“Hit-CHOO, Hah-SHOO, Ahh-KISHOO, AKISHOO.”
When everything was done, he carried the soup and tea upstairs, using his wand to open the door. Snape had a tissue to his nose, and seeing the door open, stifled another sneeze. “Ahh-ihshhmm.”
“Bless.” Remus set the tray down and sat across from Snape. Snape had only eaten half of his soup by the time Remus finished.
“I’mb sorry. I’mb not very hungry, and my throat’s still kind of sore.”
“Did the cold medicine help any?”
“Some. My head’s not as tight. My nose is runding and…ahhchfff. I’m still sneezing a lot. Heh-chhh, ih-shish.” Blowing his nose, he leaned back on the pillows.
“Ihshoo, ahishoo, hahshoo.” Remus sneezed, pulling out a handkerchief and blowing his nose.
“Her-schhh.” Snape sneezed again.
“Severus, you shouldn’t hold your sneezes back. They seem pretty strong, and it cannot be good for you.”
Snape got a far-away look in his eyes. “Ash used to tell me that. Ehschmmfff, hitschhff, ahschfff.”
“You do know, you’ll sneeze less if you don’t stifle them.”
“I dow. Ash told be that too.”
“Severus, I know you’ve got a rather large sneeze. Why do you suppress them so much?” Noticing the quizzical look the man gave him, he explained. “I heard you while I was making dinner. I charmed the room so I could hear you if you needed me. Out of habit mainly, I always had to do it for Ashling; she never wanted to come get me, said she didn’t want to bother me. I didn’t even think about it when I did it; I mean I did, but I forgot it was you in here for a second.”
“Thought it was Ashling?” Remus nodded. “She was the only onde…heh-schh….I ever let hear me sneeze.”
“Why? I don’t understand why you are so ashamed of it. It’s perfectly normal and natural.”
“Ash and I had this conversation. Ihhtt-schhhh. It was the first time we ever really talked.”
**Sev’s Story**
“Ash and I were partners in potions; there was uneven numbers of Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Through that, we became friends. Her asthma made potions hard for her, just as occasionally some ingredient or another would trigger my allergies, just as I’m sure, it did for you.”
Remus nodded as Snape paused to sneeze. “Heh-chhhhmmmh, ih-shmphh. That’s why we took Arithmacy with you instead of divination. She didn’t need it, and neither one of us would have been able to handle it up there. Anyway, we used to study together. She helped me a lot with Charms. I’m giving you the background information so you’ll understand.” Snape picked up his wand and cast a spell that allowed himself and Remus to see his particular memories.
**Snape’s Memory #1**
A younger Severus Snape sat on the floor of one of the empty rooms of Hogwarts. A few minutes later, Ashling came in, carrying her book bag and a container of water.”
“You’re late.” Snape said, without looking up.
“Sorry.” Her voice was raspy, and she appeared breathless.
“Aren’t you going to give me a reason?” He looked at her, starting to give her one of his rare smiles to show he was just giving her a hard time, but the smile quickly changed to a look of concern when he saw her. Her face was pale, and her eyes were brighter than usual. “You’re sick.”
“Just a little, tiny chest cold. Nothing to worry about. So, what did you want to work on first?”
“I started looking over stuff for the cheering charms essay.” She nodded, sitting next to him and pulling out “The Standard Book of Spells III. They sat and compared notes and worked on the outlines for their essays.
“Think you’ve got everything you need for that?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ve got it. Will you look over the essay tomorrow for me?”
“Yup. History of Magic next.” she managed before an intense fit of coughing overtook her. Severus was shocked by it; he had heard her cough before and had seen her leave potions for a few minutes when the smoke and fumes had gotten to be too much for her; but he had never seen her like this before. The coughs that wracked her body were strong and harsh and almost seemed like they would split her tiny frame in two. He handed her her water, and she managed to take a small sip before coughing again. Reaching into her pocket, she stood up and left the room. A few minutes later, he followed her out and saw her standing in the corner of the hallway, a small plastic tube in her hand.
“Ash, are you okay?” She nodded, putting her inhalator in her mouth and taking a hit. When she was done, she turned and walked back into the room. “Are you sure you’re okay? Why did you leave the room? Have you seen Madame Pomfrey for pepper-up or something?”
“I’m okay, Sev. Really, really. I don’t like taking medication in front of people. Yes, I saw her. She can’t get rid of this, but she gave me a potion to keep the cough under control for tonight. She didn’t have anything I could take during the day right now, so I’m supposed to go back tomorrow. Ready to tackle History of Magic?” She coughed, took a long drink of water and cleared her throat.
“Ashling, let’s call off studying for tonight. Go take your potion and get some rest.” He picked up her things. “I’ll walk you back to Ravenclaw.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t get much studying done.” She told him when they reached the portrait.
“Don’t worry about it. The only thing I was really worried about was the charms essay, and you helped me put together a good outline. Just get some rest and get better, Ash.” “Thanks,” she smiled before she started coughing again. When the fit had subsided, she gave the password and slipped through the portrait hole.