Always... Book 1 Chapter 7

Almost over night, the weather took a sharp turn for the worst. It wasn't cold enough for snow to fall, but it was certainly on the right track. The castle got colder, and the dungeons felt like deep freezers. Students had been running through the halls in large groups, huddling to keep warm despite their thick winter cloaks and scarves.

Almost a week had passed since Snape stopped Quirrell, but the Defense Against the Darks Arts teacher seemed to be going out of his way to avoid Snape. However, Severus had a much more pressing matter to attend to. His leg wasn't healing quite right, and he was starting to become concerned. As it was Dumbledore's wish to keep the staff ignorant of Quirrell's actions, lest Quirrell himself become suspicious and try to escape, Snape had avoided going to Madame Pomfrey to have his leg healed.

He pulled down an old copy of Healing and Restorative Draughts by Medicus Tedavi, and began to leaf through the worn pages. He finally managed to find the Allium potion. When properly brewed, it makes a poultice that speeds up the healing process, and also clears out any possibility of infection. He ran his finger down the list of ingredients, and found that he had all but one; He was out of Sativum bulbs.

Great, he thought.,now I have to go get some from Greenhouse two. He pulled the ingredients he already had from  the cabinet in his office, and lit a fire in the grate. It would be good and hot when he got back, and he could get started right away.

He limped from his dungeon, locking the door behind him. He moved a bit slower because of his wounded leg, so it took him a good five minutes to climb the stairs to the entrance hall. There were very few students about, so he was able to get out on to the grounds without drawing too much attention to himself. He had just turned the corner on the path that led to the greenhouses when he spotted three students standing with their backs to each other. They shifted guiltily, and Snape recognized an untidy mess of black hair.

His leg gave a particularly sharp stab of pain, and he clenched his teeth. Potter was looking up at him with a familiar insolence reflecting in his green eyes. He had an old, green book open in his hands.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?" He asked.

Harry held up the book. It read Quidditch Through the Ages, by Kennilworthy Whisp, with a red wax seal on the cover that said "Property of Hogwarts Library."

He sneered. "Library books are not to be take outside the school," he said. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor." Potter looked mutinous, but handed the book over without a word. Snape tucked it into a pocket in his robes, and continued on his way to Greenhouse Two.

He looked around briefly, but didn't see Professor Sprout anywhere. He entered Greenhouse Two, and grabbed a pair of shears from a workbench by the door. He limped between rows of plants before finally finding a Sativum plant. It consisted of a few green shoots stemming from a single bulb buried in soil. He pulled up two of the bulbs, and deposited them in a small cloth bag that he kept in his pocket for just such times as these.

He replaced the shears, and returned to his dungeon. Potter and his friends must have returned to their common room because he didn't pass them on the way back to the castle.

He swiftly combined all of his collected ingredients in the cauldron, and stirred it counter-clockwise, as the directions stated. Now, it just had to simmer for an hour. He sighed, and left the dungeon, again.

Dinner had just begun, and he could hear the happy chatter of hundreds of students in the Great Hall. He passed through the door, and spotted the caretaker sitting at his usual place at the far end of the table, his cat watching the students from her perch in his lap.

Snape walked around the edge of the Hall, and paused just behind Filch. He cleared his throat, and the Caretaker jumped slightly. He looked up into the Potion Master's black eyes.

"Yes, Professor?" He asked him, dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

Snape glanced around, making sure no one was listening. "I need you to meet me in the staff room in an hour and a half." He said, softly. Filch looked quizzically at him, but nodded. Snape then moved on to his seat, and ate a hurried meal. When he had finished, he glanced at Filch, and then swept from the Great Hall.

When he returned to his dungeon, the potion was a light shade of alabaster, and was simmering softly over the fire. He checked the clock over his desk, and saw that he was right at an hour, so he removed the cauldron from the fire, and set it on one of the worktables. He pulled out a phial and ladled some of the potion into it, being very careful not to touch it. The potion would remain in liquid form until it came into contact with human flesh, at which point it would change into a thick paste. He also scooped up the bandages that he had set on his desk earlier, and deposited all of it into his pocket. He then left his office, and went up to the staff room.

Filch was there waiting for him.

"Hello, Professor." He said, as Snape entered the room. Snape nodded, and then emptied his pockets on to the staff room table. He held up the book he had confiscated from Potter earlier, then tossed it into a chair in the corner of the room.

"I need your help." Snape said calmly. He lifted the leg of his robe to show his wound to the caretaker. "I can't see it well enough to spread the potion on it, and it's not healing well so it all needs to be put on."

Filch nodded, and pulled out a clean rag from his pocket. Snape conjured a bucket of water from midair, and Filch began to clean the fresh blood away from the wound.

"Have you seen anyone lurking about the third floor corridor?" Snape asked Flich, wincing slightly.

"Those damned Weasley twins were lurking about there a few weeks ago, but they weren't after the door." He replied, wringing out the rag. He then poured some of the potion on the rag, and began to spread it across the wound. It turned into a thick paste, and then quickly dissolved into Snape's skin. "I also saw Quirrell lurking around every now and then before Halloween. He even rescued Potter and Weasley who were trying to get through the door. I don't think they knew where they were though." There was a slight tone of disappointment in his voice. Snape knew he would have loved nothing more than to punish them in their first week at school – especially for something like trying to trespass in a forbidden area.

"I can see why Dumbledore asked Hagrid to provide the dog." Snape said. Filch began to hand him bandages.

"Difficult to fight?" Filch asked.

"Blasted thing," Snape said. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, and heard the door creak. His head snapped towards the door. Those green eyes.

"POTTER!" He yelled, his face twisted with fury. He quickly dropped his robe to hide his leg.

"I just wondered if I could have my book back." He said through the door.

"GET OUT! OUT!" Potter bolted from the door, and disappeared up the stairs. Snape waved his wand at the door, and it closed with a bang. He then pointed it toward the bandages, and the flew through the air and wrapped themselves around his leg.