Chapter 6
When Harry woke up the next morning, he felt more rested than he had in a while. He’d come back not long after Snape left him and though he had only gotten about five hours of sleep, it was real rest.
Harry went to the dorm room bathroom to take care of his morning needs and felt his heart stop at the sight that greeted him. Ron was on the floor on his back, white foam coming out of his mouth. He ran to him and kneeled down on the floor. He tried shaking Ron’s shoulder, but his friend didn’t move, nor did he wake up.
“Neville! Dean! Seamus!” Harry made sure his voice was loud enough to carry through the dormroom and within seconds, the three boys came running. “Help me get him to the hospital wing.”
They levitated Ron down the stairs, the common room empty at that time of the morning. Their footsteps were loud and they echoed down the corridors as they ran all the way to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was quick to point them to a bed and they carefully placed Ron on top of it, the four boys standing to the side as she worked.
“What happened, Harry?” Seamus asked quietly.
Harry shook his head. “I have no idea. I just woke up and walked into the bathroom and he was on the floor. I found him like that.”
They listened in silence as Pomfrey cast a few spells on Ron. Harry ran shaking fingers through his hair. He tried to focus on thinking about what could have happened, but he kept getting stuck on the vision of seeing Ron on the bathroom floor. Harry closed his eyes and just breathed as he waited. If anyone could help his friend, it was Madam Pomfrey.
After several minutes, the matron turned to them. “He is stable.” All four boys sighed in relief. “I have a few questions, if I may ask them.” There was no hesitation in any of them as they nodded. Harry would answer anything to help Ron and he knew the other three felt the same. “Have you noticed Mr. Weasley consume anything out of the ordinary?” They all shook their heads. “Any potions?” They shook their heads again, but Harry wasn’t as confident as his friends.
“Wait a moment, Madam Pomfrey.” All eyes turned on to him. “Do you remember when Hermione and I approached you at the very start of the term?”Harry could see the moment the memory resurfaced in her head.
Pomfrey summoned a potion and waved her wand, the vial emptying magically. At their questioning looks, she explained she had spelled it straight into Ron’s stomach. “He should be fine now. You boys may stay if you give him the space to rest. I’ll be in my office if anything happens.”
When they were alone, the three boys turned as one to stare at him expectantly. Harry sighed. “Before this year, did Ron ever act like he was interested in Lavender?”
Neville slowly shook his head. “I don’t actually remember him ever talking about her.”
“That’s because he didn’t. I’m honestly not even sure he knew who she was before the start of this year. After the sorting feast that first night, they became inseparable.”
“Yeah! I noticed! Ron stopped hanging out with us as much,” Seamus said.
Harry nodded. “Same with me and Hermione. ‘Mione was convinced he was under a love potion, but I didn’t really start to believe her until a little over a month ago.”
“Did you try telling him?” Dean asked.
“Yeah. We even dragged him up here that first weekend and he refused to take an antidote. He was confident that his feelings were real. We’ve been working on ways to help him, but obviously, we haven’t been successful.” He looked at Ron and sighed. “Speaking of which, someone needs to tell Hermione.”
“I can do it,” Neville volunteered. “If Ron will be okay, I’m sure he doesn’t need us all here.”
Dean agreed. “Breakfast should be starting soon. Running Ron here made me hungry. We could go eat as well if you don’t mind, Harry.”
Harry waved them off. “Go. I’m not hungry right now anyway. Thank you.”
The boys nodded and left. When the doors closed, Harry grabbed a chair and dragged it over next to Ron’s bed. He didn’t get the chance to sit in it, though, when the doors slammed open behind him. Wow, that was fast. Harry turned to in time to see Snape rushing towards him.
Snape grabbed his shoulders hard and looked him over, open concern on his face. The professor was breathing hard. Had he been running?
“Professor?”
“Are you okay!?”
“I’m fine. What happened?”
Snape kept looking him over, like he was checking for injuries. “What happened? I need you to tell me that.”
He instantly understood. “You felt me freaking out.”
The professor nodded. “It was worse than the panic from the nightmares. Far worse.”
Harry nodded towards the bed Ron was in. “I found him passed out on the floor of the bathroom this morning.”
“Ah, I see. You were panicking because something was wrong with your friend.”
“Yes,” Harry answered. Snape’s hands were still gripping his shoulders. He reached up and wrapped his hands around Snape’s wrists. He could feel Snape’s pulse. It gave away just how worried Snape had been. “I’m okay,” he whispered. “I’m not hurt. I’m okay.”
Snape closed his eyes and took a breath. “I had no idea where to find you.” His voice was so soft that even with how close they were standing, Harry had to strain to hear him. “I felt that alarm blaring from you and went straight to the corridor you go when you wake up, but you didn’t show up there. I even went outside, to the tree, in case you went outside for the air, but you still weren’t there. I noticed three of your Gryffindor friends coming from this direction and ran straight here.”
He didn’t think about it. Harry let go of Snape’s wrists and shifted his arms to wrap them around the professor, his fingers unintentionally brushing along Snape's arms. He rested his head against Snape’s chest. His movements forced Snape to let go of his shoulders. Harry could feel him stiffen against him and it took a long moment for those arms to come down and rest against him, one of Snape’s hands gently holding the back of his head.
Once it seemed Snape was as comfortable as he was going to get, Harry said again, “I’m okay. I’m right here.” Snape’s arms tightened around him. He took a deep breath. “Thank you.” Harry’s voice quivered. “Every time I need someone, every single time, you do something. You find me or you stand up for me. You take care of me.” He burrowed his head further into Snape’s chest.
Snape finally seemed to relax against him, the hand resting on his head running through his hair. A shudder ran through him as the image of Ron on the floor flashed through his mind. “Harry?” Snape’s voice was still near silent. He tried not to shiver at the sound of his first name.
“I thought he was dying. He was barely breathing and there was foam coming out of his mouth.”
“You did well bringing him here. There is a decent chance he was close to it. Prolonged exposure to love potions, especially ones that are not well made, can cause organ failure. Mr. Weasley was most likely approaching that point.”
“Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“With the assumption that Madam Pomfrey treated him, I do believe so. I would wager she gave him an antidote to counteract the love potion. When he wakes, he may be disoriented and upset with the situation, but he should be back to normal.” Harry felt the residual tension and worry leave his body. He sagged against Snape. The professor tightened his hold to keep him standing. “Your friend will be just fine.”
Harry nodded against Snape’s chest. The door to the hospital wing opened, but Harry wasn’t ready to let go yet. He felt Snape start to pull away, but pause when he realized Harry wasn’t moving.
“Miss. Granger.” Snape’s voice was back to normal. For a moment, Harry wondered if anyone was with Hermione, but when Snape didn’t greet anyone else, that was answer enough.
“Professor,” Hermione greeted back. He heard her footsteps get closer and then pause once she noticed him. “Harry?”
“Hi, ‘Mione.” His voice was muffled, but he didn’t care. He felt the hand on his head shift through his hair once more, twice, and then move away. Harry sighed and finally stepped back, looking at his friend. Hermione was clearly trying not to stare too hard.
Snape backed up a few feet to allow Hermione to approach the bed. “What happened?” She asked, staring down at the sleeping redhead.
“His body got tired of the love potion Lavender was giving him.” Harry glanced at Snape. “I guess prolonged exposure can cause the victim’s body to shut down.”
“We were right then.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Yes, ‘Mione, we were right.”
“I’m going to kill her.”
He sighed. “No, you’re not. If you were, you would have done it ages ago.”
Hermione echoed his sigh. “I guess.” She sat down in the chair that Harry had dragged over earlier.
Another glance up at Snape told Harry the professor was preparing to leave, but the door opening again stopped him. “Won Won?!” Hermione’s groan was loud enough to wake the dead.
Lavender ran over to them and went to the opposite side of Ron’s hospital bed, glaring at them across it. “What did you do to him?”
Hermione crossed her arms. “If we did something, we wouldn’t be allowed in here with him, don’t you think?”
“You’re obviously being supervised.” Lavender looked at Snape with a smile on her face that made it clear she thought she had won.
When Snape spoke, his tone was harsh. “Actually, Miss. Brown, I was waiting for you. You are wanted in the headmaster’s office.”
Harry knew that was a lie. He was pretty sure Hermione also knew. Neither one of them said a word.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“You have not been giving Mr. Weasley love potions since the start of term?”
Lavender emphatically shook her head. “I would never. The love between my Won Won and I is real.”
“Then why was a potion making setup found in the second floor girls’ lavatory?” Harry and Hermione looked at Snape with real shock on their faces. It took Harry a moment to realize that Lavender had been making straight eye contact with Snape for the last several minutes and it took everything in him to keep from smirking.
“I-I don’t k-know what you’re t-talking a-about.”
“Oh, yes, I imagine you couldn’t,” Snape sneered. “However, it matters not. Headmaster Dumbledore would like to question you about it nonetheless.”
“But-!”
“Continuing to argue the point is as good as a confession and a transgression of this caliber could result in expulsion along with an investigation with the law enforcement department of the Ministry.” Lavender paled. “You would do well to follow me.” Snape barely glanced at Harry before he turned and began walking out of the hospital wing, his usual bisque pace causing his robes to billow behind him.
Lavender looked at Ron and whispered, “I’ll prove it to everyone. Don’t worry, my love.” She took off at a run after Snape.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and promptly gagged at the same time. “I will not miss that,” he said, shaking his head in disgust.
Hermione nodded in agreement. Her head tilted as she looked at him. “You and Snape?”
He felt his face heat up. “Nothing has happened between us.” Hermione just raised an eyebrow at him. “That hug was the first time anything of the sort happened. I was upset and worried about Ron.” Harry wasn’t about to tell her he had initiated the embrace to try to soothe Snape. He didn’t think Hermione would believe him. The look on her face made him think she didn’t believe him anyway.
It wasn’t long after that when Pomfrey kicked them out of the hospital wing. They left without complaint, knowing Ron needed plenty of rest. They went back to Gryffindor tower to sit in the common room, finding Dean, Seamus, and Neville waiting for them on the couch.
They talked for a while before Neville brought up everything with Ron. “Did Snape show up in the hospital wing? He ran past us in a panic this morning when we went to get Hermione.”
Hermione gave Harry a knowing look but he ignored her. “Not until after Hermione got there,” he lied.
“I wonder what had him freaking out then,” Seamus mused. “Snape wasn’t even that upset after the last time I exploded my cauldron and he had to evacuate the room.”
“That’s probably because it became a weekly occurrence throughout fifth year and he became desensitized,” Dean said with a smirk.
Seamus hit his shoulder in retaliation. “Shut it, Thomas. The point I was trying to make was that something had him tore up. Maybe Dumbledore is finally making him wash his hair.”
The three boys went back and forth with speculating what could have upset Snape while Harry watched on in silence, barely listening. Fortunately, after the first several days, when Harry and Snape mostly ignored each other, the whole school collectively decided that everything was just a rumor and nothing more. Harry was grateful for that. He still didn’t know how he felt about the potions professor or the soul bond. The two of them had spent the last five years with nothing but hatred between them. Even the times they had been forced to work together, such as when Snape was teaching him occlumency, they had never managed to find a middle ground to come out of that. If anything, those times made the hatred worse.
Now that they’ve had quite a few interactions, Harry couldn’t help but notice that Snape was different with him. Being in tune with his emotions must have broken some kind of barrier between them. Snape had left him alone for the last month, and he wondered if it was in order to give him space to process the bond. Snape seemed to actually care, especially with how he’d acted this morning. There had been genuine fear in his voice. Harry resolved to take the time to seek Snape out in a similar way the professor had done with him at the beginning of term. He didn’t know precisely what he felt about the man and the bond, but he did know that he wanted to know Snape better.
~-~-~-~-~
That afternoon, Harry and Hermione went back to the hospital wing. Ron was sitting up and eating when they walked in. Harry grabbed another chair and put it next to the one already next to Ron’s bed, the one he himself had put there earlier that day. They sat down in silence, letting Ron eat. They had decided beforehand that they would let Ron break the silence, giving him the space to speak about anything that happened or not.
When the last of the food was gone, Ron pushed the plate away and it disappeared. “The silence is weird you know. Break it.”
“Technically, Ron, you just broke it,” Hermione said, looking at him.
Ron groaned. “Even here in the hospital wing, I’m corrected. You would think being in this bed would give me a free pass. Blimey.”
Harry chuckled. “I think ‘Mione could be in one of these beds and she would still be correcting everyone.” Hermione clopped him on the back of his head and he chuckled again.
A sigh from the bed had him quieting down. “Pomfrey told me what happened.” Ron was quiet. “I know what Lavender was doing.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I should have taken that bloody antidote that first weekend we were here. I almost did too, just to prove the point that you were wrong, but Lavender talked me out of it. I know why now.”
Hermione nodded. “I’m sorry, Ron.”
“You should be sorry.” Ron grimaced. “What were you thinking with trying that ritual?”
“I was thinking that for every day we didn’t help you, she could do something that you couldn’t actually consent to and I-“ Hermione choked up, her face crumpling as she bent forward to bury her head in her hands. Harry reached over and rubbed at her back as Ron moved to the edge of the bed to grab one of her wrists.
“Hermione, I’m okay. Nothing like that even came close to happening.” Ron looked uncomfortable. As good of a friend Ron normally was, he could never handle someone crying.
It took a minute, but Hermione finally calmed. When she did, Ron looked at Harry. “Please, mate, tell me that the part where the ritual got botched and worked with you was a dream.” Harry shook his head. “Then at least tell me the part where Ginny orchestrated everything was.” Both Hermione and Harry shook their heads this time.
The door opened behind them and Ron’s face twisted with anger. “Oi! You! Get over here.”
Ginny walked around the bed to stand on the other side of it, facing them. “Ron! How are you feeling?”
“Pretty pissed, if I’m being honest.”
Ginny nodded, a look of understanding on her face. “I’m sure, Ron. What Lavender did was inexcusable.”
“What Lavender did? What about what you did?”
“I didn’t do anything!”
Ron shook his head. “Actually, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if you and Lavender worked together.”
Harry froze. “What do you mean?”
His friend turned to him. “It’s all just a wee bit too coincidental for me, Harry. Ginny just happened to have a ritual for soulmates right at the beginning of term?”
“I had nothing to do with-“
“How did you find out about it?” Ron asked his sister.
Ginny sputtered. “I found it in a book.”
Hermione stood. “That’s a lie. You told me you found out from the twins.”
“Oh, that’s right. I remember now.”
“How soon did she come to you with the information about it?” Ron asked Hermione.
“The Sunday after we arrived.”
Ron looked at Ginny. “If I owled Fred and George, will they tell me they told you about the ritual that same weekend or will they tell me they told you during the summer holidays?”
Ginny blanched.
“Oh, for fucks sake, Gin.”
“Harry was supposed to be my soulmate! I didn’t want him to get distracted with someone else before he figured it out!” Ginny yelled.
“‘Supposed to be’ is a strong phrase,” Hermione said, glaring at her. “And as it turns out, you were wrong. Now Harry is bound to Snape, of all people.”
Ron groaned. “I was so sure that was definitely a dream.”
“Snape tricked it somehow!”
“Snape didn’t even know about it!” Harry finally spoke. “Snape had no idea. None. You did this as much to him as you did to me. What if my soulmate was Voldemort or someone inside his inner circle?” He didn’t miss the way the three of them shuddered at the thought of Voldemort being bound to him. “Did you not even consider what could happen if it wasn’t you? The bond causes my emotions to be known, Ginny! That’s pretty significant to the fucking war effort.”
Ginny put her hands on her hips. “Snape is a part of you-know-who’s inner circle, remember?”
“As a spy, remember?” Harry shot back. “It could have been someone far worse than him and you would have subjected me to them without a care in the world other than being upset that I don’t belong to you.”
Ginny opened her mouth, but Ron interrupted her. “Just get out, Gin.” She looked at Ron, betrayal and hurt written on her face. “I’m not dealing with this. Go.” When his sister was almost to the doors, Ron spoke again. “Think about how disappointed Mum would be in you. And pray none of this gets back to her.” Ginny turned to screech at him and then ran out.
Harry and Hermione sank back in their chairs as Ron fell back on his pillows. Ron was the first to break the silence again. “So, Snape, huh, mate?” At Harry’s nod, Ron just shook his head and muttered, “Bloody hell.”