Awkward

Chapter - 2 Convalescence

"Severus," A thick voice came out of the haze.

He realized he was no longer in a dark ocean but lying on a bed.

"Severus are you awake?" the thick voice continued. " Oh my God, you, young wizard, scared us, we thought you wouldn't survive you-know-who, but..."
Albus paused to collect his thoughts and choose the correct wording.

"Severus, you always amaze me as to how good a young wizard can be," Albus spoke softly to the man lying on the hospital bed.

Severus opened his thin lips to speak, but Albus indicated him to stay quiet and rest.

"No, you must not strain your body much. You have already strained it enough in the past and during the war."

A tear fell from Albus' eyes as the last words poured out of his mouth. He cleared his throat and spoke with utter sincerity.

"Severus, now that you have killed the Dark Lord, you fulfilled your promise to be at my side during the war." He paused. "So, now it's my turn to fulfil my promise; from now on you shall no longer owe me anything." The last words came out of Albus' mouth without hesitation. He was serious.

"Thank you, Albus," he weakly mumbled as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Albus leaned in to hear him more clearly.

"Not only me, but the whole wizarding community is thankful to you. I owe you a lot, my young friend," Albus replied with thankfulness evident in his voice.

"What was that the Dark Lord did to me before dying ?" Severus mumbled in the same weak voice. He was tired. It was clear to him he had not completely recovered yet. He couldn't see anything clearly; his vision was blurry.

"We don't know that yet, but I have summoned many great scholars to know what that spell was," Albus said with concern. "No one has ever seen a spell like that before, and to our astonishment, it didn't have a single effect on your health, mind or body," he continued.

Albus let out a small sigh. It felt as if a big burden was lifted off his shoulders. "Well, you passed out on the battlefield after defeating the Dark Lord. Hagrid carried you all the way back," he continued with a little giggle trying to lighten the topic. "You've been here unconscious for four days," he related.

Severus' head felt heavy. His mobility was still restricted and his vision became even blurrier. Again the darkness surrounded him.

His eyes blinked. He felt that he was awake. His head felt less heavy, and the pain had also been reduced. He looked around. No one was sitting by his side. The room was dark and much smaller compared to the hospital wing. He turned his neck to take a look around. It was then he realized he was no longer in the hospital wing but rather was in a comfortable room. It seemed to be a personal chamber with big windows so maximum sunlight could enter. A red couch was to his right and a coffee table was placed near it next to the fireplace above which was a big bookcase. There were also many portraits of great wizards and witches.

The smell of the room was very refreshing. It smelled of old books, of smoke, freshly made tea, and a perfume he couldn't recognize. This room was unlike his own, a boring room with no portraits, no windows and there was also the continuous smell of potions. He hadn't made a separate room for a lab in his chambers. All of his equipment would lie in his living room, kitchen, and even his bedroom.

One could also call his room dull and sadistic. Of course, why wouldn't one call it that? His chambers had no life. One would rather call it a coffin than a room. It was hard to believe a person had been living there for four years.

He sighed to himself.

There was one more decision he made. He would make his chamber look lived in, not like a coffin where vampires slept. He would change his perilous life habits. Quitting drinking was the first one of those. He drank so much sometimes, that he couldn't get up in the morning, lying all day in his bed with headaches from hangovers.