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He was covered in two different people's blood when he apparated into Hogsmeade, and he could only pray that no one noticed. He tried to maintain his composure in case he was spotted, but that was difficult to do when the dizziness began to overwhelm him. Due to a small, yet irritating coincidence, however, he was destined to fail at remaining inconspicuous; it wasn't until he saw a bushy-haired know-it-all hurry towards him that he remembered it was the day of a Hogsmeade trip. Bloody hell, he thought to himself with a grimace as he turned on his heel and limped towards an open alley.
"Professor!" the sixth year girl called as she chased him down the alley. She caught up in moments. "Professor," she said, her voice softer now as she grabbed ahold of his arm to steady him.
He tried to wrench away, but all he managed to do was slump against the brick wall. "Miss Granger... I must insist that you leave... at once." He tried to make his voice stern, but the words were coming out slowly from the winded man, and he couldn't seem to put any force behind them.
Ignoring him, she pulled out her wand. "Oh, hush, Professor. I don't think anyone else saw you, and I certainly won't tell anyone. You needn't worry."
"I expect Potter will show up here at any moment to save the day," he muttered, his eyes briefly drifting shut. They shot open again, though, at her next words.
"Actually, he and Ron stayed at Hogwarts. They got too behind on their revisions, you see. I'm only here because I need to restock on quills and parchment, because I..." she trailed off, her eyes growing wide as a flush crept over her face. "Er, never mind. Perhaps this really isn't the time."
"Indeed," he couldn't help but sneer. He felt his body shudder, and he was suddenly grateful for the wall holding him up. The last thing he needed was to collapse in front of one of his students. Maybe he could convince her that he was all right.
No such luck; Hermione, it appeared, had noticed his body shudder. "Professor, maybe you should sit down? While I look at your wounds-"
"Yes, because surely the most sterile place to put the bleeding man is on the insect-infested ground of a dirty little alley," Snape said with a roll of his eyes. "Miss Granger... do return to your shopping. I find that I can... take care of myself well enough."
"Sit," she demanded once more, this time tugging his arm downwards. Instantly, his body collapsed, and though he was irritated with the girl before him, he was glad to be finally sitting down. "You know as well as I do that Madam Pomfrey can clean any infection. You'll be all right."
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, well I was about to go mad over the slew of infectious diseases I could be picking up right now. It's a good thing you're here to set me straight, Miss Granger."
In response, she roughly pulled up his left pant leg, causing him to yelp as the fabric scraped against his raw skin. "You're welcome," she said with a dark grin.
"What do you think you're doing?" he seethed. He tried to grab her hand, but he couldn't seem to muster up enough strength to do so.
"Oh, calm down, Professor. You're losing too much blood. And modesty will do you no good if you're dead," she said as she pushed up the sleeves of her sweater. "It's rather deep." She bit her lip and began to put pressure on the wound. "You're going to need a blood-replenishing potion."
"Marvelous. Why don't you bugger off and get one?" he muttered as his eyes started to drift closed.
Her words, however, made them snap open once more. "I assume you got this while spying for the Order."
His mouth was drawn into a tight line when he answered. "What?"
But she just shook her head. "I do feel compelled to tell you once more that you have nothing to worry about, Professor. I won't say anything."
"Miss Granger-"
"I appreciate what you're doing for us, Professor. Truly, I do," she carried on. "Yet you still need to be careful! Merlin, you're coated in blood-"
"It's not all my blood," he muttered. The dizziness hit him again, and suddenly sitting down wasn't enough; he desperately wanted to lie on that dirty street.
"That doesn't make this better," she said with a frown.
"I beg to differ," he said. His eyes squinted as her face began to swim before his eyes. He felt weak and nauseated. Maybe Miss Granger had been right; maybe he had lost too much blood.
"I can't get the bleeding to stop," she muttered to herself. Then, before he could even process what she was doing, she stood up. "I'll be right back, Professor. Don't you worry, I'm just going to fetch Professor McGonagall, all right? She'll know what to do."
"That's the best damn plan you've had all day, Miss Granger," he muttered to himself as his eyes started to drift closed.
There was silence for a moment, and Severus thought she had gone. Then he felt a warm, plush blanket being tucked over him. Wearily, he opened his eyes. "I've charmed the area so only McGonagall or myself can find you. I'll be back in a minute, Professor. Have faith."
He could still picture the halo of wild brown hair that framed her face as she walked away, still remember the concern that she held deep in her eyes. She was so kind, and for what? Why did she feel the need to be so good to him of all people? What was it about this girl that made her be so good, so pure?
She must be an angel, he thought to himself. Then he passed out.