"So Severus?" Poppy asked sternly when they had reached the Hospital Wing.
"So, what?"
"So why did you have a combined murtlap and dittany solution smashed on your office floor?"
Fortunately on the walk up, Severus had had time to think and knowing this question would be asked, he now had an answer.
"I was in the process of testing a different version which I hope will be an improvement on the last one. I was testing its stability in air, but as I pulled out a sheet from underneath it I managed to knock the bowl with my arm and it fell off. So, may I go back to my brewing now?"
"You may go back to bed shortly Severus" Poppy retorted with a glare. "If that was the case, why was there a bloodied bandage on the floor?"
"To test that the new components did not react negatively with it" he replied without missing a beat. "Treating bleeding wounds is the main use of murtlap and dittany after all."
And again! Poppy thought. How did the man do it? How could he talk his way out of everything? And make it sound so reasonable.
"You weren't called? You aren't injured?" Albus added with a piercing look.
"No and no. Can I go now please?"
"Let Poppy quickly check you over and then you may, yes."
Severus let out a long-suffering sigh. "If you will grant me one question in return?" he said. "What was Minerva doing near to my office at such a time? Her patrol goes nowhere near that area, and if she was the one to raise the alarm surely she would be here with you?"
"She had to continue her patrol Severus. She is the only one on tonight."
Severus wondered if that sounded as lame to the Headmaster himself as it did to him. There was no way that if Minerva had heard a crash like that she would have gone to Albus about it. She would have been straight in there, wand blazing.
"You need to sort out the patrol schedule better then" he remarked. Turning, he faced the mediwitch. "Well? You've cast your diagnostic, am I still alive?"
"No need to be like that Severus. You'd be better if you didn't stay in your dungeons all day and got some more sunshine, but holding you hostage here won't do that any good. Go back to your quarters and sleep."
Severus rolled his eyes. "Yes ma'am" he said.
After he had left, Poppy and Albus shared a look.
"He's hiding something, I can tell" Poppy said.
"But he also knows we're onto him" Albus replied. "I'll bet he's going to check everything for monitoring charms from now on."
"Hmmmm. Well goodnight Albus."
"Goodnight Poppy."
Little did they know it would only be a few hours before they would be there again.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Harry awoke panting and sweating. That vision had been horrible, Voldemort had been in a really bad mood. Checking his watch, he found it was six thirty am, too early for the rest of his dorm to be up. Knowing from experience that he wouldn't sleep again, he shrugged on his dressing gown and was about to go down to the common room when he stopped short. One of the men in that vision was Snape, and from what Harry could remember he had taken the brunt of Voldemort's ire. Even if Snape could apparate in the state he was in, Harry doubted that the man would make the walk across the grounds. He stood there for a moment, deliberating with himself. Snape would be found by Hagrid when the half-giant did his morning rounds of the grounds, and then he would get the care he needed in the Hospital Wing, but that wouldn't be for another hour or so. Could Harry live with himself if something permanent happened to the man which he could have prevented? No, he decided. The man might hold a grudge a mile long and be petty, spiteful, bitter and a general arse but he was a fellow human.
Sighing, Harry scrabbled around in his trunk for some clothes and then called Dobby.
"What cans Dobby do for the Great Master Harry Potter sir?"
"I need to go to the apparition border of Hogwarts."
Dobby looked at him quizzically but took the boy's hand and popped away.
It didn't take long for Harry to find who he'd come to look for. Snape had made it inside the wards but had then collapsed onto the grass. He was so still Harry thought he might be dead, but as he approached miraculously the man turned his head to see the onlooker.
"Sir?" Harry gasped. "You're alive?"
"How did you-" Snape managed to whisper back.
"Vision. But never mind that now. Dobby!"
"Yes Great Master Harry Potter sir?"
"Please can you take us to-"
"Professor Snape's quarters" Severus interrupted, levelling the best glare he could at Harry.
"Professor Snape's quarters" Harry finished.
"Of course Great Master Harry Potter sir" squeaked the elf.
After a second to regain his bearings Harry turned to Snape, his head burning with questions.
"Professor?" he asked.
No response.
Harry looked down to see the waxen face almost ivory now and his eyes closed. Tentatively Harry shook the man by the shoulder.
"Professor?" he tried again.
Still no response.
Even more tentatively, Harry held his hand above Snape's mouth and let out a sigh of relief when he felt a puff of breath on it. So Snape was alive, for the moment, but there had to be a reason why he was so set on coming here rather than anywhere else. Plus Harry didn't know how long the man would be alive for if he didn't get help.
"Dobby?" Harry called tentatively.
"Yes-"
"Do you have any healing magic?"
"No Great Master Harry Potter sir. But Dobby cans get Mistress Pomfrey if Great Master Harry Potter has need?"
"No! Thankyou Dobby. Do any elves have healing magic?"
"Some elves are Healers yes Great-"
"Can you bring me one?" Harry interrupted.
"Great Master Harry Potter sir wants a Healer elf?"
"Yes please Dobby, as fast as you can."
Harry had just levitated Snape onto the sofa when he heard a double pop of apparition. He was relieved to see it was two house elves, although he wasn't sure anyone else would actually be able to apparate in. He guessed Snape would have warded his quarters strongly. He was brought out of his musings by the second house elf apparently jumping up and down on Snape's chest.
"Erm, what are you doing?" Harry asked bemused.
"Master Professor Snape's magic is not working" the elf said, jumping harder and harder.
"Yokko is trying to bond Professor Snape's magic with his body again Harry Potter sir" Dobby added.
Harry watched the elf in silence for a few minutes, wondering more and more if this was a good idea. He watched as the elf took an almighty leap, as if Snape's ribcage was a trampoline and with a deafening "HYAH!" he planted both feet into the man's sternum. Harry was sure he'd heard ribs crack but the elf had a satisfied smile on his face.
"Yokko has managed it Harry Potter sir" the second elf announced, climbing down shakily to stand on the floor. "Master Professor Snape should live now."
Even as the little elf spoke, Harry could see signs of life reappearing. After a minute or so the man was groaning quietly.
"Thankyou so much" Harry said to the elves, shaking them by the hands.
"Harry Potter sir is indeed great to be thanking elves!" Yokko squeaked. "Any time you needs anything Harry Potter sir, Yokko will be there!"
"Errrr thanks" Harry said.
The two elves popped away leaving Harry with a slight smile on his face. Really house elves were wonderful creatures.
Glancing at his watch Harry realised it was gone eight o'clock and his friends would be worried if he didn't turn up for breakfast. But he didn't like leaving Snape here on his own.
"Professor Snape sir?" he questioned quietly.
Snape turned his head and raised an eyebrow.
"I... erm... I need to be getting to breakfast sir. Otherwise people will wonder where I am and probably panic."
"Much to my surprise it seems you are not as unaware as you make people think Potter."
Was that a compliment or an insult? Harry couldn't tell. He opted to say nothing. There was silence for a few moments and then Snape flicked his wand, gasping in pain as he did so.
"In that cupboard you'll find a turquoise potion called Core Repair and a lime green one called Organ Repair. Pass me those and a pain reliever, then go."
Harry did so, but just as he turned to leave Snape spoke again.
"Do try to make it look like you went for a run around the grounds or something Potter. You don't want to get mixed up in this."
"But sir-"
"No Potter, you went for a run. You have not seen me at all this morning and you have no idea about anything that happened last night. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir" Harry muttered sullenly.
"Good. Now go, I expect I'll have company shortly and you do not want to be here then. Remember, you have seen nothing."
xxxxxxxxxxxx
Harry decided to shower before going down to breakfast. It gave him time to think and it would work well with that cover story. He avoided the questions as best he could but as the conversation turned to the day's lessons Harry realised he had double Potions first thing. What was going to happen with that, he wondered.
To Harry's utter surprise, when the dungeon door was opened it was Snape himself who stood there, glaring at everyone in his usual manner. Nobody else gave this a second thought, but then nobody knew what Harry did. Staring at the open doorway and the man behind it, Harry was brought rudely back to reality by a snide remark.
"What are you staring at Potter? Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek. Get in."
There was not one muscle, not one indication on Snape's face to give away the fact that either he and Harry had a shared secret or that he had been on death's door merely one hour earlier. His apparent demeanour towards Harry had not changed even the slightest bit from before this whole thing began. Harry almost envied the man. He thought that he was a good pretender but it was clear from this that Snape was several leagues above him. The man was superb.
The class went as any Gryffindor/Slytherin Potions class with Harry Potter ever did, with Snape hurling insults at Harry every time he could. At the end of the class, Snape prowled around the room inspecting the cauldrons, occasionally lifting a ladle to inspect more closely or smell the concoctions.
He heaped praise upon the Slytherins and a diatribe of drivel at the Gryffindor including declaring Neville and Seamus's thick grey lumpy goo "a bio-hazardous waste of time and resources" and Lavender and Parvati's bright yellow slime "an excellent way to expel your innards through your nasal passages". Snape assigned both pairs detention, and then strode back towards the front of the room.
Two steps from the raised platform that housed his desk and the blackboard he stumbled and then fell. He didn't raise his hands to block his fall and the whole room winced as the Potions Master's head bounced off the concrete floor.
There was utter silence in the room for a moment. Hermione hurried over to see if she could help her Professor, whereas Harry shot off a Patronus.
"Go to Madam Pomfrey" Harry told Prongs. "Tell her Professor Snape is injured and to come immediately to the Potions classroom." Here he paused before adding "tell her...tell her I'm sorry."
The brilliant white stag nuzzled its head against Harry's chest and then galloped through the door. The rest of the room gaped in shock and awe but Harry just sighed. On reflection maybe now wasn't the best time to try that for the first time, but it just felt so right at that moment. In the minute or so that it took the school Medi-witch to arrive, nobody moved or spoke. Neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin began to pack away or clean up, the only movement at all being Hermione as she checked on the status of their Potions teacher.
Poppy was not alone when she entered. By good luck, Minerva had been on her way to the meet the mediwitch and had heard Prongs' message. While Poppy went to tend to Snape, Minerva started questioning the students.
"Miss Patil, which lesson do you have next?"
"Erm Charms Professor McGonagall" Parvati replied.
"And you Mr Zambini?" she asked the closest Slytherin to her.
"Herbology Professor."
"I shall inform Professors Flitwick and Sprout that you are unable to attend their lessons. You will all go out onto the grounds where the elves will provide you with a picnic. Leave all your Potions equipment here. I will join you out there very shortly. Behave yourselves."
There was a flurry of movement as everyone flung books into bags and scarpered. It was a beautiful day and they had been told to go outside! As Harry made to leave though Madame Pomfrey stopped him.
"Mr Potter can you stay behind please? You can stay if you wish Miss Granger."
Harry dropped his bag back onto the bench with a thud. Well it looked like he had got mixed up in this now, whatever this was. Snape was going to be royally pissed off when he woke.