly.

Pain.

His lungs started burning again, and Harry couldn't draw in a breath. The stinging brought tears to his eyes, alerting his friends that something was amiss.

"Harry?" Ron asked.

Breathing a staggered breath, he couldn't help but cough, jolting blood up his throat, and into his mouth.

Mouth filling with blood, darkness encroached his vision. He could see Hermione and Ron running for Poppy, but his mind didn't process the fact. All he could feel was the pain.

White-Hot-Liquid-Pain.

Surrendering to the approaching oblivion, he knew the last thing he would see for a while was Poppy's pale face leaning over him.

AN: I guess this was kinda a filler, except the ending... oh wells. I hope you still like it...

I like the name Ashes... but do you think it fits?

Review please!