To Save A Squib
a Harry Potter fan-fic
by Ozma
a sequel to “The Way of the Squib”
Epilogue: Another Little Miscalculation
Everything in this story really belongs to J.K. Rowling

“Madam Pomfrey, this is quite unnecessary. I am perfectly all ri..
OW!”

“Goodness, Severus! Look at you!!”

The sound of voices shattered the silence of the hospital wing,
waking me up.

It seemed that Professor Snape was arguing with Madam Pomfrey. And
he appeared to be losing.

The medi-witch and the Potions Master were concealed behind a
curtain, surrounding one of the beds. But their voices were clearly
audible.

Also awakened by the noise, Sirius Black, in his dog form once
more, blinked bleary eyed at me, from his bed across the room.

“It’s not as bad as it looks...” Severus was protesting.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Poppy retorted.

This was followed by a yelp of pain from Professor Snape.

“Honestly, you haven’t changed since you were eleven!” Poppy said,
in exasperation. “This wouldn’t hurt at all if you would just stop
squirming...”

His hair looking even more untidy than usual, Harry Potter sat up
in his bed. Fumbling with his glasses he looked first at his godfather,
Sirius, then at me and lastly, over at the curtain.

We all heard a sigh from Poppy.

“Well, nothing appears to be broken,” the nurse said. “But you’re
obviously very sore. You need something for the pain.”

“I have plenty of potions, in my own stores in the dungeons...”
Snape hissed. “If you’d just let me go down to my own bed... ow! OW!!
Stop that, woman!”

“You’re behaving like a child, Severus! You heard what Albus said.
He wants me to look you over and do whatever I can for these terrible
bruises. You are aware of the properties of arnica; you mixed this
liniment for me yourself! It will help. Hold still!”

*******

When Poppy emerged from behind the curtain, she was red in the
face and muttering angrily to herself. When she caught sight of Potter,
Black and me, she glared at us.

“I’ve given him a sleeping draught. Do not disturb him!”

The nurse directed an especially stern glare at the large black
dog, her arms folded forbiddingly across her chest. Sirius returned the
look, his expression soulful and innocent.

Poppy was not fooled. “You should also be resting,” she scolded
the badly wounded Animagus. “Perhaps you would like a sleeping draught
as well? I have plenty...”

I could not help grinning. Poppy knew that the only way to keep
Severus Snape and Sirius Black in the same hospital ward safely for any
length of time was to have one or both of them drugged.

Poppy glowered at Black sternly for another moment. Then, she
turned to Harry, her voice and manner growing more gentle.

“You should still have time to get changed and washed up before
breakfast, young man. And then, off to your classes. Don’t worry, you
may see your godfather later. If he continues to behave himself, then he
may have visitors. If not...” her voice trailed off, leaving the implied
threat.

The huge dog whimpered and put his head down on his bandaged paws.
Not being allowed to see Harry was a punishment far worse than a
sleeping draught.

From behind the curtain Snape spoke, sounding both drowsy and
horrified. “Potter is awake out there?”

“Yes, but he’s just leaving, Professor...” I called.

The boy grinned at the closed curtain, but wisely, he kept silent.
Waving first at Sirius and then at me, he adjusted his glasses and left
the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey watched us for a few more moments. Black continued
to look innocent. With my good arm I reached out towards the chair
beside my bed to stroke Mrs. Norris. My cat purred at me, sleepily.

“I’ll be within earshot...” Poppy warned Snape and Black, as she
headed for her office.

As soon as she was gone Black shifted back to his human form.

“Snape! Are you still awake? How did the Headmaster see through
your glamour? What went wrong? How did he know that you were hurt?” The
Animagus asked, curiously.

I would have scolded him for bothering the Professor. But I wanted
to know the answer too. Dumbledore had told me that he could not sense
magic.

“The Headmaster didn’t know. He wouldn’t have known. It was Fawkes
who gave me away...” Snape grumbled, yawning. The sleeping draught was
clearly taking effect. His voice grew soft and faint.

“I hadn’t considered the Phoenix! He kept singing at me ...wanted
to weep on me... just ignored me when I shook my head at him and told
him to let me be. Blasted bird...”

Severus’s voice trailed off completely. He had gone to sleep in
mid-sentence.

“Rest well, Professor,” I murmured, unable to suppress a grin.

THE END

*******

Author’s Notes:

This was a little scene-snippet that didn’t really seem to fit into the
next story, so I decided to use it as an epilogue for this story.

Faith Accompli: Thank you!!

Miche: Thank you!! I have another story in mind, but I haven’t started
on it just yet.

Melodie: Thank you!! I would like to make Sirius and Severus friends,
but I don’t think that they would cooperate too easily.

C: Thank you!!

RioRaptor: Thank you!! Yes, poor Voldie; first he got his butt kicked by
a baby then by a Squib!

ThePet: Thank you!!

Lataradk: Thank you!! Poppy can deal with Severus and Sirius together
for a short time, as long as one of them is asleep. (When Snape wakes up
he’ll be allowed to go down and rest in his own bed. Poppy isn’t
foolish.)

My husband has dyslexia too. We met in high school, and people used to
ask us why we were friends since I was a bookworm and he hated to read
and had a really terrible time with spelling. In spite of the fact that
my husband is very clever and good at building and fixing things many
people did treat him like he was a lesser person. This used to infuriate
me, but he would shrug it off. Things are better for him now,
thankfully. My son does sometimes get treated like a second-class
citizen by people who think it’s amusing to pick on him because he has a
hard time with spelling. Like his dad, he shrugs it off, but I can tell
it hurts.

Both sons and my husband say “Hi!”

Surlyse: Thank you!! Your nice comments made my day too!

Lizard of Fire: Thank you!! More stories coming eventually. I need to
take a few days off to go shopping for clothes with the boys, who seem
to have outgrown everything they own. Again.

Demeter: Thank you!! Of course Lucius has a plan. He always has multiple
plans. Draco’s reactions to Lucius’s punishment will be in the next
story.

Jelsemium: Thank you!! It’s fun to see the other characters through
Filch’s eyes, especially Harry. Yes, Filch did miscount Harry’s
Voldemort-encounters. Filch doesn’t know about Quirrel and the Unicorn
blood, but he should have counted Tom Riddle and the Diary, which he
didn’t.

Yes, the plot-bunnies are continuing to eat my brain...

Ezra Pippen: Thank you!! (I will hopefully have some more Sirius and
Severus interaction in the next story, and hopefully Filch will get to
talk to Sirius a bit, too. Sometimes I’m not sure what the characters
will actually do until they do it.)

Which stories had the two good Snape-boggarts? I’d like to read them!

Elspeth: Thank you!! Lucius had reasons for what he did. He would
vehemently deny that Nobility was among those reasons. Yes, Lucius is
too valuable a tool for Voldemort to want to break.

Poppy can handle Sirius and Severus in the hospital wing together for
short periods, as long as one of them is asleep and the other one is
afraid that he will be denied visits with his godson if he doesn’t
behave.

Gramarye: Thank you!! Your latest chapter really took my breath away!
Yes, there’s a sequel coming... Mrs. Norris still hasn’t had her kittens
yet.

Filch is in danger of becoming in awe of Harry, after his own encounter
with the Dark Lord. This will irritate Snape.

Rabbit: Thank you!! You’re right; Snape could not hide his injuries from
Dumbledore, thanks to Fawkes.

Larania: Thank you!! You’ve hit the nail on the head, concerning Filch’s
relations with both Draco and Lucius. My ideas about this are still
taking shape. (Filch will not be interacting with Lucius in the next
story, since Lucius will still be recovering from his punishment.)

Ariana Deralte: Thank you!! Sorry to hear about the computer crash!
Severus considered owing Lucius a Wizard’s Debt to be another
“Calculated Risk.”

Millefiori: Thank you!!