I'm sorry I took so long! I just didn't have a lot of free time for almost a month now.
Chapter 5
Diplomacy and Dislike
When Sirius woke up, the sun was already up. He could have gone on sleeping for hours still, but a noise had woken him. There it was again: a cough, rather faint. Sirius sprang to his feet and rushed to the bed. Snape's eyes were closed, but twitched.
"Are you awake? Can you hear me?" Sirius asked quietly, remembering how Snape had reacted to seeing him the first time he had woken up.
"Water", Snape forced out hoarsely, before starting to cough again.
Sirius filled a glass, helped Snape sit up a little and held it to his lips. Snape swallowed, and it seemed to be an enormous effort, but he still drank until the glass was empty.
"Are you in any pain?" Sirius asked, pulling back the covers to reveal Snape's naked chest and taking off one of the bandages to see what had happened over night.
"No." Snape croaked, "Where are the others?"
"At home, asleep. Don't worry. Your wounds look infinitely better. The potion seems to have worked."
"Let me see." Snape wheezed, and struggled to sit up.
"Shhh, don't move! Let me." Sirius put one arm under the pillow that Snape's head was rested on, and carefully lifted him into a semi-sitting position.
"There. No blood in the bandages. Which is just as well, since I'm running out of ingredients for the blood building potion. Your body is probably exhausted though, took a lot out of you last night. I actually had to revive you."
Snape's head stopped struggling to be upright, and Sirius took it as a signal to carefully let him sink down into the pillows again before asking:
"Is there anything I can do to give you strength?"
"There's… a potion…" Snape coughed again, and Sirius gave him water without waiting for asking this time. A potion, of course, Sirius thought, It's never something simple, like a spell! After having drunk, Snape continued to speak.
"A potion. Can be found in Stilter's Potent Potions, if you have that. In Kettle Stirrer's Manual, too. Look for Vis Viri. You probably don't have the ingredients at hand, though."
Sirius summoned the books and showed the recipes to Snape, who shook his head at the first volume, then shrugged weakly at the second.
"Both very much out of date. Write down what I tell you, and pay attention to the details, this is rather more complicated than you are probably used to."
Sirius frowned, but bit back an angry retort and did as he was told in silence.
The list of ingredients was very long, and while most of them were hidden in the obligingly opening drawers of Sirius's potions suitcase, Snape had been right. Several were missing. None of them were particularly rare or expensive though, so Sirius tore off a piece of parchment, listed the missing ingredients and added a short note. Then he tapped the parchment twice with his wand and murmured, "Harry Potter". The thin lines of black ink began glowing bright red before the parchment caught fire and Sirius threw it to the ground where he put it out with his boot. Then he continued to write down Snape's instructions.
When he finished, Snape started asking questions about how everything had ended. So while preparing the ingredients for the potion, Sirius told him all about how Harry had gone down to the forest, his return to the living and the ownership of the wand twist.
At last, Snape sighed and nodded slowly. In an infinitely slow and tired gesture, he raised his left arm to look at the dark mark on it. It was barely more than a shadow now.
Sirius averted his eyes. Something in the expression in the slim, sallow face made him feel deeply uncomfortable, almost anxious.
A little over an hour later when he was still preparing the rest of the ingredients, the fire in the fireplace turned green, and the swirling figure of Harry stepped out of it, struggling to keep balance.
"Harry!" Sirius gave his godson a bear hug before asking: "Is everything all right with you? And the Weasleys?"
"Yeah, fine. Took me a while to convince them to let me leave again. But I managed. Chosen one and stuff." He winked. Sirius chuckled, then took the bag Harry offered him.
"How are you feeling, Professor?", Harry asked Snape, stepping to his bedside.
"Not quite well yet, but the potion should help. If it is brewed correctly, that is."
Harry quickly glanced back over his shoulder to see whether Sirius was offended by Snape apparently questioning his competence, but he just shrugged and said, "I'm doing exactly what you told me, so you'll have to blame yourself if things don't work out, won't you."
Snape scoffed, and Harry quickly asked, "Is there anything else I can do, Professor Snape?"
"Stop calling me Professor for one. I haven't been a Professor for over a year now." Snape murmured bitterly, but he seemed to be talking to himself rather than to Harry, so Harry turned to Sirius.
"If you don't need me for anything, either, I'll just head back to the Weasley's. Molly asked me to tell you to come to dinner tonight at eight. There are things to be discussed. Some of the rest of the order are coming, too. I mean- only if you can be spared here, of course."
"I assure you, he can easily be spared." Snape said in a cold voice.
Instead of snapping back, Sirius just gave Harry a weary smile and said, shrugging again: "You heard it, I can easily be spared. I guess I might have Kreacher keep watch tonight, so maybe I'll stop by."
"They'll be very happy to see you. See you later, then!" Harry squeezed Sirius for a second, but was held back when he wanted to turn toward the fireplace.
"Harry James Potter. Is that a hickey on your neck?" Sirius asked, grinning broadly.
Harry grinned back in spite of himself, and went to hug his godfather again, telling him without words how happy he was. Sirius hugged him back, tousling his hair a little, then gently freed himself and said, "Right. Better be off, now. Maybe you can squeeze in some of the good stuff before dinner." Harry flushed a little and turned towards Snape: "Bye, Professor, I will come back here tomorrow."
"Please, I wouldn't want to be the reason why you would waste time away from the very important task you've just been given." Snape answered, voice thick with sarcasm.
Harry stared at him for a moment, then shrugged, waved at Sirius, stepped into the fireplace and was gone.
"You might want to lay off the boy. He saved your life, you know. If you have a problem with me, that's fine, but leave Harry out of it." Sirius said casually while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Snape frowned, but didn't retort.
Another two hours later, Sirius had the potion ready. I am really getting into a routine, he thought, before asking: "Goblet or pipette?"
He didn't get an answer, so he turned around to see Snape glowering at him, through eyes that were narrowed to slits.
"Should I rephrase my question, was it too complicated?", Sirius asked pointedly.
"You must love this. Seeing me all weak and defenceless..." Snape spat by way of a response.
"You know…", Sirius replied in a calm voice, "You'd think I would. But as I said before, I have decided to put the past behind me after everything I've heard about your part in matters. So no, I don't love it. Besides, I haven't really been born to nurse or babysit grown men."
Snape made to answer but Sirius cut him off by asking loudly: "So: goblet or pipette?"
"Goblet.", Snape spat, attempting and failing to sit up on his own. Sirius saw this, put down the goblet he was filling, patiently sat Snape up against the headboard and then returned to filling the potion into the goblet.
Snape drank down everything in one big gulp, coughed a few times, then shoved Sirius away. Sirius clenched his hands to fists and was about to lose his temper after all, but the easily two meter long flame that shot out of Snape's open mouth, filling the air where he had just been standing, appeased him with Snape's rude demeanour.
"Interesting. Was that supposed to happen?", Sirius asked, extinguishing the flames with his wand and offering Snape water.
Snape drank it, looking exhausted and shrugged.
"It's not too unsettling. The volcano ash must have been too sulfury. Didn't expect Potter to get everything right, he was never one for details. Much too hot-headed and self-centred."
"He was good enough to save the entire wizarding world, including you." Sirius growled. He might be able to restrain himself enough not to fall back into his old habit of teasing Snape, and so far, he had managed to keep his temper through all the little provocations Snape had dished, but he certainly was not prepared to listen to Snape badmouthing Harry.
Snape remained silent, eyes fixed on Sirius.
A few moments went by before Sirius asked in a deliberately casual voice, "What next? Are you going to be okay? And are you likely to spew flames again? How often will you need to take the potion?"
"Unless you substitute the sulfury volcano ash for clean one, then yes, I probably am going to. And the potion needs to be taken once every four hours. Apart from that, I shall be fine. So bearing in mind that we all wish for a speedy recovery, it might be best if you leave now."
"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, a tad worried. He didn't know why exactly, but he had a bad feeling about leaving. Probably something to do with the recent flame-thrower-ness of Snape.
"Quite. But then again, I have only been Potions Master for fifteen years, so I might not be qualified to forecast the effects of the potion I had you brew.", Snape replied with a generous amount of sarcasm in his voice.
"Very well, suit yourself. Kreacher!"
With a loud crack, the house elf Kreacher appeared, shooting Snape a suspicious glance before bowing deeply to Sirius and asking: "Master called?"
"Yes. I have to ask you to sit here with Snape for a few hours, make sure he has everything he needs. And if he seems to be doing worse, come and get me at the burrow. Can you do that?" Sirius asked, making an effort to keep any bitterness or anger out of his voice.
"Yes Master. Kreacher will do as he is told.", Kreacher assured and took a bow again, without any swearing or muttering. Hermione might have been right about the elf after all.
"All right. Snape, you know the drill, send Kreacher if you need anything, and Kreacher, er- thanks. See you in a few hours."
He left the room and went to change clothes for the evening.
"Have a nice evening, Master" Kreacher called after him, deeply unsettling Sirius.
Snape, however, remained silent.
Sirius arrived early at the Weasleys', so he had ample time to sit down and talk to Professor McGonagall about Snape's condition, the political situation and the proceedings of rebuilding Hogwarts. He agreed to take part in the rebuilding as soon as Snape didn't take up all of his time any more, although he hadn't been working in wizarding construction since he had gotten his first inheritance all those years ago. "You might even be able to work on the blueprints together, once Severus has made a full recovery." Minerva suggested. Sirius just smiled and left it at that. He wasn't going to get into the details of how things were going at Grimmauld place; not right before dinner.
Dinner itself was pleasant enough. Minerva stayed, and some of the other teachers came bustling into the kitchen in time with Mr. Weasley and a few Minisrty colleagues.
It was a cheerful meal with llots of talking and toasting and laughing, but Sirius was so tired, he could hardly enjoy all the delicious food Mrs Weasley had prepared and only spoke when he was asked a direct question. When dinner was over and they retreated into the sitting room, Sirius fell asleep in an armchair within a minute after sitting down, and did not stir once in spite of the noise around him.
"He looks positively exhausted!" Hermione said worriedly to Harry, who had noticed as well. "Snape hasn't been sleeping through the night because of his pain, so neither has Sirius, because he never left his side. I do wish Snape would get better already. It's been days!" Harry sighed.
"Now, don't forget what his body has been through. He endured the poisoning for hours and hours! Just think back to how long Ron's father took to heal, and his injuries weren't half as bad as Snape's. The poison wasn't even in his system for very long!"
"Still, it was quite bad enough!" Ron snapped at her.
"I know, Ron, I'm sorry, of course it was horrible. I'm just saying, Snape is really badly hurt. Did you see the size of the tears in his flesh? I guess something in the poison makes them grow bigger with time." Hermione said shuddering.
"Let's not think about that anymore. Sirius really did an amazing job, considering he's not even a healer. Now all we have to do is wait while Snape heals." Ron said, leaning back comfortably. Harry still looked worried.
"Sometimes I worry that Sirius won't hold up his calm façade for long. Snape isn't exactly making things easy, he kept provoking him while I was there. Sirius didn't respond to any of it, but I'm telling you, I certainly wouldn't manage for long."
"mind you- There's quite a difference between forgiving someone you have hated for seven years before finding out the truth and forgiving him after 25 years of hatred." Rona said wisely, to which Harry nodded.
"I guess... I'm really proud of Sirius. Who knew he had it in him?" Hermione smiled fondly, watching Sirius, who was snoring a little now.
"Do you think we should put him upstairs to sleep properly for once? He hasn't left Snape's side since he arrived at Grimmauld place, and never really slept except for in that horrible chair." She asked, slightly concerned.
"I reckon he could have Bill's old room." Ron offered.
"He's probably just going to leave as soon as he wakes up, best let him sleep." Harry said, then smiled suddenly. "Strange though, isn't it? The idea of Snape and Sirius in the same room, not at each other's throats. Guess war's really over."
Sirius's sleep didn't last long after that, anyway. With a loud crack that reverberated through the entire house, Kreacher appeared in the sitting room, effectively waking up Sirius.
"What's wrong, Kreacher?", Sirius asked alarmedly.
"Master tells Kreacher to come get him if he is needed. Master's guest is making to leave and Kreacher thinks Master wants to stop him."
"WHAT! Yes, thanks, Kreacher, I'll check on him now."
With but a short wave to all the puzzled faces staring after him, Sirius left for the back door and as soon as he was outside, he disapparated.
As he landed on the curb of Grimmauld Place 12, he was working hard to keep his anger down, forcing himself to remain as calm as possible while he felt his blood boiling. He spotted Snape as soon as he had entered the hall. He was leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs, more than exhausted by the effort of getting out of bed and getting dressed.
"What the sodding hell do you think you're doing?" gasped Sirius, hurrying up the stairs and catching Snape by the arms the very moment he was about to fall over from inanition.
If Snape was trying to answer, he was unsuccessful, a few wheezes escaped him before he slumped and Sirius had to support most of his bodyweight, lest he fall down.
"I guess this spares me the lecture." Sirius grumbled, but couldn't help adding: "Really, Snape. You should know better. I've heard people calling you clever and such."
But he let it go when he caught a glimpse of the expression on Snape's face.
"Anyway, time for your potion in a few minutes. I'll just leave you alone for a minute while I slip into something a little less… flammable."
And he helped Snape get into bed again, flicked his wand to dress him in his pyjamas, even draped the covers over Snape's shivering frame before leaving the room.
He got changed at record speed for fear of another escape attempt and was downstairs with Snape again immediately after.
"Alright. Do you feel up to using the goblet, or shall I…" his voice trailed off when he became aware of Snape's murderous glare. "Goblet it is, then."
When he went to help Snape sit up, he could almost physically feel the loathing that pulsated from Snape. Frowning, he still did what had to be done, but kept silent and left the room immediately after he was done, instructing Kreacher to stay with Snape for a little longer while he went upstairs into his room for some more sleep. But it took him quite a while to fall asleep, his mind kept spinning towards the problem of how to handle Snape from now on, seeing as he seemed to hate Sirius just as ardently as back in their Hogwarts days, if not more. And on top of that, he would have to explain to Snape his situation in the wizarding world, outside the safety that Grimmauld place provided. No, sleep didn't come easy to Sirius that night.
So, there we are now, trouble obviously right ahead, as always.
I hope you liked it, and I'm optimistic about how soon I will update.
Your opinions and constructive criticism are always very welcome!
(and if someone on here is a beta in disguisewho would consider helping me out, the whole thing would move forward a lot more quickly... anyone interested?)