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38 - Pheonix Part One

As Dumbledore knelt by Snape, the potions master gave a small moan and wearily opened his eyes. Dumbledore let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Did it work?" Snape murmured tiredly.

"Here Albus," Madam Pomfrey said, handing him a vial of something to help restore some of Snape's energy. "Harry's alive, but barely. He's not waking."

"He's not?" Snape asked worriedly, clumsily climbing to his feet, still filled with exhaustion. Sure enough, Harry was breathing and had a pulse, but he still looked like death. He felt a sinking dread. "Might his soul have escaped somehow?"

"That's impossible since Harry's life energy was not destroyed. All we can do now is wait and see what happens. In the meantime, you need to get some rest. You look like you're going to collapse. Draco can sleep in my chambers tonight. If I can borrow some Dreamless Sleeping Potion from you for him, Poppy?"

With a wave of a hand, he conjured up another bed. He helped Snape over to it, despite the potions master's protests. Yet, the spell had definitely taken a lot out of him and only seconds after Dumbledore forced him into the bed, he was fast asleep. Madam Pomfrey removed his shoes and covered him with a blanket. He also walked over to Harry and, with another wave of his hand, changed his clothes into the more comfortable Hospital Wing standard pajamas.

"Are you going to tell Harry's friends yet?" she whispered as she began injecting a few potions into Harry's arm to try to help his recovery along, if there would be one.

"No. We'll have to see what happens with Harry's condition first," he said quietly. "I need to go collect Draco, are you going to be okay with watching over them?"

Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrow in annoyance.

"Oh right. Of course you are. Simple slip of the tongue, Poppy, take no offense," he said with an amused smile.

"That's right I can watch over my patients, Albus. Now you go on, I'll see you in the morning," she said, showing him out.

After the headmaster disappeared with a vial of the needed sleeping potion, Madam Pomfrey walked up to Harry's bedside. "Come on now, Harry. You can do this. You need to come out of this. A lot of people need you."

She sat down beside his bed, gently took his hand, and began quietly telling him what his friends were going through, and why he needed to pull through.

"And you want to know a secret? Even your snarky old potions master who hates everybody needs you. He'd rather died than admit it, but I can tell. I don't know how you did it, but you've made him care about someone. If you leave now, right after opening that door, I fear it will close again and will never be able to be reopened. You can't let that happen, all right?" she said quietly. "You need to keep living to keep some other people living. That's the burden you take on when people love you."

The next morning, Snape woke to find himself staring into the watchful face of the school nurse, causing him a bit of a start.

"Poppy, do you have to stand over me like that? I'm not used to being bloody stared at in my sleep!"

"Oh quit your griping, Severus. I was checking to make sure that spell or those potions didn't have any side effects. However, you are your normal self, unfortunately." she teased. Snape shot her a not-so-menacing glare.

Suddenly he shot up in bed.

"How's Harry?" he asked, looking over at the still unconscious boy. "Has he woken yet?"

"No. I've got him on nutrition and hydration potions to try to make up for the absence of food and water for practically a week," she said as Snape got out of bed, ignoring her stern gaze. "But he hasn't changed at all," she said tiredly. Snape looked over and studied her face.