A Crow's Call

Barely Awake

"Dobby," Remus said, the elf appeared next to Snape's bed.

"What be Master Remus needing sir?" Dobby said.

"Get Poppy, quick." The elf disappeared.

"Severus, Severus it's alright, you're home." Remus was trying to comfort the struggling man.

After 3 long days of being in his dungeon, finally, he began to rise from the depths of unconsciousness. Now he was laying in bed, trying to pull in oxygen to his lungs, unsuccessfully.

He could hear the faint voice of someone familiar, but he couldn't focus on that now. He was choking on nothing, his lungs began to burn with the struggle, and he could feel the pull of what felt like a long line of stitches down his chest and stomach. He tried to calm himself, closing his eyes and trying to pull in deeper breaths, but to no avail. He still was struggling. Finally, his eyes opened to find Remus's scarred face staring back at him. His mouth was moving soundlessly to Severus, his eyebrows arched in concern. Finally, his lungs opened up so he could breathe. Poppy was there now, she was fiddling with something off to the left.

"You're alright, Severus." Remus had his hand on Severus's' shoulder.

He could see the old scars on Remus' face and the worried look cast across it. His short breaths could be heard throughout the room.

"Severus, how are you feeling?" Poppy asked, her face appearing next to Remus'.

"Superb." Came his breathy answer. Remus and Poppy both gave a soft chuckle.

"How long... have I been out." His voice was raspy and his breaths were still short.

"Several days I'm afraid..." Remus answered.

"Several?" Snape questioned, his eyes showing his doubt.

Remus glanced at Poppy, then looked back at Snape.

"14 days." Poppy answered for him.

Snape was silent, "So why do I still feel like a bludgers used me for target practice." Snape asked. Poppy sensed the tension. He wasn't going to like the answer to his question. The moment she opened her mouth, Snape's world was going to flip upside down.

"Severus... You remember the night we came to retrieve you?" Remus asked. Snape nodded. "Voldemort had used some very powerful dark magic, along with the Death Eaters cursing and beating you within an inch of your life, the amount of dark magic was all just too much for even the strongest wizard to handle. Magical remedies can't heal the injuries you've sustained, so we're having to use the muggle alternative." Remus stopped.

"Why do I sense you're not telling me something, Remus." Snape's head was pounding, his chest and stomach burned.

"Severus, the other thing is that someone used an experimental type of curse called a Grappling Curse. Bellatrix designed it to be cast at a specific part of the body to, essentially, debilitate that body part to decrease your chance of escape, attack, defense, anything. That curse was used on you, Severus."

Snape's eyes closed at that moment. Poppy was standing next to his bed, her hand reaching for his shoulder, but then she stopped, knowing he needed the time to wrap his mind around the situation.

"Where?" Snape said quietly.

This time Poppy answered, "Your leg. She managed to send two of the curses, but only one made it to its target. This specific Grappling Curse was derived from the crucio curse. She wasn't looking to lessen your chance of fighting back... she was looking to cause you pain Severus. I'm afraid she may have succeeded."

Only then did Severus really realize that along with his pounding head, aching chest, and searing stomach, his legs had a tingling sensation running through them, like they had been asleep for a while and were now waking up.

"We had an epidural, a muggle method of numbing an area, to keep you from the pain, we needed you to recover... It should be wearing off by now, we're going to begin using doses of a pain medication so we can get you acclimated to the pain without the help of the epidural. I need you to let me know as soon as you start feeling something, Severus. The sooner we get you settled, the faster the recovery." She finished. She gave a glance towards Remus, then made her way towards the door before stopping. "I'm glad you're okay, Severus." And left.

Snape covered his face with both his hands. Remus was silent, listening to the pained breaths of his friend. He sat on the edge of the bed, "Severus..." He didn't answer. "I know this is a lot to take in, and you'll have a long recovery... but I want you to know you're not alone in this. Albus, Poppy, Minerva, me, everyone. We're here for you."

When Snape's hands did not move from their position on the man's pale face, Remus gave his uninjured leg a pat and stood to leave.

"Thank you, Remus." Came the muffled response.

An etch of a smile broke its way onto Remus' lips, and he stepped out into the cool corridor of the dungeons.