Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

Thanks a lot to my beta-readers, saiyanwizardgurl and rdholmantx, for correcting my mistakes!

Chapter 3

When he reached the hospital wing, he found Minerva sitting on Poppy’s bed, reading to her in a soft voice. For a moment he stopped to listen. He always loved Minerva’s voice. That was, when she was not screaming at him or scolding him like a child for neglecting to take care of himself. When she came back from one of her many journeys, she would tell wonderful stories. It was one of the few times of the year he looked forward to: sitting in her office with a glass of red wine, listening to her adventures. Hearing her read to Poppy evoked memories of those times, but when he concentrated on her actual words, he began to blush. She was reading a romance novel!

Really, what if someone saw me here, hiding in the shadows listening to Minerva babbling about a ‘mysterious dark man’ trying to seduce a ‘beautiful red-haired lady’? Really, how could someone read something like that? he thought.

Moving from the shadow, he strode over to Minerva. “Do you want to increase her fever by reading that trash to her, woman?” he asked.

Minerva was so engrossed in the story she was reading that she actually jumped at Severus’ deep voice. She rolled her eyes and said, “I see you’ve finished the potion, Severus.”

“Yes, indeed.” He smirked at her. Even being in pain let him enjoy that he had made Minerva jump. His eyes fell on Poppy, who was still lying with her eyes closed on the bed. Immediately the smirk vanished and was replaced by a concerned expression. “We should try to give her something to eat first. Or have you already done that?”

“No, she was sleeping restlessly, but when I read to her, she became calm. She was sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to wake her,” she said. Her gaze never left the mediwitch’s face.

“Poppy, dear.” Minverva leant over and gently touched her head.

Poppy’s eyes flickered open, and she recognised the two other people in the room. “What happened? Merlin, my patients!” She panicked and tried to sit up, confused. Minerva reacted quickly and stopped her by laying her hands on Poppy’s shoulders. She gently pushed her back into the cushion. Poppy hardly needed much pressure to force her back into a lying position; she was still very weak.

“Everything is all right, my dear. There are no patients in the hospital wing at the moment. Severus and I are here when someone needs help. Right now, it is you who is in need of help. You’ve got a bad case of the wizard flu. Severus already brewed some stronger potions for you, and they will get you back to your old self soon. But first you have to eat something.”

Severus already moved a few steps away from the two witches. If Minerva was here to care for Poppy, there was no need for him to make a fool of himself by trying to help. And even with Poppy in her current state, he couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t notice how ill he was. And the last thing he needed now was the ill mediwitch trying to examine or heal him. Even worse, the deputy headmistress would molly-coddle him if she found out. He really liked Minerva, but he felt like a schoolboy in her presence all too often. And right now, Minerva’s eyes were on him. They became small slits as she surveyed him closely. “Have you already eaten?” she asked him with an expression which said “Don’t you dare to lie to me, boy.”

Oh, yes, and there it was again, that schoolboy feeling. How did this woman manage it every time?

He put on his famous Snape glare. “My eating habits are none of your concern, Minerva,” he replied angrily. “You should use your energy to help Poppy.”

But Minerva knew him too well and would not be swayed. “A simple ‘no’ would have been fine, Severus,” she stated, very calm. “Now sit down. I will call Dobby to get something to eat for the three of us. I’m sure Poppy will enjoy our company while eating,” she ordered, leaving no room for argument.

He was so occupied by the confrontation with Minerva that he missed the mediwitch’s still-glassy yet very concerned eyes on him. Something isn’t right with him. And he definitely hasn’t eaten or slept lately, she thought.

Seeing that he was slowly backing away from Minerva towards the door before the deputy headmistress could stop him, Poppy hoarsely spoke up. “Yes, Severus, please sit down and eat with us. If I remember correctly, you were here all night, so a few minutes more wouldn’t hurt, would they?” Even when she was ill she could be so manipulative. She could see his mind work behind the curtain of hair that had fallen in his face.

He was too tired to find a good excuse without making himself more suspicious than he already was. “If you insist.” He sighed in resignation and moved one of the chairs a little nearer to the two women. Minerva transfigured an empty vial into a small table. Soon after Minerva summoned Dobby, he popped up again, carrying a big tray with some chicken soup, fresh bread, and tea. It smelled delicious.

After taking four potions without anything else in his stomach, it started to protest while getting filled with food. Severus felt waves of sickness roll over him, and small drops of sweat started to appear on his forehead. He tried to hide it as best as possible, but was not successful. Minerva was already observing him from the corner of her eye. When he almost looked in danger of passing out, she spoke up. “Are you feeling all right, Severus? You look very pale.” She tried to reach for his forehead, but he jerked back violently.

“I’m perfectly fine! Stop making a fuss, Minerva. As you may recall, I’m always pale,” he spat, already trying to stand up and back away.

She knew him well enough to know he was hiding something. She looked at him sternly, seeing the truth all over his face. But before she could do or say anything, she was distracted by a harsh coughing fit from Poppy. Minerva was at Poppy’s side in a flash. Her hands gently drew circles on the mediwitch’s back, and she spoke calming nonsense to her.

“I’m so sorry to be such a burden. I shouldn’t have forgotten to take the potion in time. Now I’m a mess. What kind of mediwitch am I? Merlin, I’m so tired,” she said sadly.

Severus and Minerva stared at Poppy in shock. The normally strong-willed mediwitch was reduced to maudlin self-recrimination; she must be very ill indeed. Severus was at a loss. Much as he loved Poppy, he didn’t deal with “crying female” very well. But then he remembered the potion vials on the nightstand. He opened the first one and kneeled in front of Poppy. With a gentleness that caught Minerva by surprise, he stroked her hair out of her face.

“You should take your potions, Poppy. You will still be tired after taking them, but you will sleep well and tomorrow feel much better,” he said.

His hands slightly trembled when he placed the open vial at her mouth, but Minerva didn’t notice. Their previous argument was forgotten. When Poppy finished both potions, she sank back in the cushion without another word and fell asleep. The headmaster came by to check on Poppy, and Minerva left with him to help him fill out some paperwork. Severus was alone with her, gently stroking her hair. That evening, he woke her up briefly and made her drink more of the potion. She looked at him with bleary affection and said, “Thank you, Severus, but you should not spend all your time with me.”

“Don’t be stupid, woman. I’m just watching to make sure that the potions work like they should and don’t have any side effects.”

Poppy smiled tiredly at him, knowing actions belied his harsh words.

“Sure,” she replied before drifting back to sleep.

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