Chapter 4 - Into the Infirmary

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

Chapter 4 - Into the Infirmary

Both women were glaring daggers at him. He could hardly suppress the impulse to reach for the doorknob and run away, but he realized that would be useless. If Poppy did not send a Stunning Spell after him, then she would at least inform Albus. And Albus would hunt him down; the headmaster knew every place in the castle where he would hide. And I cannot leave the castle because that would mean my death. So he had no other choice but to face whatever these women had in store for him.

He composed himself and straightened up. "Minerva, Poppy, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" While trying not to look at them directly, he strode in the direction of his desk. The two women blocked his way, and when he tried to get through them, they moved together so that he could not slip past them.

"You had a wonderful breakfast, did you?" Poppy asked sarcastically.

"Poppy, there is really no need to scold me like a child. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," he explained harshly as he tried to push through the two women. But Poppy would have none of it.

"SEVERUS TOBIAS SNAPE, stop trying to lie to me!" She grabbed his arm to stop him from moving away from her. "I will check you thoroughly now, and you will cooperate with me."

"You will not!" Severus was furious. I will not let her examine me and then detain me in the hospital wing! It is enough that I am imprisoned in the castle. "I am an adult, and I can decide for myself." He tried to free himself, but without success. Merlin, this woman has a grip like a troll!

"You will come with me to the hospital wing this instant, young man!" she said sternly, already trying to pull him in the direction of the door.

Now he was really struggling. "Poppy, please let me go. I am tired and I want to go to bed." He tried to loosen Poppy's grip on his arm with his free hand, but as he had to lean down a bit to do this, Poppy took the opportunity to reach up with her unoccupied hand to his forehead. What she felt did not make her loosen her grip.

"Severus, you are burning up," she said. "You also have bags under your eyes and you are as pale as a ghost. It seems that you do not even have enough power to hold up the Glamour Charm you obviously put on yourself at dinner." And the fact that you aren't even able to wriggle yourself out of my grip speaks volumes, she thought, very concerned.

Severus began to panic. "No, Poppy, please, I have so much work to do." He desperately tried to get away from Poppy and her restraining hands, but Minerva was already rounding on him. To know that someone was behind him and that he did not know what this person was doing made him struggle even more.

"Please, Severus, calm down and let Poppy give you a proper check-up. There is obviously something wrong with you." She tried to lay a calming hand on his shoulder. He jerked around; his heart was beating so fast that he feared it would explode. He suddenly felt the cold sweat on his neck as nausea came over him. His legs had once again become like jelly. And then there was only blackness.

______

When he opened his eyes, he was blinded by bright light. He blinked a few times to get used to the glow. A cool hand was placed on his forehead. "Good to have you back, Severus," said the calm voice of Minerva. "You gave us quite a scare."

He groaned and tried to push himself up, but that was quickly prevented by a strong hand on his chest. "Don't move, Severus, or I will put a Binding Spell on you." He turned his eyes to Poppy, who sternly looked at him. While she pushed him back into a lying position, she strictly said, "This time, you definitely went too far, Severus."

He closed his eyes in resignation. Now I am not only useless as a spy, but I cannot even fulfill my regular duties. She's never going to let me out of here. I will be unable to finish my potions for the Ministry and the potions for the hospital wing. He felt so useless and guilty because he was too weak to fulfill his duties.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

Poppy did not know what he was thinking, and she believed that he was sorry for neglecting himself. She was surprised that he had listened to reason so quickly. "You really shouldn't have let yourself become so ill. You are underweight and absolutely exhausted. You didn't sleep much in the last few weeks, and with the amount of painkillers you have been taking lately, your body tried to show you that it needs rest. You cannot go on like this," she lectured him.

He let her speak because he knew that it would not help his situation if he tried to argue with her. "You will stay here for at least a week, Severus, if not longer."

And with that, he was fully awake. "A WEEK?" He sat up abruptly. "No, you cannot force me to stay here for a week. That is ridiculous!"

Poppy was taken by surprise at his outburst. She tried to block his way when he swung his legs over the side of the bed. But that was not necessary because Severus froze when a calm, serious voice broke up their argument. "No, she cannot force you to stay, but I can." It was Albus Dumbledore.

No, please, not him. Was he here the whole time or did I just not notice his arrival? Severus wondered. His shoulders sagged in resignation.

"So that means back to bed, young man," Poppy said as she eased him back again. When the bed covers were tucked around him, Albus leaned over him. Severus tried to look away. He was ashamed to be so weak and useless. Hiding seemed to be the only good option for him right now.

"Look at me, Severus," Albus ordered him gently. When he did not obey, he took Severus' chin and forced him to face him. "Severus, you are ill. Very ill. We will not let you starve yourself or become addicted to painkillers. When you obviously cannot take care of yourself, you have to let us take care of you."

Severus eyes began to water. "I'm so sorry, Albus. I couldn't do all the work. I'm useless."

He again tried to look away, but Albus still had a grip on Severus' chin and would not let him. "No, Severus, stop. You are not useless. We should have realized that it was too much work. That was our mistake, not yours. Nobody would have managed to fulfill all of the duties that were placed on you." Albus sat down on the bed, still holding Severus' chin and stroking the loose wisps of hair out of Severus' face with his free hand. "You didn't let Poppy finish, so I will finish for her, and you, Severus, will listen and not interrupt me. Your current state is very alarming. You obviously ignored any signals that your body was giving you before it broke down. Judging from your reaction a few minutes ago, it seems that you are still not capable of taking care of yourself, and that means that we will do it for you. You will stay in this bed as long as Poppy deems necessary. You will take whatever potion or treatment Poppy gives you. You will eat and sleep so that you can regain some weight and start thinking clearly again. I do not know how long this will take, but I can assure you that even when Poppy allows you to stay in your own quarters, you still will have regular check-ups. You will not miss any meals in the future and you will get enough rest or you will find yourself back in the hospital wing faster than you can say, 'I'm fine, Albus!' Understood?" He was looking at Severus intensely.

"Yes, Albus," Severus said in a very small voice. He lowered his eyes. I am too tired to fight, and what would be the point anyway? Deep down, he knew that this was necessary because he would not stop working himself until he was dead. It was also good to know that there were people who were concerned about him and would not let him suffer any longer. That was what he had done in the past few weeks: suffer. The prospect of being able to rest without work was, on one side, very nice, but it also brought back that damn feeling of guilt for being useless. He was torn between trying to argue with Albus and closing his eyes and letting them take care of him.

Albus sensed the fight in Severus' mind. "Please, just let us take care of you, Severus," he said in a much gentler and more soothing voice. He moved his hand from Severus' forehead to his cheek, and when he felt Severus lean into it, he smiled, satisfied. He leaned over, placed a kiss on Severus' forehead, and whispered, "Sleep, my child." And with that, he whispered a sleeping spell over the tired body of the Potions Master.