As Potter is to Snape

Chapter 6

"I do not care. You will not speak it here."

"I'm not afraid," Harry muttered defiantly as he looked back at Snape who narrowed his eyes and held up his paper once more.

A few seconds later, Snape waved his wand towards the bookshelf and a small, leather-bound book floated down in front of Harry, who plucked it from the air. "There, read that and keep quiet for a while." Snape hissed.

Harry looked down at the cover and read the title. "The Adventures of Captain Felix the Feared" He rolled his eyes and briefly wondered why Snape had a book like this in his rooms but opened it to the first page anyway. There in the bottom right-hand corner, were the initials, STS. The next thing he knew, Harry was engrossed in the tales of the Pirate King.

Snape looked over his paper to see the boy completely mesmerized by the book. The silence was blissful. He smirked. This must be what Albus had felt like when he'd given the book to him all those years ago.

September 8th, 1974

Severus sat up in the hospital bed with his arms folded over his chest and a scowl on his face. He had been forced to stay here ever since he'd passed out the day before in class and he was getting quite restless. He felt loads better than he had when he'd first arrived and he didn't see why he couldn't go back to his dormitory. Yet every time he made to leave the bed, Madam Pomphrey caught him before he could get to the door of the infirmary. The last time, she'd charmed the bed to keep him there and floo called the headmaster who was now in her office with her.

Severus thought back to the day before when both the headmaster and Professor Slughorn had questioned him in the hospital wing about the injuries he had been hiding. Severus knew they didn't believe his story about falling down a flight of stairs. They hadn't even pretended to. Madam Pomphrey had given them enough evidence to the contrary and Severus didn't know what to do next. He only hoped that Professor Dumbledore wasn't going to visit his home at Spinner's End. The last thing he needed was for someone to go poking around and asking his father questions. Severus had no doubt that if that happened, he wouldn't make it through the front door come summer before he was becoming reacquainted with Tobias Snape's heavy, leather belt.

Severus shuddered. Before he could dwell on it more, the office door opened and Professor Dumbledore appeared. He was walking towards Severus with an unreadable expression on his face. The twinkle in his eye was still there, but just barely.

"Severus, Madam Pomfrey has just been informing me that you have been quite disagreeable with her today. Surely she is mistaken?"

Severus dropped his gaze to the white bedspread. "I feel fine. I have classes to go to and I don't need to miss anything."

"As I understand it, Madam Pomfrey had to do extensive healing charms and you had to take several potions to get you to the place you are now. Overexertion at this time will only undo all her hard work. I know that you don't wish for her to have done all of that in vain."

"I didn't need her to. I was handling it on my own." Severus snapped as he finally looked back up to the headmaster.

Dumbledore met his gaze unwaveringly and finally, Severus sighed and looked away, choosing this time to direct his glare towards the opposite side of the wing, away from the headmaster.

"You need rest and that is exactly what you shall do. You will stay here, in this bed, until Madam Pomfrey clears you. She knows exactly what she is doing as this is her area of expertise, not yours or mine, and you will respect her enough to do as she says." Dumbledore's words weren't harshly spoken, they weren't even particularly stern, yet Severus felt as though he were being scolded all the same.