Only A Boy

Snape paused, his hand outstretched toward the infirmary doors. For a moment he considered just ignoring the impulse to see the boy and return to his office instead. He had papers to grade after all, as well as a practical exam to prepare. He'd already seen Merlin anyway, albeit while he'd slept in the infirmary. Did he really need to see him awake?

It wasn't usual for the head of house to take such an interest in his students. Yes, he cared about each and every one of them but he didn't visit them all in the hospital wing. He didn't think any of the other heads did. There were just too many students for them to keep track of and being invested in their lives just wasn't practical – and yet, he wondered whether the students needed that kind of support from their teachers.

He certainly had needed it as a youth.

Snape pushed open the door and strode inside. He wasn't the least bit surprised to see that Merlin was accompanied by Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. They had begun to attract the attention of the staff. Madam Pince had mentioned just the other week how the trio was always together at the back of the library and how it warmed her heart to see Gryffindor and Slytherin students ignoring the prejudice of their fathers.

They glanced up at him as he entered, their conversation coming to an abrupt end. Draco shot Hermione a glance and said, "We'll be back to check on you later, Merlin."

Merlin smiled and nodded. "See you later, then," he said and Draco and Hermione got to their feet. Snape caught the curious look they shot him as they walked past, the silent question of what he was going to ask Merlin but realizing that they weren't needed for this conversation. Hermione gave one last wave to Merlin before she and Draco closed the door behind them.

Snape walked toward Merlin, coming to a stop at the foot of his bed. "You have some interesting friends, Merlin," he said with a sneer. "Your blatant refusal to acknowledge the rivalry of Gryffindor and Slytherin is beginning to catch attention."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think it's time we cast aside our petty differences?" he said. "Houses should never have mattered in the first place."

Snape paused, taken aback by the wisdom in a child so young. "I don't think Draco's father will be pleased to hear his son is fraternizing with the enemy."

"Oh, he's not," and Merlin chuckled. "But I don't think there's much he can do about it."

Snape decided not to tell him that there was a lot Lucius could do to ruin the friendship between him and Draco. The least of which being the swift transfer of Draco to Durmstrang, but hopefully Narcissa would step in and prevent that from happening. For so long he had worried about how Draco would turn out, the son of a Death Eater and cut-throat politician and for the first time, he believed that Draco would turn out all right.

Merlin cleared his throat, breaking eye contact. "So, about finals—" he began.

"Yes?"

"They begin soon, don't they?"

Snape sighed and nodded. "They do, indeed." He appraised Merlin for a moment. Even though he'd been in Pomfrey's care for several days now he still hadn't healed up completely. His cheek was still rather purple and from the way he was sitting, it was apparent that his side – where Pomfrey had said he'd suffered a major blow from McGonagall's transfigured knight – was still causing him a great deal of pain. No doubt the nurse was using the prescribed children's dose for the healing potions, and there was no denying that it just wasn't strong enough for Merlin's system. And after seeing the total destruction of the third-floor corridor, it was unsurprising that Merlin had a magical strength that surpassed his age.