Chop. Chop. Sizzle.
Severus was emerged in the making of the potion, banishing any thoughts other than the process of cutting up flame leaves.
The potion was slowly bubbling in the glass cauldron, emitting bitter sweet fumes. The glass cauldron should purify the venom enough that it wouldn't be hazardous… well, it probably would. You really couldn't be sure when creating a new concoction.
Throwing in the now-sliced flame leaves, the potions master observed the potion. In theory, it should be ready for the venom after boiling for five minutes, and after adding the venom, it would have to be cooled down with a spell.
After waiting five minutes, Severus uncorked the vial filled with the poison, and gently poured it into the potion. After it dissolved, he took out his wand and incanted a cooling charm.
Pouring the potion into a large vial, he sighed when he realized this was it. The cure. Hopefully.
The potion was black liquid, with streaks of green and white pulsing through it. He grimaced at it, the whole think showed signs of a dark potion.
Making his way out of his private lab with potion in hand, he headed for the infirmary to tell Albus that the boy's cure was finished.
Ron watched his best friend's unconscious face, saw the pain that was etched into it.
"Harry…" Ron wouldn't trust himself to say anymore, knowing that he would easily break down. Even if Dumbledore had said that Snape was making a cure, Ron couldn't believe that it would be that easy.
What if it had side-effects? Harry was going to drink poison, it was bound to do something bad to his body! Ron glanced at Hermione, who had fallen asleep on the hospital chair next to him. Hermione probably will do ton of research on it. He thought to himself. She'll find something to help Harry. But how can I help?
Ron felt totally useless right now. Everyone was doing something except him… Ron looked at Harry's creased brows, and noticed that he was mouthing something out.
Ron rushed over to Harry's bedside, worried over the cold sweat that he had broken into, and the silent plea that Harry was mouthing.
"Mate…" Ron didn't have an idea on what to do! "You… okay?"
Real smart, Ron. He mentally scolded himself. Asking someone who's unconscious if they're okay.
Ron, worried, felt Harry's forehead and quickly pulled it back. It was burning up! "MADAME POMFREY!" He yelled in a panic, forgetting that she wasn't there at the moment.
"Nnnhg…." Hermione's lazy yawn alerted Ron of her presence.
"MOINE!" He ran over to her and shook her repeatedly, trying to wake her. "WAKE UP!"
Hermione, startled awake, glared at the teenage boy wildly shaking her. "What is it, Ron?" She asked in a peeved voice.
"Harry! He's burning up!" He frantically yelled at her, and pulled her out of the chair and led her to Harry's bedside. She looked down at Harry in concern.
"Have you called for Madame Pomfrey?" She asked.
"YEAH! I'm not an idiot, you know!" Hermione glanced around the infirmary, wondering where the patron could be.
Seeing that the woman was out, Hermione frowned. Should she just leave Harry as is? Or maybe look for a fever reducing potion? But what if she overdosed him?
"'Moine…. Ron…."
The moan rose through the air, bringing the two teenagers' attention to their sick friend, who was speaking softly in his sleep.
They both kneeled next to his bedside, and clasped their hands to his, together. Giving him comfort during nightmares seemed to be the best that they could do right now.
To Minister Fudge,
My dear man, making a law against werewolves seems a bit drastic, don't you think? I understand that you….
Albus sighed at the letter he was writing to Fudge. Right now he was too distracted by Harry's situation to be corresponding with an idiot. He put down his quill and pushed away the letter.
Albus surveyed his desk for his lemon drops, and grabbed a few to calm himself down. Not many knew that Albus purposely ate sweets laced with calming draught, only Severus, who made them for Albus.
Albus drummed his fingers on the wooden desk, immersed in thought. Severus would finish the potion soon, and hopefully it would be a cure for Harry. If not... well, Albus tried to avoid thinking about it. He truly cared about Harry, and even if Harry was just a normal kid, he still would be heartbroken over his demise. But Harry wasn't normal, and the pain that would come from Harry dying wouldn't be the only consequence. The boy-who-lived would die... the child of the pro-
Severus burst into his office before he could finish his thoughts. The professor held up a glass vial filled to the brim with a dark black potion, and told Albus the news he wanted to hear. "The cure is done."
It was hot.
Everywhere was hot.
And bloody. Very bloody.
"This potion should cure Harry…"
And his body hurt. And he just wanted to give up. He wanted to surrender
"Are you sure the potion won't hurt him, Headmaster?"
And he didn't care about those voices. He just felt the pain. And the darkness
"No, Ms. Granger. Harry will be fine… Yes, just tip his mouth open."
And the snakes had come back, and they were curling upwards…
"Now just use the spell to make him swallow, Severus…"
And the blackness started to drip
And green swelled with blackness.
And the snakes went inside of him.
"That should make him immune…"
And a basilisk appeared. Her eyes red. Her mouth dripping with venom.
He was going to die. This was it.
She came closer and closer…
And went inside of him.
And he could feel a change.
Power.
And the poison swelled within his veins.
It wasn't unwelcome. It was his.
And the black washed out, and he opened his eyes to white.
"Harry?"
Concerned faces leaned over him.
"What…?" Harry croaked out, confused on what was happening.
Smiles of relied broke out amongst his friends and Dumbledore, and even Snape looked glad, even if his mouth stayed down turned.
And Dumbledore gave Harry a glass of water, grinning the whole time. "You've become immune to the venom in your body. You'll be alright now."
"Oh." A small smile curled his lips, and he took a sip of the water. Harry's smile widened when he realized he wasn't feeling any pain at- the smile abruptly vanished, alerting Dumbledore.
"What's wrong, my boy?"
His eyes… they felt wrong. He felt magic swirling inside them, trying to break free. "Um…." Harry didn't know what to say. What if it was a terrible side effect that was going to kill him, and he had to stay in the infirmary longer? "I'm fine, Headmaster…"
Harry, for a moment, was unsure if hiding something from everyone was a wise thing to do.
But he forgot the regret when he saw that Dumbledore's eyes gained back their twinkles, and his friends faces lost their worry, and he spotted Ashes on the other side of the bed and saw that even the dog was beaming. Why would he needlessly worry his friends with a complaint of his eyes feeling odd?
Harry stayed in the infirmary for the next few days, to make sure 'that there were no repercussions'. He couldn't care less about repercussions, because the days were long and boring. He just wanted to get out.
His friends had to return home a day after he regained consciousness, and now the only company he had was Ashes and Madame Pomfrey. At six on the third day, Madame Pomfrey deemed him fit enough to leave, and Harry wasted no time rushing out of the infirmary. He paused a few moments later. Where was he supposed to go? Back to the Dursleys? He shuddered at the thought.
"Potter… What are you doing out of the infirmary?"
Harry jumped at the professor's voice. Merlin, did Snape take classes on how to sneak up on someone? Harry turned to Snape and answered the man.
"Poppy said it was alright to go." Harry answered.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you just standing here, Potter?"
Harry gave the man a tired glare and replied, "I'm not sure where I should go. Am I supposed to stay at Hogwarts for the rest of the summer?"
"Term starts in a week, so Albus is going to let you stay." He glanced at Ashes. "Why do you have that mangy mutt with you anyway? The castle doesn't need two canines sullying it's hallways."
"It's a stray that I found… Dumbledore said I could keep him." Dumbledore indeed had said it was okay when Harry asked him, happy that he could do something for the boy who had gone through such a horrific illness. "And what do you mean by 'two'?"
Snape smirked at the boy's question, but didn't answer, and instead commanded him to Gryffindor Tower.
Harry fell down on his bed in the dorm, sighing in happiness at the comfortable mattress and clean sheets. The cot in the infirmary felt like a couple of rocks compared to the heaven he was in now. Harry grinned at Ashes, who had joined him on worshipping the bed by rolling around in it.
Harry laid still after a moment, and pondered the weird sensation in his eyes. They were kinda… well, bubbling with magic. Was it an aftereffect of the poison? Harry sighed. He hoped that it would go away soon, and let him have peace, and not worry about what was wrong with his body.
He cuddled into his pillow, and decided that he deserved a long nap to get his mind off of things. Ashes seemed to agree, seeing that the dog was already asleep.
Harry smiled at the dog's snores, and drifted off quickly after.
AN: This is not the end of the whole venom problem... I like making Harry suffer, so don't worry, he won't be in la-de-da land anytime soon!