—————S—————

He stormed through the ward for creature-induced injuries, wishing his robes billowed. And that they weren't lime green. He may have been somewhat disguised, but he wanted some dignity.

Severus had asked where to find Arthur Weasley upon arrival, and the stunned receptionist had taken several seconds to stammer out the reply. He sneered at her, likely giving himself away, but he hardly cared. Albus always insisted he disguise himself when called to help at St Mungo's. Heaven forbid that Severus Snape have a good name in the public world.

"Master Prince," a relieved Healer said as he entered the ward.

"Healer Lovett," he acknowledged briefly before looking at Arthur, taking in the damage. A bite on the right shoulder and hand, another on his left ribs. There were a few smaller scratches on his face, and another on his left thigh. They were all bleeding profusely.

"We haven't had much time to work on him, but I must say that we aren't making much progress," Lovett said as two younger Healers attempted to bandage Arthur while giving him a dose of blood replenisher. "The wounds aren't closing."

"We could try stitches, Healer Lovett," one of the other Healers suggested. "It's a Muggle method of closing wounds."

"We could try," she said thoughtfully.

"Have you collected a blood sample for me to analyze for an anti-venom?" he asked, and Lovett reared back in surprise.

"Anti-venom? How did you know it was a snake?"

While Severus repeated " shit, oh shit " in his tired mind, he gave Lovett a bored look he usually reserved for the likes of Neville Longbottom. "Fangs, Healer Lovett. The wounds were clearly made by fangs. And while many a creature have them, very few have venom that hinders sealing of the wounds. If not a snake, then, perhaps, a dragon? Unlikely, given the size of the bites." He mentally patted himself on the back for such expertise in codswallop.

"Right, yes, of course," Lovett conceded, conjuring a vial and collecting some of the blood dripping from Arthur's shoulder. "Here. Any course of action we should try in the meantime?"

Severus swirled the blood, studying it. "A bezoar would not go amiss. Worst that will happen is nothing. I shall return." He left the room swiftly, heading for the hospital potion's lab.

In the eighteen years since inheriting Nikola's contracts with the hospital, Severus hadn't had to work at the hospital more than twenty times. Mostly, he was brought in as a consultant for the more obscure injuries caused by creatures, herbs, or potion interaction. But he'd known from the beginning that it would be unwise to use his name, never mind that Dumbledore had demanded he not reveal himself to anyone in the hospital. He registered with an alias at the hospital and had continued with that name since signing the contracts over to himself. He was simply addressed and known as Master Nikola Prince. There was no bloody way he was going to use any part of his father's name.

The lab wasn't as nice as his at Hogwarts: for one, it was too crowded; for another, they had the most basic standard equipment. Unfathomable for a medical facility in his mind. There were also too many apprentices there, all working for one master, and it wasn't even a proper master. A potioneer, which wasn't bad unto itself, but that was all these poor fools would get continuing down this path.

As he went to his untouched station, he caught a glimpse of himself in the window. He looked odd. Like his father, but not quite. His disguise for the hospital was simple: short hair, full beard, and slightly lighter eyes. If anyone with half a brain looked closely, they would see him. Yet no one ever did, and those that might, would disregard the thought because of a name. Sometimes, the lack of original thought in the wizarding world scared him.

He went to work, testing out a couple of antivenoms on a couple drops of blood just to see the blood's response. When that failed, he began the very difficult process of separating the blood. A little trick his late master taught him, a charm of the man's own devising.

As he chanted, the blood levitated out of the vial. He stared at it intently, seeing the pale green glow begin to surround the hovering drop. Slowly, Severus spread his arms apart, and as he did, the blood began to separate: the white cells, the red cells, and platelets. The plasma. Then there, in the middle, a ball of dark green poison. Carefully, Severus lowered the separated parts, then summoned a dropper while maintaining the separation charm, sucking the poison into the dropper.

He stopped the charm, and Arthur's blood sample merged back together, minus the venom, and Severus collapsed in a chair behind him, sweating, exhausted, breathing as though he'd run a mile or more. He glanced around the room of idiots he used to teach, who all stared at him as if he were Merlin reborn.

"Would one of you kindly cease your foolish staring and bring me a Pepper-Up Potion? Perhaps an effective one?"

He didn't see who brought him the potion, there was a haze coming over him that tempted him into blissful unconsciousness. He swallowed back the potion in one go, ignoring the nagging voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Hermione's to not be so reliant on potions, and got back to work.

The snake venom was laced with Dark magic, preventing Arthur's wounds from closing. He'd made potions with charms, integrating them when need be, but a counter-curse was another process altogether. He wasn't sure if it would work well.

Heading to the Floo and ignoring the potioneer on duty, who looked bursting with questions, Severus knelt down and threw a pinch of powder into the hearth. "Snape residence, master bedroom," he called out, then waited a moment. "Mistress Snape?" Another moment, and then Hermione's head appeared.

"Yes, lo—oh! Oh, well, I haven't seen that face in quite some time."

"Yes, and I remember you were quite fond of it. I need your assistance. I apologize for the hour."

"I was up. I heard word from Min about... things."

"Hm. Bring Leonidas, if need be. I'm not sure how long this will take."

"We'll be but a moment," she said, disappearing. Severus remained where he was, keeping the Floo connection open while he waited for his wife and son to come through. When he heard their approach, he stepped back to let Hermione and Leo through.

Leonidas, tired from being woken up, was blinking away the fatigue quickly as he took in where they were.

"I'm still dreaming, aren't I?" he said.

"No, but you're going to sit in that chair and stay out of the way, understood?" Severus ordered, crossing his arms.

"Yes, sir," Leonidas said, promptly turning and heading for the chair Severus had collapsed onto earlier.

"So, what do you need me for?" Hermione asked as she followed Severus back to his work station.

"You know what's happened?"

"Yes. I mean, I know enough."

"It was a snake, and the snake's venom is imbued with Dark magic. There's no cure, and I have no way of creating one fast enough to mix with the basic anti-venom. So, my Arithmancy Mistress, I need calculations on if, when, and how I can incorporate the Vulnera Sanentur."

"Just a small request from a husband of his wife," she teased quietly.

"I make them so rarely."

Hermione gave him a small grin, then pulled some parchment to herself. Severus jotted down the anti-venom recipe and began the prep while Hermione did the calculations.

In the time it took for the calculations to come up with the appropriate answer, there was a shift change for the brewers.

"Would you like help with the brewing?" Hermione asked.

Severus shook his head. "There's no need, really. I have all the prep work done and..." He paused, a familiar and unpleasant sound hitting his ear. He looked at the middle of the room where no one noticed what was about to happen. "Shield charms up!" he shouted to the room, encasing his family within his own, feeling Hermione do the same. It took the others in the room longer, the truly intelligent having paused and listened, obeying him before the first curl of black smoke rose. It took the dunderheads more time, and as the cauldron blew, Severus could only hope that they had at least some kind of shield in place. He felt the shrapnel of the cauldron hit his shield and was thankful for the ventilation in the room that instantly cleared the vapors away. Once the room was free of smoke and fumes, Severus lowered his shield charm and turned to ensure his son's safety.

The scowl on his little face nearly made Severus laugh.

"I saw you!" Leonidas declared, standing on his chair in his button-up, two-piece pajamas with little beakers, flasks, and cauldrons on them. He pointed to the fool in the middle of the room as he came out from under his table, looking bewildered and as though he hoped no one would know he was the cause of the explosion. "I was watching! You put belladonna in a cauldron with crushed bezoar! Any idiot who can read knows you don't mix the two, they have a violent reaction! As you've just seen."

Someone snickered. "Turner got told off by a firstie."

"Not even a firstie," Severus mumbled before turning his full attention on his son. "While you are absolutely correct, Leo, it's probably best that you don't ... tell off the apprentices. Just because you have your mother's level of retention doesn't mean you need to regurgitate it, especially rudely."

"It's how you talk to the dunderheads in your classes," he countered. "I know, I've heard you. I've listened by the door in your office when Mum and I come early."

Severus opened his mouth and hesitated a second. "Yes," he said slowly, "well, Leo, you see, the difference with that is that I am their teacher, and they are not trained in potions. It's why they're in classes. You have yet to even begin your Hogwarts education, and you are addressing an apprentice who has completed N.E.W.T.-level Potions and was adequate enough to be accepted to learn here."

"What your father is trying to say is 'don't be such an insufferable know-it-all,'" Hermione said sternly to their son before glancing at Severus with a smirk. "Since you no longer need my assistance, we'll take our leave."

"Yes, for the best. Will you be at Grimmauld Place?"

"Yes, I'm sure Sirius is feeling a bit overrun by Weasley."

"All right, until then," he said, brushing her hand with his as a way of saying goodbye. She nodded, and they left through the Floo.

Severus ignored the room once more as he began to brew the anti-venom, using Hermione's calculations for the best time to incorporate the charm into the potion. His brow was damp with sweat and his hair felt utterly disgusting even without touching it, but he looked at the cauldron of anti-venom and knew it was perfect.

Decanting the results into seven doses, he pocketed one for himself to replicate later, and then put the others in a basket. He grabbed his notes, tucked those within his robe pockets, and then swept from the room without even acknowledging the incredulous stares that followed him.

He made his way to Arthur Weasley's room and stopped short in the doorway.

He was deathly pale, more than Severus could ever claim to look. Molly Weasley was clutching her husband's hand on the other side of the bed, looking as if she were praying to any and all deities to save her husband.

"Master Prince?" Healer Lovett addressed him, hopeful yet apprehensive. She had a vial of blood replenisher in her hand, and Severus began to wonder how much of the stuff they had been pouring down Arthur's throat with no changes.

He handed the Healer the basket. "I wish to stay for the first dose," he said as she plucked one of the vials greedily. "I want to ensure that it works as I expect it to."

"It's meant to withdraw the venom, is it not?" she asked as she returned to Arthur's side, handing the blood replenisher to one of the trainees before uncorking the toxic-looking cure.

"Yes. And more."

Lovett quirked her brow but said nothing as she poured the substance into Arthur's mouth, massaging his neck to encourage him to swallow. His gulp was loud in the quiet room, everyone focused on the patient.

The blood leaking from his wounds grew darker, until Severus was certain it was no longer blood coming from the patient.

"Mrs. Weasley, you may want to step away a moment," Severus said, and the witch looked up, startled, and then did as he said as the black ooze dripping out of her husband inched to the end of the bed. "If I may have a vial or more of that?" he asked the most squeamish trainee.

He did as he requested, much to Severus' amusement, finding the biggest vial he could and siphoning the poison into it while trying to remain as far from the bed as he could.

"Oh, for Merlin's sack, Dellard, you're going to have to get over this unease if you plan to last in Healing," Lovett growled, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at her trainee.

The young man nodded, but he still handed Severus the full vial with nothing more than the tips of his fingers, holding it as far away from his body as possible. As Severus pocketed the venom beside the antidote and his notes, he watched as Arthur's wounds began to close, and then heal. They still looked a bit raw and open, but the blood stopped.

"Blood replenisher, extra strength, stat," Healer Lovett barked orders once it was clear that the antidote had worked. She turned to Severus and smiled widely. "Thank you, Master Prince. I think my patient is going to make a full recovery."

Molly Weasley wailed, and before Severus could react, she was across the room and crushing him in her arms. "Thank you, Severus," she whispered, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He stiffened at hearing his name, a shot of panic ripping through him. He glanced at the Healers, but they were all occupied with the patient. Slowly putting an arm around Molly, Severus whispered, "Tell no one."

She pulled back, utterly baffled, but nodded dumbly.

He bowed his head once, and then extracted himself from her grip. Without another word, he turned and left the room. Fatigue hit him, and a quick glance at a clock in the corridor told him what he knew in his bones: it was nearly dawn, and he had been up all night.

He considered, of course, that he could return to Hogwarts and risk Albus' game of twenty questions. He knew that Molly wasn't going to leave Arthur for a while yet but wondered briefly if Dumbledore would care enough about his soldier to seek out an update. But in truth, Severus was exhausted. He had no patience for an inquiry, and he knew if he stepped foot in Hogwarts, it was going to happen. So, when he got to the Floo, Severus tossed his powder in and called, "Eyre Cottage."

Hermione and Leo were in Grimmauld Place, and he could sleep in sheets that smelled of his wife, undisturbed, until he was ready to face the day. Thank Merlin his first class wasn't until midday.

—————H—————

When Hermione arrived with Leo at Grimmauld Place, she darkened her hair and subtly changed her features before heading to the most likely place of finding someone awake. Leo moved for the couch and flopped onto it. The action, so out of character for her son, made Hermione pause.

"It is a bit rude to flop like that," she teased.

"Uncle Sirius wouldn't care," Leo said into the pillow.

"Is yelling at apprentices that exhausting?" she asked fondly as she came to his side, gently ruffling his hair.

"Wasn't tired when you and Dad were working," he mumbled. "Am now, though."

"Hmm," Hermione hummed in understanding, knowing all too well what it was like to be stimulated mentally, and then suddenly have it shut off. She bent down, kissing his cheek while pulling the afghan off the back of the sofa. Once Leo was tucked in, she continued on her mission to the kitchen.

Her footsteps must have been heard, for Sirius came bolting out of the kitchen. He paused upon seeing her, then his shoulders sagged as he went back into the room, waiting for her to join him.

"I was hoping you weren't one of the children," he explained. "Or I was hoping you were Molly. Truthfully, I'm not sure. All I know is I was about to head to bed when Phineas started shouting about company coming and they all came through the Floo. Minerva barely explained before she was ducking back through. So here I am, stuck with a half dozen teenagers, all worried, scared, and with no idea what to tell them. Practically bit Fred's head off when he was ready to storm St. Mungo's, sod the Order and everything else. Tried to tell me that I had no idea what I was talking about, having spent a third of my life in Azkaban, and no family but Harry. I want to blame it on the stress of the situation, but."

"I'm sure that's all it was," Hermione said, steering Sirius to where he had been sitting before, plopping him down in front of his cup of tea. She sat beside him, placing a hand on his back. "I can tell you that I was just with Severus at St. Mungo's." At this, Sirius looked up at her in concern. "He's fine, he was called to help with Arthur. He's brewing the modified anti-venom as we speak, so hopefully, we'll have word within the next three hours or so."

Sirius looked at her, studying her face. "You haven't slept either, have you? Couldn't tell at first, the Glamour sort of hides it, since it's not your face."

She smiled humorlessly. "Given the circumstances, I thought revealing myself to the children would be a bit much for them to handle right now. Rory told me the twins know, but the other three..."

"When are you going to tell them?" he asked gently, bringing his cup to his lips and grimacing.

She smiled, more honestly this time. "I don't know. By the summer, I think. It's not something I want to say in a letter, but it's not like I see them often, and with Leo—"

"Where is mini-Snape?" Sirius asked, glancing around the kitchen as though he could see Leo this way.

"On your couch, fast asleep. He was with me in the infirmary. Told off a trainee, sounding every bit like his father while doing it. You wouldn't know it, because Severus was never your teacher, but Leo has him down to a tee."

Sirius burst out laughing. "Was he dressed like Snape, too?"

"No, he was wearing his little potion jammies," she replied, making Sirius laugh just a bit more.

"What in the bloody hell d'ya do to get him laughing like that, 'Mione?" Fred Weasley asked as he came into the kitchen, his twin following. When no one else followed them, Hermione stood and crossed the room, crossing her arms and looking up at the tall boy while trying to appear intimidating.

"You and I are going to be having quite the chat, young man," she said firmly.

"Just me?" he asked.

She nodded.

"This is what happens when you date her daughter," George said as he moved around them and slid into a chair across from Sirius. "Get to be told off by Hermione in new ways."

"First off, the pair of you best start calling me H., if you're going to be cheeky and informal. Or you can call me Mrs. Snape, proper-like."

"No," said George emphatically.

"Too weird, that," Fred agreed.

"Knowing who you are."

"Knowing you were younger than us."

"So, H. it'll be then."