Howlers
After Kingsley left, Dahlia and Hippocrates got to work. Remus and Harry watched nervously while both of them scanned his body using their wands and constantly tutted under their breaths.
“He’s losing mobility and he’s currently blind in that one eye,” Dahlia muttered, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “But only on his right side. The venom’s mostly gone, but there will be some permanent remains. The right side of his body is still giving a dark violet hue because of the venom in his veins.”
Harry stared at the man by the corner of his bed, still in slight shock. This man couldn’t be his old professor. Not Severus Snape, who would make so many students cower at the looming sight of him. This man looked like he couldn’t even make the face so many students feared, much less stand.
Severus had a deathly still expression on his face, somehow pained and exhausted even in sleep, his skin pale and nearly translucent. His white hospital gown hung limply from his bony shoulders. His right hand was clenched tightly into a claw-like shape that wouldn’t come loose no matter how hard Hippocrates tried to wrench it apart.
Harry, Dahlia, and Remus admitted silently to themselves that they would rather see him stalk around the castle and sneer at students like his old self rather than see him like this, frail and haunted.
Dahlia continued to arrive via Floo every day when she had time away from Hogwarts and helped Hippocrates further improve Severus’s health.
She cried multiple times during those visits, staring at the ruined face of her old friend. But Hippocrates felt like she was hiding something.
Order members got word that he was alive on the third day and started to crowd the room.
Molly Weasley started a humongous gift pile for a still unconscious Severus, which plenty of others added to.
But too many Order members came, and the Welcome Witch soon became suspicious.
Not even a day later, every witch and wizard around the country read the same newspaper clipping from The Daily Prophet : “Death Eater and Spy Severus Snape Found Alive after Three Years in Azkaban and is Currently Suffering Major Injuries, Treated By Healers at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries”.
Dahlia then ranted at Hippocrates for ten minutes and twenty-nine seconds (yes, he counted) about how he should be more careful about who his staff is, because most likely it was one of them that leaked the information.
Minutes later, Howlers rained on their heads.
“ MY DAUGHTER IS IN THE FLOOR ABOVE YOU! I WILL NOT LET HER SHARE A WARD WITH A MURDERER-”
“-HE PROBABLY DESERVED WHAT HE’S GOTTEN-”
“-I WILL BE INFORMING HEALER REGIS ABOUT THIS-”
“I told you, Hippo, you should choose your staff more carefully,” Dahlia exclaimed, scowling as sparks flew into her hair.
“My staff barely know who he is,” Hippocrates said glumly. “They come and help him, that’s all. You can barely recognize Snape!”
The Howlers continued to arrive. It was a miracle that the horrendously loud screaming didn’t wake Severus up, even though he was in a coma.
Yet the day before he was supposed to wake, Healer Frank Regis paid them a very much forced visit.
Healer Regis didn’t really want to do what he had to do. But the Howlers were getting out of hand. Too out of hand. He couldn’t focus with all of the stupid witches screaming about how their poor, helpless daughters were defenseless against the horrible murderer. Like it was his fault! He didn’t even know the man was in the premises, Merlin’s beard!
And so, purely for the Howlers and complaints to stop, Regis agreed to make the patients and staff sign a petition to see if they could possibly allow the man to stay.
He hadn’t expected the outcome. So when the results came back, with 87% of the patients and staff saying that they absolutely needed Snape to go away, he dreaded the visit to the first floor. He liked Hippocrates Smethwyck, and very clearly knew that Snape was innocent.
But he preferred doing things the easy way rather than the right way.
“Healer Regis,” Dahlia said quickly, standing up. “Haven’t seen you in a while, sir.”
Regis nodded.
“Skydancer, hello. And Healer Smethwyck.”
Both Dahlia and Hippocrates lingered by Severus’s bed, knowing very much what was coming.
“I- Healer Smethwyck, I’ve got something to tell you.” Regis cleared his throat. “A few mornings ago, I just so happened to read the paper and I discovered that Severus Snape was here, in this very hospital!”
He stumbled over to Severus’s bed and paled.
If he had been any braver, or bigger of a man, he would have left and agreed for Severus to remain, because the man looked an inch away from death.
“Ah…um…because to the multiple Howlers that have arrived at my desk, er…the Healers and multiple patients have signed a petition saying that…”
He fumbled with a piece of paper and thrusted it into Hippocrates’s hands.
“I’m sorry,” he said honestly. “But I must do what is best for the patients.”
Dahlia sent him a glare that would’ve withered flowers.
Regis felt like he was withering himself.
“‘Best for the patients’,” she echoed. “He’s a patient too, isn’t he? You’d rather him die.”
“I’ll help you move him to a safe location,” Regis insisted, persuaded that his reputation was slowly falling.
“There is no ‘safe location’,” Hippocrates snapped. “If St. Mungo’s is going to reject him-”
“Hippo!” Dahlia said quickly, her eyes bright. “There is! Hogwarts, with me! Minerva and Remus and I can keep an eye on him!”
Hippocrates frowned. It seemed as if she’d already thought this through. He had the fleeting impression that she wasn’t telling him everything. Again.
“There!” Regis said triumphantly. “Okay, then. Here, if he needs anything, we can just ship it over to you. Any medicine, or a wheelchair, or-”
Dahlia simply glared at him.
Hippocrates went over to the fireplace outside of Severus’s room and threw floo powder into the fire, shouting, “Minerva McGonagall!”
Seconds later, she climbed out of the fireplace.
“Healer Smethwyck,” she said grandly. “What’s the matter? Is something wrong with Severus?”
He led her to the room where Dahlia was still scowling at Regis.
“This man,” Dahlia said loudly, “decided that Severus can no longer remain here, because he poses a threat to the other patients, although he obviously cannot walk. He’s not even awake.”
“Well then, Kingsley will know about this.” Minerva was bristling awfully like a cat, and Regis was hoping desperately that she wouldn’t suddenly lunge at him.
“So we’re moving him to Hogwarts,” Hippocrates said.
Minerva beamed at Dahlia, who blushed and avoided her gaze.
Hippocrates sighed. Whatever.