The house of medicine
The oppressive heat of Cairo clung to them like a second skin as the hours ticked by. The apartment was small, the air stifling, but they had no choice but to remain there, trying to find some semblance of comfort. The space was cluttered with the chaotic remnants of someone who lived alone and lived to study. James couldn’t stop fidgeting, not used to being cooped up in such a cramped space. It made him feel on edge—staring at the piles of books, at the strange smell of incense and something unidentifiable that clung to the air.
Severus had long since retreated into the cramped kitchen, barely acknowledging their presence as he prepared something that, to the British boys, seemed both foreign and uninviting. The subtle burn of resentment simmered in the back of James’ mind. They weren’t here out of choice, after all. They were here because they had no other option. The weight of that truth had barely sunk in, and it would’ve been easier to just not deal with it. But no. They had to face it.
“Why does he have all these books?” Sirius muttered, breaking the silence that had settled over the room. He ran a hand through his messy hair, his voice still carrying that defiant tone he wore so often.
Remus, who had been pacing the small space, stopped and eyed the stacks of textbooks with a frown. “Medical textbooks,” he replied, his brow furrowing as he read the spines of a few titles that were haphazardly stacked on the floor, half-obscured by dirty laundry and stray papers. “He’s studying to be a doctor. A medical student, I think.”
Peter looked nervously at the books, glancing from one pile to another as if expecting one of them to explode at any moment. “That’s… strange. I didn’t know he was studying medicine.”
“Yeah, well, Snape’s full of surprises, isn’t he?” Sirius grumbled under his breath. “Doesn’t make him any less of a prick.”
James shot him a sideways glance. “Let’s not start this again. We’re stuck here with him, whether we like it or not. Just try to keep it together.”
Severus had never been the most approachable person at Hogwarts, and that hadn’t changed. If anything, he’d only grown colder over the years. His sharpness had always been one of his defining features—something James had learned to both resent and avoid. But now, with the Death Eaters hunting them and no escape in sight, there was no room for petty feuds.
Sirius scoffed and flopped onto the only chair that hadn’t been overtaken by textbooks or medical supplies. “What’s next? We’re supposed to blend in here, but all I see are weird books and medical stuff. It’s like living in a bloody hospital.”
“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Remus said quietly, his gaze lingering on a white lab coat draped over the back of a chair near the desk. He reached out and gingerly touched the fabric. “It looks like Severus is serious about this. He’s got a college ID and everything.”
James raised an eyebrow. “Severus Snape, a medical student? Can’t say I saw that coming.”
“He’s smart, you know,” Remus remarked, his voice thoughtful. “I’ve never understood why he didn’t use that to his advantage more at school. Beyond assigned work I mean.”
“That’s because he doesn’t want to,” Sirius answered, his voice tight with irritation. “He’d rather make people miserable. It’s easier for him.”
“But why medicine?” Peter asked, his voice full of genuine curiosity, his wide eyes flicking nervously around the small apartment. “I mean… isn’t it a lot of work?”
“Clearly,” Remus said with a hint of amusement, his eyes scanning the desk. A college ID card sat neatly tucked in a corner, alongside medical notes and anatomy charts. He reached for the card, inspecting it for a moment before showing it to the others. “It looks like he’s in his first year. His studies must be intense, judging by how much medical stuff he has.”
“First year?” James looked over his shoulder at the ID card, then at the cluttered desk. “So, he’s just started? Does he actually want to be a doctor?”
Sirius made a dismissive noise. “Who knows with him? He’s got his head so far up his arse that no one can figure out what he wants.”
James wasn’t so sure. The more he thought about it, the more the idea of Severus as a medical student seemed to fit. The boy had always been obsessed with control—controlling the classroom, controlling his environment, controlling his own fate. Medicine, with all its technical precision, would suit him perfectly.
Severus had long been the target of their mockery and disdain at Hogwarts, but it was clear now that the world they had once known—the world where they could laugh and tease, where they could feel safe in the familiar confines of school—was gone. They were in a foreign land, fighting to survive, and the one person they could rely on, however begrudgingly, was Severus Snape.
James exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. He hated the feeling of being trapped in this tiny apartment, under Severus’ cold and distant gaze. But there was no escape now. No matter how much they loathed him, they had to make this work.
“It’s strange, you know,” Remus said, still looking at the ID card. “He could’ve been anything—he could’ve been a healer, a professor. Instead, he chose this.”
“Maybe because being a healer would’ve put him in the spotlight,” Sirius muttered, his arms crossed. “Maybe he doesn’t want that. He likes being in the shadows, hiding away from the world.”
Severus’ voice broke in from across the room, quiet but sharp. “Enough speculation, Lupin.”
All of them turned to face him as he stood by the stove, turning something over in a pot. His eyes flicked over them, cold and knowing, before he went back to his task. His lab coat was still draped over the back of the chair, a silent reminder of who they were depending on. Severus Snape was not just the boy they had tormented for years at school. He was now their lifeline. Their only chance at survival.
“You’ll need to learn the customs of this country if you want to fit in,” Severus continued, his tone biting. “You can’t survive here by pretending to be British. They’ll spot you a mile away. If you plan on blending in at all, you’ll need to adapt. Quickly.”
James bristled, but there was something in Severus’ words that kept him silent. It was one thing to try to survive by hiding, but here, in this strange place, they had to be someone else. They had to live by the rules of a culture that wasn’t their own.
James met Severus’ eyes for a long moment, seeing in them something far colder and more calculating than he’d expected. If they were going to survive the summer, they would need to trust Severus. But that, he thought with a mixture of resentment and reluctant understanding, would be the hardest part of all.