Chapter 8 – Poppy’s thoughts

Disclaimer: All recognizable 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 AmyLouise, for correcting my mistakes!

Chapter 8 – Poppy’s thoughts

The afternoon snack was a delicious piece of apple pie. It was one of his favorite desserts, and therefore Severus enjoyed it very much.

Poppy silently sat at on a chair beside his bed and drank a cup of coffee. When he had finished his piece of pie, Severus leaned back and enjoyed the silence. He was glad that Poppy obviously did not want to discuss his kiss with Minerva. Maybe she has already planned how to corner Minerva and have a chat between women about the subject, Severus mused.

His assumptions were correct. Poppy was a little surprised by the events of the afternoon. Minerva had never said anything and they were very close friends. But when she thought back to when she had had her first date with Alastor, she had not spoken about it with Minerva. She had been so unsure about her feelings for him that she did not dare to tell anyone. And now she could not think about living without him. Yes, sometimes he really annoyed her, especially when he acted affectionately towards her in front of others. She was not used to being kissed in public. She was more conservative. With time, she had gotten used to the public displays of affection, but sometimes she still felt uneasy. And when he used it to manipulate her like he had this afternoon, she really was annoyed.

They often argued about Severus. ‘He is an adult, Poppy, and you ought to remember that,’ he often said. But why should I treat him like an adult when he so often acts like a stubborn child? While I was checking on him when we brought him here, I could hardly breathe. I was so scared that this time he would not make it. When he usually comes back from a Death Eater meeting, I am prepared for what I might find while checking him. But yesterday was a shock. How was it possible for him to have worn himself out that much without us noticing? I have never been so worried about his condition after the spying was over. And now this, she thought sadly and drank her coffee. Every time he does something stupid like refusing to eat, I’m scared like hell. That’s so unprofessional. To be honest, it was good that Alastor was there to calm me down. I fear I would have restrained Severus in my rage.

She was so deep in thought that she did not notice Severus lean back and close his eyes when he had finished his meal.

Silently, she removed the tray and lowered the headboard so that Severus was prostrate. He did not open his eyes even as she placed a feather-light kiss on his forehead. “Why do you always have to scare me like this, Severus? Don’t you know how worried I am? To me, you are like a son,” she whispered to the sleeping man, not knowing that he had heard every word she said.

She did not notice the tear that ran over his cheek because she was already headed for her office. I never knew that she was so worried. I thought she was just doing her job. Maybe there is really something I should take care of because so many people seem to be worried about me, he mused while slowly drifting over to sleep.

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“How is he, Poppy?” Severus could hear the voice of the headmaster through his sleepy, foggy mind.

“The Calming Draught I gave him in his afternoon juice should have worn off by now. His appetite has returned, and he did not complain about eating at all. I’m still very worried about his weakness. He still has to catch up on his rest, and I will not let him leave the hospital wing until he gains at least five more kilos of weight. Also, he still needs pain killers for his headache. I changed the potion so that we can avoid addiction. His normal pain killers no longer worked for him because his body was too used to them already. He has been mixing a lot of potions lately. Most of his symptoms are side effects of these potions or his body’s signals that it needs more. The side effects should wear off in a few days, and I hope that the addiction to painkillers is not so strong that these new potions will be unable to overlay the withdrawals. He may not need the painkillers after a few days, but I fear that all our effort here will be useless when he returns to his chambers,” Poppy reported sadly.

Severus could hear the rustling of fabric. Perhaps the headmaster had moved nearer to Poppy to comfort her.

“Poppy, we can only do our best to try to convince Severus to take better care for himself. We will keep a closer eye on him, but he is an adult. Let him make his own decisions even when we don’t like them,” Albus said calmly.

“Oh, Albus! It’s so hard! I can’t just stand there and ignore it. He doesn’t even realize how close he was to dying!” Now she was sobbing.

“Poppy, calm down! You don’t want Severus to see you like this. He is alive, and we will do all that we can to make sure that he realizes how important he is to us and that he takes better care of himself from now on.” Again, the sound of fabric rubbing on fabric was heard as Albus embraced Poppy.

“Alastor is waiting for Charlie in the Potions classroom. Maybe you should join him and take a break from your duties here,” Albus suggested.

“But Severus has to eat and get his potions and – ”

“And I’m perfectly capable of monitoring all of that,” Albus interrupted her.

Poppy sighed. “Okay, I really would like to see Alastor and speak with him. And I also would like to see Charlie again. I haven’t seen him for years.”

“Just show me which potions he should take and then make haste to the dungeons.”

Severus heard them move away from his bed. His mind was reeling. Again, they were talking about him as if they had feared that he might not have made it. He was not feeling well, but until he'd come to the infirmary, he could do almost everything. Only after he had spent a night in the hospital wing had he started to feel very weak and sleepy. He could not even make it to the toilet!

And what was this about Charlie? Meeting him in the dungeons? What is he doing in the dungeons? MY DUNGEONS! Severus thought.

He opened his eyes just as the door to the infirmary was closed, and Albus came over to his bed.