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38 - Pheonix Part One

"Poppy, you've been up the whole night. I'll watch over Harry for a bit and you go get some rest," he said sternly, slipping into the chair next to Harry's bed.

She looked at him with a sly grin.

"What happened to 'Potter'?"

"That's what I said," he said quickly.

"Oh really? So I was just imagining that you called him 'Harry' twice this morning?" she asked, clearly amused.

"Lack of sleep," he grumbled with a glare. Madam Pomfrey chuckled.

"Suuure, Severus. Me and my crazy imagination," she said sarcastically. She then became sincere. "He needs you Severus."

Snape's eyebrow shot up. "What?"

"It's true," she said simply.

"Poppy, I really think you need some sleep," he scoffed.

"He told me you've helped him a lot this year. Do you realize that you were the first to know about both his relatives and the cancer? When I asked him if he had talked to anybody about his life at his relatives, he said he had confided in you. And when I told him that I found that slightly surprising, he said he trusted you. Do you understand how little people have Harry's trust? He told you something he's told no one else about, something he's guarded like his life depended on it."

"He only told me that because he was only half-conscious at the time," he informed her.

"Severus, do you know how many times I've tried to question him while he's half-conscious? When that boy wants a secret kept from someone, they won't find it out by Harry telling them. Maybe he just needed to get it all off his chest, but the point is that he chose to confide in you."

"It doesn't make sense, Poppy, why would he choose me of all people?" Snape asked, bewildered.

"Well, the papers did say he was mentally unstable," she said with a shrug, laughing when Snape glared at her. "Who knows, Severus, the point is that he did. Well, I'm off to sleep. If he wakes up - yell." She instructed firmly.

Snape nodded distractedly, thinking of what Madam Pomfrey had just said. He eyed the raven-haired boy wondering if there could have been any truth in her words.

Throughout the day, Snape and Madam Pomfrey took turns watching over Harry while Dumbledore helped Remus keep Sirius from going back to look for Harry's body.

While switching shifts at one point during the day, with Madam Pomfrey going to stay with the Gryffindor while Snape came out, a second year Hufflepuff came into the hospital wing, supported by two of his friends. It was obvious the boy had twisted his ankle and was in extreme pain. When the three saw Snape, they froze.

"Er...is Madam Pomfrey in, sir?" one of them asked, trying not to let his voice shake.

"Not at the moment. Lay him on that bed," he instructed.

"Who's going to heal me then?" the injured boy asked.

"I will," Snape said coldly. The boy paled.

"Actually, I'm not hurt. We're going to go now," he said quickly. His friends obviously agreed and helped him turn around.

"Get in here now," Snape instructed harshly. The three reluctantly turned around and got their friend to the bed, each of them watching Snape suspiciously, as if he was planning on poisoning them.

Snape rolled his eyes and couldn't help thinking that Harry wouldn't have had a problem with him healing him.

"Er...s-so you can heal, Professor?" one squeaked in fright.