And Then There Were Three

Chapter 13

Snape was sure that he had never felt so tired in his life. He sat at his desk in his lab as he tried to focus on the lesson plans he was preparing for his sixth-year class, but the dull throbbing in his head that had been his constant companion since he'd woken up was beginning to take its toll. Snape glanced at the clock that hung on the wall across from him and groaned. How was it only seven-thirty. Maybe he could get Jenka to prepare him an early breakfast. That ought to ease the headache.

The past week since Draco had returned to live with Narcissa had been absolutely exhausting. It felt like a never ending list of things to do and Snape was having a hard time trying to keep up.

Harry was upset with him for reasons that Snape had yet to figure out. He said he was fine with Draco leaving, but he was clearly struggling with it. And any time that Snape would broach the subject, Harry would shut him down nearly immediately; always saying that he wasn't upset and that Snape had nothing to worry about.

Except that it only made Snape worry more.

Aside from that, Harry's birthday was coming up and Snape wanted to throw him a real birthday party. He didn't count the one Minerva had put together last year since that was before they had even decided to continue the guardianship into the school year.

Now things were different. Harry was his son and he wanted him to have a real birthday party with his friends, and family. Even his dogfather would be invited.

Then of course there was the World Cup, which until recently, Snape hadn't had any intentions to attend. Which in turn, put him on a closer deadline for a few potions he needed to finish beforehand. Not that he minded. He was, as it turns out, glad to be going.

Snape pushed up from his chair and crossed the room to a potions cabinet on the back wall. He opened it and quickly found the Headache Reliever on the top shelf. He popped off the cork and drank the contents, before placing the empty vial on the table. Then he raised his hand and squeezed the back of his neck, as if that would ease the tension away, but he was surprised to find that he was warm. He checked his forehead and sure enough, he realized that his temperature was up.

But that couldn't be right. Snape was fine. He only had a headache that was probably brought on by stress, and a slightly elevated temperature. Which was surely caused from the heat beneath the potions that were currently brewing on the table.

Yes, that had to be it.

After all, Severus Snape did not get sick. In fact, the last time that he had gotten sick was in seventh year when half of Hogwarts, including Snape and Remus, had caught the flu. As it happened, they had been home for Christmas holidays and had thought they had missed it because everyone else had caught it during the weeks before. Then three days before Christmas, Remus had woken up in the middle of the night with a temperature of one hundred and two. The very next day, Snape was sick as well.

But that was not happening now. Snape was not sick. He was far too busy to be sick.

He moved back to the cabinet and scanned the vials on the shelves. The Fever Reducer was on the third shelf and there in the corner of the bottom was a potion for nausea, because if there was one thing that Snape was not going to do, it was throw up.

Snape drained both potions, one right after the other, then closed the cabinet and leaned against the table. He would just give them a moment to kick in and then he would feel fine.

He only needed a moment.

***

"Are you alright?" Harry asked from his place beside Snape at the table.

"Yes," Snape answered without looking up from the paper. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're drinking tea at breakfast, and you always have coffee."