Moving On

Rest

Waking up with an aching body and dry throat. He observed his surrounding. He was in his room at McGonagall's house.

The door opened and hurried footsteps soon came into his field of hearing. Soon he saw McGonagall, she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh Severus dear! I thought you wouldn't make it, thank Godric you're alive."

"Ah yes, you must be parched, here." She said, giving him a glass of water that was beside his bed. Sitting at the foot of the bed she looked at him with relief all over her face.

"What happened to me?" He asked, surveying his body.

Clearing her throat, she said, "You collapsed of magic overwork when it was all over. We didn't know if you could be revived, thank Merlin for the centaurs. Which young man, you need to tell me who taught you that. You've been unconscious for a week. It worried me because you were supposed to be awake after three days."

Severus sighed, what relieving news. The thing was dead! He successfully did it!

"The centaur, what happened to her?"

"She went back to the after life, she said I must tell you that you're a fine young man. And to thank you for allowing her to die in peace."

He nodded.

McGonagall suddenly stood up, "I need to inform Dumbledore and the boys that you're awake. You're also hungry. How could I forget that, living off of supplementing potion is not healthy at all," she said, leaving the room.

Severus smiled. Students at Hogwarts were wrong, McGonagall is not just a strict teacher. She's also a flustered parent that doesn't know what to do when worried.

^_^^_^^_^

After a week of recuperating, Severus felt better than ever. He successfully convinced McGonagall to allow him to get out of bed. She had forced him to be bedridden the entire time he was recuperating.

Getting out, he made his way to the desk at the far end of the room and commenced writing a letter to Regulus. In their secret code of course, he would not appreciate it if Mrs Black got hold of the letter and could understand it.

He also packed Regulus and McGonagall's Christmas gifts. As Christmas was two days away.

He looked at the three rings and decided not to give them away. They were too embarrassing. He went about the rest of his day serenely.

^_^^_^^_^

Severus cringed. Was he really going to send the rings to the Marauders? They got him gifts, so it would only be courteous of him to send them gifts too.

He stared at the gifts piled up on his bed for a while. There lay a defense against the dark arts book, hairpins, and a bracelet, all from Remus, James and Sirius respectively. The gifts were nice.

Gritting his teeth he decided to pack and write them notes. Ones he'd hope they would not remember but being the truth nonetheless.

He hastily tied them to the owls leg before shooing it away to James' house. The trio were there as per their letter.

^_^^_^^_^

"Boys, I think this owls for you." James' mum said to the boys sat on the floor near the Christmas tree staring at piles of gifts.