Hiding at Hogwarts

~ by Healer Pomfrey ~

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

12 – Severus' Busy Day

Fawkes and Severus arrived in a room that somehow looked like a dormitory with five beds. Before he could even wonder which of the red heads was the youngest, the five boys lazily sat up, having woken up by Fawkes' bright flash of fire and his soft trills.

"Good morning boys. I'm sorry to disturb you," Severus said firmly. "However, there is something urgent that I need to discuss with Ronald Weasley."

The five boys hurriedly scrambled out of their beds and gathered around the professor. "Mr. Weasley, there is no need for you to hide behind your twin brothers. I merely want to know what happened between you and my ward this afternoon," Severus sneered.

"Your ward?" the twins blurted out simultaneously.

"By chance we found out that Harry Potter and I are related, and I gained the guardianship over him to prevent him from returning to his atrocious relatives," Severus explained in a bored tone.

"You took him away…"

"… from the awful Dursleys?"

"Thank you, Professor…"

"…That was the best thing you could do," the twins cheered in excitement, causing the edges of Severus' mouth to pull upwards.

"But that's not all," Ron threw in hastily. "He, who already saved the Philosopher's stone, killed the basilisk and is the boy who lived, is the heir of all four Founders of Hogwarts and has a professor as a guardian. What else does he need?"

"Ronald!" the twins and their older brother Charlie chided him sternly. "Do you always have to be jealous of everyone and everything?" Charlie asked reproachfully, before he turned to Severus. "I apologize for my younger brother's words, and I hope that he didn't say anything bad to Harry."

Severus let out a long sigh. "I don't know exactly what he said to Harry, because Harry became very ill during the night and is running a high fever. However, he was so much in distress about Ronald's behaviour that I decided to visit you at this time of the night. In fact Harry asked me to obliviate Ronald."

"Didn't you congratulate him…"

"… for finally getting away from that horrid family?" the twins asked in disbelief, glaring at their younger brother.

Ron mumbled a reply that sounded somehow like, "Don't think Snape is so much better."

"We are very sorry for our brother's behaviour, Professor. We're going to tell our mother about the matter, and she will have a stern talk with him," Percy finally spoke up as well.

"Very well, boys. Thank you for your understanding," Severus replied thoughtfully. "In fact, Harry doesn't want anyone else to know about all of this. Please keep the matter to yourselves. Now Ronald, if I get to know that you further insult Harry or that anyone at Hogwarts is talking about this, I will make you personally responsible, and you're going to serve detention until your OWLs."

"Yes sir," Ron replied, sounding very annoyed. "May we go back to sleep now?"

"Ron, behave yourself," Charlie said firmly. "It's bad enough for Professor Snape to have to come here because you hurt your supposed to be best friend by being a jealous git. Professor, please give Harry our apology and our regards and tell him we hope that he gets well soon."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Severus replied in a much friendlier voice than that he had used while talking to Ron. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you all. Please give my apology to your mother."

"Professor, I am sure that our mother sees the matter in the same way as all of us. She will be very happy to see Harry in good hands," Percy replied firmly. "I'm sure that she will make Ronald apologise to Harry."

Severus slightly inclined his head, before he grabbed Fawkes' back feathers and flashed back to Hogwarts.

~ Harry's rooms ~

Severus quietly entered Harry's room in order not to disturb his ward; however, the boy was leaning over the bucket busily emptying the contents of his stomach, before he let go of the bucket and lay back with a long sigh.

"Harry," Severus asked quietly, taking in the boy's ashen face and the dark rings under his eyes. "Are you feeling any better?" He sat on the edge of the bed and gently felt Harry's forehead that was very hot.

"No. My ears feel strangely clogged, and I'm so dizzy," Harry admitted, and Severus realised that he had to feel absolutely miserable to admit as much to him.

Deciding that it was safer to take the boy's temperature under his armpit, Severus carefully pulled Harry's pyjama top down over his shoulder and coaxed the Muggle device into its place, noticing in concern that Harry didn't do as much as even opening his eyes at his touch, before he suddenly jerked away and began to plead, "No uncle, please don't hurt me. I promise I'll be good."

"Harry, it's Severus, and I only want to check your fever," he explained soothingly, sighing in relief as the boy calmed down visibly. Severus made sure that the thermometer was still in its place and gently bathed Harry's face with a cold towel, while they were waiting for the reading. "Your fever has gone up another degree," Severus said worriedly, glancing at his wrist watch. It was already seven o'clock in the morning. "I'm going to fetch Madam Pomfrey." Seeing that Harry didn't show any reaction, Severus hurried into the living room and instructed Helga to fetch the current Healer.

"He caught a very bad case of the grindylow's flu; the same kind that Remus came down with," Pomfrey diagnosed a few minutes later. "The poor child. Won't he ever get a rest?"

"Lupin?" Severus asked, alerted. "Will he be all right? The full moon is tonight."

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I know and I'm a bit worried about him. We will have to take him to the Shrieking Shack in any case, but he is still running a high fever. Thank Merlin the vomiting has stopped by now. Severus, shall I take Harry with me to the hospital wing?"

Severus shook his head. "No, thank you Poppy. I treated Harry so badly during these two years. I really want to show him that I care for him and want to begin anew. Maybe this is the only chance I have."

Poppy smiled and gently patted her younger colleague's shoulder. "All right, Severus. You may do so; did you already take the preventive potion for the wizard's flu?"

The Potions Master quirked an eyebrow. "Do you believe I wanted to spend some quality time in your company? Of course I have taken the preventive potion. I shall accompany you tonight."

~ Harry's Rooms

Severus spent the whole day looking after Harry every now and then. In spite of the potions he gave him, the boy's fever remained very high and he seemed to feel miserable, even if the vomiting had stopped in the morning. So far, Harry hadn't asked about his conversation with Ron, and Severus decided to wait until Harry remembered to ask or his condition improved.

"Harry, I will be absent for a few hours, because I need to accompany Professor Lupin and Madam Pomfrey to the Shrieking Shack," he told him in the evening. "Today is the night of the full moon. I will take Professor Slytherin's mini portrait with me, and I'll leave that of Professor Hufflepuff here with you. Just tell her to fetch me in case you need me."

"All right; thank you, sir," Harry replied weakly. "Will Professor Lupin be all right?"

In an attempt to hide his own concern for his former classmate, Severus ran his hand through his silky hair, before he said quietly, "I hope that he won't transform. He is still very ill."

Harry suddenly cracked his eyes open and threw his guardian a terrified look from half-open glassy eyes. "Please sir, take Helga's portrait with you as well. She might be able to help in case something happens. I'm all right here and I could shout out to Rowena in case I urgently needed you, sir. Professor Lupin is in much more danger."

Knowing that he wouldn't remain in the Shack until his colleague possibly transformed anyway, Severus agreed and unobtrusively spelled a fever reducing potion that was laced with a sleeping draught into the boy's system.

~ The Shrieking Shack

When Severus arrived at the hospital wing, Pomfrey had already placed the werewolf onto a stretcher and was slowly floating him out of the room. Severus quietly followed the couple to the Shrieking Shack, trying to push any bad memories that tried to make their way to the front of his mind away. 'The house-elves must have cleaned here,' he realised as he entered the small bedroom, where Pomfrey carefully made her sick colleague lie on the bed and gently tucked him in.

"Thank you, Poppy, Severus," Lupin said weakly. "Please go back to the castle. I'll be fine on my own. I don't think that I'll transform, even if I still can't believe it. I feel much better than I would shortly before the Transformation."

"Right, I suppose you feel wonderful, delirious as you are," Severus sneered. He unobtrusively slid Salazar's mini portrait into a small hole in the wall and cast an invisibility charm on the small frame, before he nodded at Pomfrey and said, "Well, let's return to the castle then. Lupin, we'll see you in the morning."

After a little more fussing over her sick colleague, Madam Pomfrey placed two phials on the night table. "In case you don't transform, please take these potions in about four hours or when you notice that your potions begin to wear off," she said softly, before she quickly followed Severus out of the Shrieking Shack, knowing that there was nothing she could do for the werewolf in case he transformed.

tbc...

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