HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

Severus stood by the window, his fingers unconsciously digging into the wooden window frame.

He tried to contact them using the two-way mirror, but there was no response. After waiting another fifteen minutes, he turned around and grabbed the cloak draped over the back of the chair.

The flames in the fireplace suddenly shot up and turned a blinding green.

A parchment scroll with scorched edges was ejected and landed on the carpet.

It was Lydia's handwriting, but the writing was so messy that it was almost illegible, and every stroke was trembling with anxiety.

"Saint Gomang, come quickly! Ian is in danger!"

Severus's pupils contracted slightly. Without any hesitation, he rushed into the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, and was engulfed by the green flames.

The corridors of Saint-Gomans were filled with the smell of disinfectant. John leaned against the wall, his tie askew, his expression one of unconcealed worry.

Leah was speaking in a low, hurried voice to a therapist with gray hair and a serious expression. Her eyes were red, but she tried her best to keep her voice steady.

Upon seeing Severus, Leah immediately walked over and led him into Ian's hospital room. "This way."

The ward was dimly lit. Ian lay on the middle bed, his face ashen, his lips purple, and his breathing so weak that his chest was barely rising and falling.

The exposed skin of her neck and arms was covered with spiderweb-like black lines, exuding an ominous aura.

Severus stood frozen at the doorway, his blood seemingly frozen instantly.

"It's the 'Life-Eating Curse' circulating on the black market. It's a mixture of at least three different black magic marks, extremely vicious. Its purpose is to torture and slowly kill, prevent wounds from healing, and erode the source of magic power."

The old healer, one of St. Mungo's most skilled experts in dark magic damage, said in a somber voice, "Regular antidotes and mitigating agents... have negligible effect. We used the strongest purifying potion, which could only barely slow its spread."

"Is there any way?" John's voice was hoarse.

"We need a complex solution. First, we need to use the 'Light of Purification' ritual to peel away the outermost layer of the curse carrier. This requires at least three healers skilled in this art, and it will place an extremely heavy burden on the cursed person. He is too weak right now..."

"Then we used the 'Fountain of Life' potion to stabilize and attempt to repair the eroded life force, but one of the potion's core ingredients, pure horn powder from the Moon Unicorn, requires extremely high purity and activity, and the dosage is very large..."

"But the most troublesome thing is that the core of the curse has become entangled with part of his magic, requiring an extremely rare variant of the 'Soul Soothing Agent'—not to heal the soul, but to strip away and purify this attached dark magic contamination. But the recipe for this variant is almost lost, and the required materials..."

The therapist paused, glanced at Leah and John, then at Severus, and said in an even lower voice, "As far as I know, the Malfoy family has almost monopolized all the distribution channels in the market for three of the key materials in recent months under the guise of research and reserves."

Over the past three days, the treatment plan has been painstakingly determined through repeated deliberations and desperate attempts.

Ian's situation fluctuated, but was mostly bad.

The black lines had spread to his chest, his body temperature was frighteningly low, and he occasionally let out painful groans while unconscious.

Severus barely left the ward, constantly monitoring Ian's condition, watching the therapists come and go, watching Leah struggle to prepare the medication, and watching John try to use his connections but repeatedly run into obstacles.

"Lucius Malfoy said we could talk, but only with 'people who can make decisions and are sincere.'" John was very dejected.

Someone who can make the decisions? With Ian unconscious, John and Leah's "sincerity" is probably just a paltry bargaining chip in Malfoy's eyes. Someone who can make the decisions, and who possesses the "sincerity" they desire…

Severus stared at the hospital room door, at Ian's quiet, almost extinguished breathing, and at the hideous black lines on his skin...

On the evening of the fourth day, he stood up, walked to the deserted stairwell, summoned a paper crane with his wand, and told it the time and place.

In a Muggle café, Lucius Malfoy seemed to be enjoying the moment, looking at Severus's pale and haggard face with a satisfied smile.

"I am saddened to hear of Mr. Burke's misfortune, Severus. Knockturn Alley has certainly been rather unsettling lately," he said slowly. "So, have you considered this carefully? For... the life of a friend?"

"Materials," Severus's voice was dry. "The highest quality materials needed for all treatment plans, sent to St. Mungo's immediately."

"Of course, helping others is a virtue." Lucius's smile deepened. "However, as you know, some resources... are very precious, especially in these times. That lord values ​​talent, but he also values... genuine, unreserved dedication."

"A substantial gift that shows sincerity will make subsequent assistance more natural and... sustainable."

He looked at Severus, his grey-blue eyes filled with undisguised calculation and oppression.

"For example, preliminary results in certain research directions that have proven to be very promising can prove your value and your determination. After all, what we need are not wavering bystanders, but steadfast companions."

A soothing balm for the soul.

He wanted a balm for the soul, or rather, the ideas and experimental data that were closest to a breakthrough and also the most dangerous before Severus "gave up".

Severus's fingers dug into his palms inside his sleeves, the stinging pain keeping him alert.

He knew all too well which door this "sincerity" would open and what it would reveal.

But he remembered more clearly the black lines spreading across Ian's neck, his faint breathing, and the light in his eyes when he said, "I choose you."

"The things are at my place. The materials will be delivered, and the notes will be given to you." He heard his own voice say, cold and flat.

Lucius smiled with pleasure.

"A wise choice. The materials will arrive at St. Mungo's within an hour, donated in the name of a trusted 'patron.' As for the notes... I trust your integrity. Welcome to the team, Severus. Soon you will meet that lord, who will greatly appreciate your... dedication."

The materials arrived that evening, and the St. Mungo's medical team, shocked, immediately began a race against time to save lives.

Ritual, potion, purification.

Severus stood by the bedside, watching as the black lines gradually faded and peeled away under the powerful magic and potions.

Ian's face was still pale, but the ashen color gradually faded, and his breathing, though weak, became steady.

"The vital signs have stabilized, and the core of the curse has been stripped away and purified. But..." The old healer, with graying hair, said wearily but reassuringly to Leah and John, glancing again at Severus, who looked like a statue.

"His body and magical energy source were severely damaged, and he also consumed too much energy resisting the curse, so he fell into a deep self-repairing coma. When he will wake up... depends on him, but he has passed the most dangerous hurdle."