Gaelic Blessing

Severus just stood still for several long seconds, almost mesmerised by the sight in front of him. Suddenly, his brain processed what he was seeing and he was galvanised into action. He sprang forward and helped Poppy to hold down the thrashing young man so that he didn’t harm himself in the process.

“Poppy, what can we do? If he keeps this up he’s going to injure himself.”

The woman thought for a few seconds before she spoke.

“Can you pick him up and hold him tightly? I can petrify him so that he doesn’t thrash and we need to get him in that ice bath now. He won’t like it but he needs it.”

Severus nodded his agreement and scooped Harry up so that he was held tightly against the other man’s chest and unable to thrash his arms and legs. With him safely cradled in Severus’ arms Poppy pointed her wand at Harry and softly whispered the incantation that made him limp in the arms that held him.

Poppy and Severus quickly moved into the bathroom where they placed Harry into the bath with Severus supporting his head and shoulders so that he didn’t drown. As they kept Harry there Poppy continually cast the temperature charm, both of them watching in relief as it gradually started to drop 0.1 of a degree at a time. After fifteen minutes, when they could no longer safely leave him in the ice-cold water, they took him out and wrapped him in a blanket, drying him off.

With that done they moved him back into the bedroom and redressed him in pyjama bottoms before placing him under the duvets. Severus leaned over in concern and pressed the back of his hand to Harry’s forehead.

“He’s still burning up but he’s shivering violently.”

“There’s nothing else we can do Severus. We need to try and keep his temperature down but other than that he just needs to sweat the fever out.” She smiled sympathetically at him. “You look exhausted. You’ve borne the brunt of this so far. Why don’t you lay down with him and try to get some rest? It’ll probably help him as well. I need to go back to Hogwarts and get some fever reducers and some nutrition potions. Take your robe off and get in that bed Severus Snape.”

As he did so, taking off his robe to reveal a lean torso covered with scars, he felt slightly guilty that he only made a token protest but justified it by telling himself that he was a Slytherin and that this was probably the closest he’d get to the man he loved. Carefully he slid into the bed next to Harry, completely missing the self-satisfied smile on Poppy’s face.

He was oblivious to her farewell and exit as at that precise moment Harry rolled over and cuddled into him, burying his face into Severus’ neck. Severus sighed and wrapped his arms around Harry, determined to make the best of the situation. Within minutes he was asleep, exhausted but confident in the knowledge that he would wake up should Harry need him.

He was unsurprised therefore, when he was woken up a short while later by Harry moving restlessly in his arms. He opened his eyes just as Harry started talking.

“Sev’rus? Sev?”

Severus held his breath and smoothed Harry’s hair out of his eyes with one hand.

“Harry? It’s Severus. I’m right here.”

His heart sank as he realised that it was delirium rather than Harry being awake and consciously talking to him. His heart sank further still when Harry continued to talk about how sorry he was that he was ill, how he had to get better before Severus arrived otherwise the older man would have to look after the children and, most importantly to Severus, how much Harry looked forward to his arrival and how much he loved the older man. Knowing that there wasn’t much he could do, Severus simply held Harry tighter and talked to him or rather, much to his mortification, babbled inelegantly.

“Enough of this now Harry, you’ve caused me more than enough stress in the last few days than you have in the last four years. I haven’t had to worry whether or not I’m going to have to rescue your admittedly gorgeous arse from whatever danger you’ve managed to walk into headfirst. I had seven years of worrying about you and rescuing you at Hogwarts; I don’t need to go back to that again now. My reputation’s going to be bloody well shot to pieces as a result of this; both Molly and Poppy have seen me in a fully-fledged panic. I’ve sat and poured my heart out to Molly Weasley like a bloody lovesick fourth year Hufflepuff.”

Severus closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to the black hair beneath his chin.

“You need to get better Harry and you need to get better quickly. The children need you to get better otherwise I don’t know what they’d do. I don’t know what I would do. Yeugh, now I’m getting sentimental again. You need to get better simply so that I can stop spouting this drivel. You’ve been ill for long enough now and as I believe I’ve already told you, I’m not dealing with the Weasley’s by myself and it’s already the seventeenth of December.”

Severus stopped talking as the fireplace flared green and Poppy stepped through carrying yet more potions. She immediately moved over to the bed to check on her patient.

“How’s he doing Severus?” She asked briskly as she recast the temperature charm.

“He stirred and he spoke but it was the fever talking. He was babbling about how he needed to get better before I arrived and how sorry he was.”

Poppy smiled sympathetically. “I know it doesn’t seem much but his temperature is going down. There are several days ahead of us but it is positive. I’ve sent an owl to Molly asking her to keep the children with her and Arthur for the next couple of days; take them shopping to Diagon Alley for Christmas presents and try to act as normally as possible. The older children mentioned that they needed to get presents for their friends and the other children as well as for their Uncle Harry and Uncle Sev.”

Here she smiled mischievously causing Severus to groan.

“So, how long have you been Uncle Sev then? Don’t roll your eyes at me Severus Snape. Harry’s comfortable as well so you’re not moving and I’ve been treating you since you were eleven so its nothing I haven’t seen before. Now, do you need to go and get anything before Christmas? Presents perhaps? I have to confess I’m curious as to whether you’re the kind of uncle who buys them everything they want or do you just buy them eminently sensible presents?”

Severus smiled ruefully. “I’m the uncle that spoils them rotten, as is Harry. They’re not spoilt at all during the year but on their birthday and Christmas we do indulge them rather a lot. For Harry, it’s a case of wanting to give them and Teddy what he never had as a child whilst for me it’s the excessive pleasure I get from spending my fathers fortune on precisely the kind of children he looked down his nose at.”

The two of them carried on conversing and administering potions to Harry throughout the night, snatching bits of sleep when they could. They were awoken several hours after dawn when the door creaked open to reveal the homely figure of Molly Weasley. She made her way over to the bed and smiled down at Harry before she spoke in a hushed voice.

“How is he doing? Is he any better?”

“He’s still touch and go Molly, he’s had a very rough night. But, if things keep going well then things should be well in time for Christmas.”

“That’s good. Just make sure you don’t exhaust yourselves looking after Harry. Now, I’m taking the children with me to The Burrow, and I’ll be taking them to Diagon Alley as well. Is there anything that either of you need?”

Poppy shook her head in the negative and Severus started to do the same before he stopped.

“Actually Molly, there are several things that I do need if you wouldn’t mind. If you could go to Flourish and Blotts and pick up these items I would be much obliged as I still need to complete Harry’s present.”

Both women’s heads snapped up towards him at his last words and he could have kicked himself. The women glanced at each other conspiratorially before Molly spoke.

“Severus, do you mean to say that you make Harry’s present?”

The blush that stained the older man’s high cheekbones was only visible to the older women simply because they knew him so well.

Severus looked over at the bookcases that ran from floor to ceiling over by the window and his sharp eyes quickly picked out the volumes he was looking for.

“Poppy, if you could go over to the left-hand bookcase on the fourth shelf from the top, the last three volumes on the right hand side. If you could bring them over to the bed?”

Poppy complied, picking the volumes off the shelf and bringing them over to the other occupants of the room. As she reached them Severus gestured to them that they could open the books.

They did so, both opening different volumes, and gasped simultaneously before flipping open the third volume that lay in Severus’ lap. There, in front of them, lay the first three months of Harry’s eldest three wards lives at Hogwarts. The books started with them at Platform 9¾ ready for the Hogwarts express, their sorting, the opening feast, lessons, flying class, quidditch, the Halloween feast. Everything was there, perfectly preserved memories in pictorial form.

Both women looked up, tears in their eyes at the books in front of them.

“Severus, these are wonderful! Did you really draw them yourself?”

“Have you drawn one of Alexander as well?”

Severus nodded. “It’s become somewhat of a tradition. Whenever one of the children goes to Hogwarts I make Harry a new book of the first three months of that child’s career at Hogwarts. Alexander’s book is nearly complete but there are a few pages that need to be completed before Christmas.”

Molly smiled. “That’s so sweet. I’ll get you the materials and have them owled to you here.”

Severus growled slightly. “I don’t do sweet Molly. Now, I need to go take a shower. Poppy, I’m sure you can take care of Harry for the time it takes me to shower and organise some food for the two of us.”

Both women recognised the man’s words for what they were; both a dismissal and an attempt to reclaim some of his hard-won pride and dignity. Not wanting to aggravate him, they left him alone and whilst Molly left with the children, Poppy remained at Harry’s bedside.

The next two days passed in a very similar manner with Severus and Poppy spending their daytime hours at Harry’s bedside dosing him up with fever reducers and nutrition potions. On an evening Poppy made her way back to Hogwarts to sleep whilst Severus spent his nights wrapped around Harry, justifying it to himself with the pitiful excuse that he was making sure that Harry got no worse during the night.

On the morning of the third day, just as Severus woke up, Harry stirred in his arms and gave a small moan. Severus looked down and pressed the back of his hand to Harry’s forehead. To his delight, it was back to normal body temperature. As he leaned over Harry with one arm still wrapped around him securely, verdant green eyes slitted open and stared at Severus.

“Sev? What’re you doin’ ‘n my bed? Why’d I feel rough?”

Severus’ lips quirked upwards in amusement at Harry’s questions.

“Yes it’s me Harry. You feel rough because you’ve been seriously ill for about a week. You’ve had pneumonia very badly; Poppy’s had to come over from Hogwarts to treat you.”

Harry’s mind was fixated on one thing though. “But why’re you in bed?”

Severus thanked Merlin that Harry was still more than a little dazed and confused.

“I don’t think you understand just how ill you’ve been Harry. You’re seriously dehydrated and lacking in nourishment. Your fever has been so high that it sent you into seizures and fits. You’ve been completely delirious for several days.”

Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. “What day ‘sit? The kids alrigh’?”

Severus nodded, allowing Harry to roll over onto his back, pillowing his head on Severus’ shoulder.

“It’s the twentieth of December Harry. Christmas is a little over four days away. The children are all fine. They’ve been staying with Molly and Arthur for the last three days but they are coming home today. Poppy and myself didn’t want them to see you in your condition. They’ll be overjoyed to see you awake. They went to buy their presents at Diagon Alley with Molly and Arthur. Now, I’m going to get dressed and get Dobby to bring you up some food.”

With those last words Severus slid his shoulder out from underneath Harry’s head and moved from underneath the bedcovers. Feeling sleepy green eyes following his every movement he suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious.

Dressed only in black silk sleep-pants every scar that was etched into his body seemed to matter like never before as did the silvery-grey tattoo on his left forearm that had never fully disappeared following Voldemort’s defeat.

He had never been more aware of just how young and attractive Harry was and just how unlikely his chances of a relationship with the younger man were.