Angelinus

Chapter 15

Love Lies Bleeding

Severus woke up slowly, sprawled luxuriously in the middle of the bed. He stretched his long arms and legs and quickly realised he was alone in the four-poster. Crossing his arms behind his head he sighed and settled further into the pillows, giving himself time for the sleep to drift out of him. He hated getting up too early but his internal clock was happy to be awake now indicating it was after ten am at least. A twinge of guilt almost made him stir until he realised he was entitled to lay in bed and loaf. He was on sick leave! No more classes, no more stupid students, no more exams, just days and days of total relaxation with Remus and the children. And they really needed the peace! The last two weeks of term and indeed, the school year, had been an unmitigated disaster, one that had come very close to losing Severus' life to a classroom accident no less. It had also been a wake-up call regarding his Family business and he felt he had used the enforced rest wisely.

He sighed, rubbing the line of new scar tissue on his arm and chest reflectively. No matter how many times he protested, somehow Slytherin and Gryffindor always had potions together. He had protested until he was blue in the face but the stupid tradition still persisted. His classroom had been blown up, set on fire, frozen, turned to glass, gassed, glued and stained beyond all redemption in the battle between the two houses but the blood on the floor this time was purely Gryffindor drawn, even if Slytherins had shed quite a lot of it.

It had started with the sixth years of all people. They should have been the most relaxed of the upper classes as they didn't have exams this year and were still immersed in the learning process rather than the tedious and often wearing revision process. They were making a reasonably complex variant on the Veritaserum potion that could not be circumvented by normal means. It was a twist to the recipe that Severus himself had invented and he had to admit a quiet pride in his achievement. They were on the last stages of the potion, in fact Abernathy and Hudson of Gryffindor were at the testing point and had each taken the requisite three drops.

Abernathy said something, probably asking the question in a truth or dare style as a typical Gryffindor would. Hudson seemed to turn bright pink and stammer a lot but the Veritaserum was good and he had no choice but to answer truthfully. The first indication of trouble was a roar of unadulterated fury and the sound of fist hitting jaw. Hudson seemed to fly backwards, stumble over a carelessly discarded book bag and land flat on his back in the middle of the classroom.

Severus turned on a heel, his robes billowing as Abernathy charged forward, only to back pedal hurriedly as Hudson came up with wand in hand. Everyone dived for cover as the impromptu duel gained speed and fire. Laudre of Slytherin shrieked as a stray hex caused his joints to try and reverse themselves, another hex taking out Mary Cox, an obvious jelly legs. Their friends hurriedly reversed the curses and everyone ducked behind the nearest bench as Snape flowed onto the scene. His black wand was out, casting finite incantatem left and right, sweeping cauldrons and fires aside to safety as the two youths danced and wove with no thought for the spectators they were hexing indiscriminately. Three girls fell back stunned by a stupefy spell while Snape was finishing off a couple of stray snakes.

He finally turned to the main contenders with an intention to stupefy both when Abernathy roared 'mille sectum mutilo obtrunco' and Hudson yelled Protego followed by a hasty declino!

Severus heard it coming, the 'Thousand Cuts to Maim' hex, realised the deflect charm had turned the dangerous spell toward him as he stood in front of the rest of the class. He tried valiantly to yell concipio in an attempt to absorb the fury of the run away hex before it slashed through the class. He managed to take the brunt on his own shield charm and blunt most of the power but two or three cuts got through, one flying onward. He grunted as the invisible chopper slashed through the muscle of his upper right arm, his fingers going instantly numb and his wand dropping from his slackened grip. The second unaborted slash laid his chest open from right to left as he ducked down reaching for his wand with his left hand. He caught it as the third slash opened his forehead straight across his brows, blood instantly blinding him.

Someone screamed from behind Snape as the dull thunk of the hex blade catching someone else made itself known but he had not stopped moving. Whirling lightly to the left, Severus raised his wand and cast Petrificus Totalus in the direction of the two boys, relying on their shock to hold them in place long enough to let the hex hit. The double thump told him he'd scored two bodies but he was more interested in tracking the 'Thousand Cuts to Maim' curse as it careered around the room smashing into the walls. He could not see for the blood in his eyes but he was well practiced at tracking by sound and followed it for a further two seconds before putting every ounce of command at his touch into the finite incantatem he cast at where he felt it should strike next.

He swore bitterly when he heard the fronts of his lead lighted cabinets smash but the hex was obviously stopped as he sank to his knees, the exertion of the last few minutes taking a toll, he could hardly think for the pain in his almost severed arm. Whimpers and moans of fright came from all around then a hand touched his shoulder and cloth was pressed into his face.

"Professor, are you okay?" Jacob Landre's voice sounded

"I need to stop bleeding and I need someone to cast for me. Who is the best at charms?"

"Morgan and Ivy, get over here guys. What do they have to cast?"

"The words are desino crudusaum and the wand movement is the same as Protego. Each may have to cast the spell a couple of times as I think my arm is about to fall off."

"You are kidding? Right?" the panicked young voice asked breathlessly.

"No. Cast the bloody charm and then go get Poppy and maybe Dumbledore too. Hurry!"

Time went pear shaped as the students did their best in a very nasty situation. Severus knew he had lost consciousness because when he came back to the land of the living, his robes were missing and Remus was casting over him, some spells that no self respecting Light Wizard had a right to know so well. There were other little cameos of consciousness, his cabinets looking forlorn and shattered, ingredients spilled onto the floor. A couple of students clinging to each other, regardless of the red or green they wore. Graham Wanson clutched his leg where Remus cast spells over it ably supported by Dumbledore; trying to mend severed bones and arteries where the last swing of the hex had almost cut it off.

He'd spent a week in the infirmary, slowly recovering from the terrible wounds. Amazingly, the one he hadn't felt across his chest had proved to be the most near fatal one, laying open skin and muscle to expose his heart and lungs to the light of day. Fortunately, the Blood Charm he had cast over himself earlier that year had lay over the vitals and protected them from the strike or he would have been cut in two. His arm had been replaced and was nearly as good as new, only a fine pink scar was left to show where Remus had literally glued the two halves back together by strength of will alone. His will and Poppy's skill had shown up in the Wanson boy's reattached leg and his ability to get around with a stick after only four days of intensive treatment.

Laudre, Cox and the three stunned girls had come though with no after-effects but the two main antagonists were confined to Argus Filch's dungeon until they could be dealt with. Unfortunately, it was up to Severus to deal with them and until he was fit enough to be let out of the Infirmary they had to wait. He had been allowed to stay in the infirmary rather than being transferred down to St Mungo's as the fuss he had created when the suggestion was put forward had been deemed too detrimental to his health.

He smirked in the privacy of his bedroom at the though and settled his shoulders deeper into the down pillow. St Mungo's be damned! Why would he have wanted to go to a large, impersonal hospital when he could tyrannise Poppy right here in her private domain with impunity.

The streams of visitors had also been interesting, more than he'd ever had or expected. Draco and Hermione came in on the first day, shocked and upset but not morbidly so. Hermione had brought him a few books from the Malfoy library to pass the time away, bless her, and he was impressed by the keen insight her selections showed. Draco brought him a slightly illegal potion to help him heal as quickly and as scar free as possible. The potion proved to be very effective when rubbed into the skin of his forehead, the pink seam fading to almost invisible within an hour of treatment.

Harry and Ginny came when he was feeling a bit more like talking and they spent the afternoon in quiet conversation on the hexes that had been used, effective counter hexes and the benefits and detriments of using a wand in the wrong hand. Ginny had sat back and listened to the two men discuss the destruction of the human body and spirit with almost clinical disinterest, her own war experience making her shudder. Half way through the gruesome discussion she had slipped away and gone to find Poppy.

Ron turned up without Desiree who had only just presented him with a baby boy, Stephen Arthur. He was quite happy to simply sit by Snape's bed and discuss Quidditch or child rearing or anything else that floated past their relaxing minds. One question Ron did ask, almost off-handedly, made Severus pause for thought.

"Was it a deliberate attempt to murder you?"

"No. I really don't think it was. When we are playing with 'truth or dare', I usually take great care to separate the Slytherins and the Gryffindors, putting them on opposite sides of the room, just in case. These two staunch Gryffindorks should not have been anything but united in the face of the Slytherin menace and yet, two seconds into the questioning, they are flinging hexes and blowing up my bloody cabinets!"

"Not to mention trying to chop off your wind with a blunt axe hex," Ron mused, casting a jaundiced grin at his ex-professor.

"Well, that too, I suppose," Severus agreed morosely. "Damn it Weasley, I miscalculated!"

"Big time, I'd say."

Severus snorted in disgust. "So, do we expel them or do we keep them in detention for the rest of their lives? My first inclination is to get them as far away from me as possible but that, I feel would be counter productive. It would be taking the easy way out."

"Especially when you think you could have them in permanent torture for a whole year, if you keep them," Ron taunted not a little maliciously himself.

"Humm, that's a good point," Severus agreed meditatively, not at all abashed. "Oh well, I suppose I will have to find out why they acted like mad-men before I can make anything like an informed decision. And besides, I'm sure Albus will overturn any decision I make, he usually does."

Ron just laughed at this grim and slightly self-pitying remark. "Well, Dumbledore has been inundated with owls calling for the expulsion and or jailing of the two miscreants as well as demands for the real story. The Wanson boy's parents want the two bastards hung in chains and left to rot in the dungeon forever and ever!"

"Just the sort of shit fight you want to jump into at a moment's notice!" Severus swore inelegantly.

~~<*>~~

When he was finally helped up to the headmaster's office, leaning heavily on Remus' shoulders, there were a number of people present, the office again stretched into a conference room. Severus was rather surprised to meet the Wansons senior as well as the Abernathys and the Hudsons, a Muggle couple by the looks of it. The three boys were each seated between their parents, eyeing each other uneasily over the stretch of mahogany. Minerva was also present as Head of House for two of the boys and of course Wanson was Slytherin. Eased into a chair and propped up by cushions, Severus cast a jaundiced eye over the mixed bunch and glared at the Headmaster in disgust.

"Glad you could make it Severus," Albus said cheerfully, offering a cup of tea as Remus left the room.

Severus' eyes narrowed at this display of bonhomie. "Likewise, although it was a close run thing," he murmured into the poised silence.

"Poppy tells me you should be as good as new by this time next week."

"Why yes, of course," Severus muttered through gritted teeth. "It's very hard to put a good Potions Master down, even with a semi-illegal hex. Enough small talk, what are we to do with our budding junior duellers? Remus assures me they do not show half the enthusiasm in his class as they managed to muster in mine. And I am also surprised that two such staunch Gryffindors should have exhibited such a grasp of the lesser known, dare I say Dark hexes?"

"Now listen here, Professor Snape, my boy has always been a good boy. He never showed any sign of Darkness before he took the potion...," Abernathy began only to freeze when the flat black gaze pinned him to the spot.

"That I invented for the Aurors? Odd, isn't it? And that his upright Gryffindor House Mate brewed it, rather successfully, I might add. It is also called 'Truth in a bottle'; unavoidable, non-circumvent-able and absolute without varnish or tempering. So, the question remains. Why the sudden attack?" He turned to Minerva with a raised eyebrow.

"The boys have always been the best of friends," Alberta Hudson said in a soft, almost despairing voice. "I really don't understand why they have suddenly come to blows."

"Don't you? They are sixteen, nearly seventeen and they have both been dipping at the same well," Snape said with devastating accuracy, making both boys cringe. "Hormones, urgent itch or undying true love, call it what you will but both of them have been lusting after the same young lady. Who, I might add, is not as innocent as she might seem in all this, encouraging both with very er, feminine pride. The girl is veela and only just coming into her heritage so she is not particularly wise in using or controlling the ability."

"Where do you get your information from?" Minerva marvelled leaning over to whisper as the others muttered in surprise.

Severus smirked. "It pays to listen to unexpected gossip, upon occasion. Why do you think I was always such a successful spy my dear? Look Minerva, my natural inclination is to destroy the brats totally but, well, in a way, I do sympathise with them. After all, the young often do wildly stupid things in the name of love." Unconsciously, Snape massaged his left forearm then snatched his hand away when he noticed he was attracting undue attention. He cleared his throat and glared at the two miscreants impartially. "Filch is quite willing to supervise their detention for the rest of their lives, if need be. I suggest they are allowed to return next year but only under advisement. They will not be allowed privileges, neither will be allowed to hold prefect positions and neither will be allowed out of the school grounds. Both will be held to a certain standard of learning that they must reach or they will be penalized even further. Every moment of their time will be strictly supervised but as the year goes on, they will be able to earn some privileges back."

"Do you think that would be wise?" Wanson senior asked grimly.

"There is no point in punishing if there is no reason to do better," Albus put in with a rueful smile. "I think Severus has summed up the majority of the situation for us all. As the most injured party, he is willing to give the boys a further chance to prove that the behaviour was aberrant, not a trend that is likely to hold sway from now on. I will also undertake to have documentation outlining the conditions and prohibitions for both boys drawn up and signed. Because of the seriousness of the act, there will have to be Ministry involvement but Severus has chosen not to press charges and I don't think you will be pressing charges, will you Hyronimon?"

Hyronimon Wanson looked distinctly disgruntled but nodded sharply as he glared at the two couples opposite. "I have been instructed not to press further by my Head of Family. However, I am also informed that I can insist on a contract signed in blood and I intend to! My personal opinion is that those two wild animals should be expelled with all haste and sent to Azkaban for their crimes."

Hyronimon Wanson continued to bluster for some time before the contract was drawn up and the two boys signed in their blood, much to the Abernathys' distress and the Hudsons' horror. Minerva supervised the taking of the blood and was careful to explain the terms and conditions to the Muggles as well as the boys. Severus closed his eyes and rested, the long period of sitting up making him realise that he had been a lot worse off than he liked to admit. His eyes were still closed when someone cleared his throat close at hand.

"Yes?" he asked without opening his eyes.

"Are you alright Sir?" Graham Wanson asked quietly, eyeing his head of house uneasily. "I - you were - very still."

Severus snorted. "No, I've not popped my cogs yet, no such luck," he muttered, a wry twisting of his lips making the boy cringe. "How is the leg holding up?"

"Good Sir. Professor Lupin and Madam Pomfrey were fantastic. I - I thought my leg was going to come off but Professor Lupin just shook his head and started casting like there was no tomorrow. Madam Pomfrey says it was only his skill that kept us both in one piece."

"True. Professor Lupin had a lot of practice in battlefield charms and spells in the war and he has not lost his skill. He's pretty good at nullifying Cruciatus too, provided he could get to the victim fast enough."

"Wow."

The soft breath of amazement suddenly reminded Severus of where he was and who he was talking to and he struggled to sit up straight again. Albus was watching him in concern as he blinked himself awake and shook his head. "No matter. You will be fine in a few days as will we all. Oh and Wanson... stretch that stick up a couple of inches, it is too short for your height and will cause back pain."

The boy grinned. "Yes Sir!"

Severus sighed as he blinked back into the present and finally decided he really had to get up and get showered for another day. School was finishing for another year, at last! Remus was making plans to take them all to Brighton for a holiday and the twins were determined to see the sea at all costs. Severus knew that and had used this unexpected two week holiday to his best advantage. If his little machinations in the Ministry went ahead as planned it would be either the Canary Islands or the Mediterranean the twins were swimming in these holidays. There were other things that had to be taken care of too. If nothing else this last two weeks had proved he was all too mortal and Remus needed to be provided for and protected, not like when Black left him high and dry, not even mentioning they had been married!

Certainly, Black had left Remus with money and property but in such a way that the Ministry had been able to force him to give it away at the first hint of trouble. Severus was determined that, if anything happened to him or if the status of werewolves deteriorated, Remus would be cared for and his rights protected for the rest of his life. Rubbing his hands together happily, Severus wandered into the bathroom for a shower.