A Night in Hospital Wing

Over. The war was won. Voldemort was gone. Harry Potter roamed the candle-illuminized corridors of hogwarts, which resembled a ruin now. Of course they had tried to bring order as soon as possible, to wash away the dread that the deatheaters attack had brought to the school. But it was all still... recent. The blood on the floor of schoolyard and also the memory of all, who fought in this battle. The memory of those, who died. Remus, Fred, Tonks... So many faces crossed Harrys mind, he would never confront again... Even if they would stay in his heart for ever. But at the moment, Harrys thoughts belonged to someone, who survived, and since a visit in the Pensieve he knew, if this one had been died, it would have been an incredible loss for him. What he never had suspected.
Once more crossed his mind, how Snape had looked at him, when the blood of his wounds ran to the ground, how he lost consciousness, and how Hermione performed a charm to stop the loss of blood at the last moment.
„You have your mother´s eyes...“
Snapes words were went through his mind repeatedly, as they took his body back to the castle. He could perfectly remember the doubtfully expressions of professor McGonagall and the other teachers and students, when they stood there in the great hall, with the bloody body of the man who rather seemed to be a traitor. But there hadn´t been any time for explanations. He had immediatly  run to the pensieve ,in Dumbledores office . Together with the memories, Snape had given to him with the request to bring them there. Harry composed himself. Meanwhile, he had reached the hospital wing, which could only provide beds for the worst-wounded pupils and teachers, because of too many casualties. It had never been so crowded here- not even after the hardest quidditch match. At every bedside stood a small group of  aides and friends, who just wanted to stand by .              
Madam Pomfrey was very busy, she looked very exhausted. Professor McGonagall was engrossed in conversation with her, when Harry drew closer to them, she turned around.
„Potter“, her lips puckered up to a knowing smile. A short time after the battle, he had visited her to tell her about Snapes true purposes, about his agreement with Dumbledore, his will to protect Harry, and to put himself in mortal danger. And only her, Hermione and Ron he told about the true reason for all this.
He looked at the two women demanding. „Can I see him?“
Madam Pomfrey appealed to be wanting refuse this, as always when it came to her patients. But as she catched a warning look of professor McGonagall, she nodded curtly.
„Well, in my behalf. But mind that he´s very weak, and should not be upset. And I´m just allowing this, because he asked for you, when he was awake a while before...“
Harrys heart seemed to stop beating. He murmured an incomprehensible „thankyou!“, and ran past the two women, ro the last bed of the hospital wing. With shivering hands he  pushed the curtain aside. The view rocked him back on his heels.
Professor Snape always had had a pallid skin, but because of the loss of blood, he was so etiolated now, that it had a ghostly effect with the white sheets of the hospital wing.
There was a tight bandage around his neck, even at his left hand and his chest. Harry recognized the grey nightshirt. It had been in his fourth year in hogwarts, when he crossed hogwarts corridors at night, to solve a riddle of the triwizard tournament. Suddenly Snape had appeared, in exactly this nightshirt, and he nearly had got hold of him, when he had been stuck in a trick stair with his invisibility cloak.
They had hated each other so much...
But he didn´t want to think about it anymore, not after all he knew by this time.
He surveyed Snapes face again, the strands of the shoulder-length black hair over closed eyes, the pale lips. And for the first time he felt something like affection.
`He loved her so much. After all he´s kind of...family.´
He sat down on the edge of the bed after a few seconds of hesitation. But now what? He didn´t want to raise Snape out of his sleep, only heaven knew what madam Pomfrey would say, if he did...
So he decided to wait.
However, when he reached out with his hand, and his one touched Snapes, the professor opened his eyes slowly.
Severus Snape blinked and it took a moment till he recognized Harry, but then he smiled.
Neither sneering or spiteful, only disarming and ineffable tired.
„Mister Potter...“, he whispered, „I never felt so happy to see you before.“ And his black eyes glinted in a way Harry never had seen before.
He grinned. „I know what you mean, Sir.“
„You... have been in the Pensieve? You know what I...Why I...“, Snape began, and there was so much despair in his look, that Harry almost lost his voice when he answered : „Yes, I know it.“
He felt tears, running down his cheeks. „I´m so sorry... I´ve never understood, why you hated my father like that... Why you hated me like that...“ As he said this, he saw, Snapes eyes were full of teardrops,too. „Harry“, he said with broken voice, „ I loved your mother more than anything else, more than my own life. To see her with your father was brought even as much pain to me as when she...“ He stopped. „And you´re so similar to your father not only because of your appearance,
you´ve showed me every day, that HE has got a son with her, a family. And on top of that a son who is so brave, talented and good. I truly wish... I could had have a son like you with Lily.“
He was trembling. Harry too.
„Harry, I´m so sorry... but everytime I looked at you... I saw my own failure...and what I´ve lost...That was what I hated, and I made you suffer for it. Please forgive me.“
Harry didn´t know what to say. Made him suffer?
Well, indeed Snape had shown him that he wasn´t bound up with good memories again and again... But that was unimportant next to the fact, that Snape had protected him from Voldemort all those years, risked his own life for this.
Harrys heart was beating faster, and he knew he wouldn´t be able to say a word, so he did something, years ago appeared like a very bad joke to him.
He flung his arms around Snape´s neck, hugged him as tight it was possible, untill a painfull groaning reminded him of Snapes injurys...
Embarrassed, he slackened his grip. „Sorry...“
But his former potions master only smiled wryly, with one lifted eyebrow, and said : „ Never mind. Seems I´ve deserved it.“
Harry needed a moment to get the well-meant joke, however when he hugged Snape again, carefully this time, he sensed Snapes hands on his back, too. And he didn´t feel so happy like that for a long time. It almost reminded him, how it had been to take Sirius in his arms...
„Thank you“, Harry said softly, „Thank you,  that you´ve always been there... And that you still are..“
He felt Snapes grip around him grow tighter, although he could hear his gasping, strained breathing.
As he sat up to see look into his face, he noticed how exhausted Snape looked.
Suddenly a bit afraid, he remembered madam Pomfreys warning. Was Snape overtaxed because of him? He stood up. „I think, I´ll better go. You need to rest, Sir.“
But Snape grabbed his hand. „No...Wait. Please. Would you... do me a favour and stay?“
Harry looked at him puzzled. Although half a minute elapsed, he didn´t seem to understand, and Snape said, with that characteristic frigid composure: „Well, Potter, a few hours ago I nearly ended as snake-prey, I barely can´t move without pain, and the first thing I see when I close my eyes is...“, he paused, matched Harry glare for glare.
„Maybe you can imagine, that I´d feel better tonight if I didn´t have to lie here all alone? That your company would help me?“
Harry smiled. That was more the professor Snape he knew- well, somewhat. „Of course, Sir.“
He took off his hoodie and lay down next to Snape. His head leant on Snapes shoulder, he breathed in and out deeply and was glad as he felt Snapes arm on his back.
Was that the feeling a child got, when it crawled into his parent´s bed, because it couldn´t sleep?
Probably. So...secure.
He had won a piece of family, in a point where he had never expected it.
Snapes breath was calmer now. He was sleeping again. But Harry decided not to stand up again for visiting the other Gryffindors, who certainly wondered, where the chosen one had got to go.
Hermione and Ron knew, where he was. That was enough. He closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feeling of protection, till he slept in , too...

The next morning Harry was woken by a warm scent of tea. When he opened his eyes, he spotted a tablet with two steaming cups on the bedside cabinet which was bathed in reddish sunlight. Only now he remembered where he was and who lay next to him. Harry sat up, and looked at professor Snape. A night of rest and a number of madam Pomfreys magic flasks with healing potions had have a visible effect. He already had a little more colour in the face.  As Harry stood up to put on his hoodie he noticed something jutting out the bag... He totally forgot about it!
„Does mister Potter already have to leave?“
Harry turned around. Snape looked at him, pretended reproachfully, and they both had to smile.
„I just wanted to check what my friends are doing. Who knows, maybe they´re breaking a few school rules again?“, he smirked.
„But I´ll come back later and visit you, I promise.“ He paused a moment. „By the way, I had something for you, but I forgot to give it to you last evening.“
He pulled the photo out his bag, taken from the old album Hagrid had given to him once.
It showed a wonderfully beautiful Lily Potter, who stood in a rain of leaves , smiling and waving at the beholder of the picture.
Harry saw that Snape got wide eyes, and tears poured down the professors cheeks again, so he cradled him and said:
„I know, she forgave you.“
They held on tight for a long while, and when they moved apart, Snape smiled at Harry with glistening eyes.
„Thank you“, he whispered,“ but actually I don´t need this photography.“
He looked him deep in the eyes.
„Because I´ve got you.“

End