"It was Taste of Paradox."
"Are you sure, Severus?"
The Potions Master eyed Minerva McGonagall with false interest. She settled for accepting that he was, after all, the authority in the matter of incapacitating liquids. The spit usually flung as he spoke being the most lethal of them.
"Yes, I am sure, Minerva. A poorly prepared mix, but the components can be broken with a sniff and the signs are quite obvious."
"Will she get better?" a voice asked, and then, as if sensing something was missing, added "Professor?" in a tone far from respectful.
Heads turned toward the wall. Harry stood there, leaning against it, arms crossed and eyes fiercely focused on the girl now sound asleep. Madam Pomfrey had helped Padma change into more comfortable clothes, administered a Sleeping Potion to soothe her and was now slowly applying something pathetically reminiscent of water over her potion-soaked body. Whatever it was, it was working, though: the deep red was disappearing from her skin, although far too slowly for the Gryffindor's rush. He remembered his index finger was still in need of 'repair' too… didn't seem to matter.
"Yes, Potter, she will be fine. The mixture itself was so far from ideal I wouldn't think twice before placing a bet that you made it yourself…"
To this, both Dumbledore and McGonagall glared slightly his way. Snape sighed.
"… alas, it doesn't seem to fit your… profile. Anyway," he added, forgetting Harry and turning towards the Headmaster, "as I said, it is a disaster," he went on, twirling a vial with the remaining fluid acquired from the bathroom floor, "the Paradox is not supposed to stick to surfaces as it did. If properly matured, the mix would have been absorbed by Miss Patil's skin where the dress wasn't protecting her, and the effect would have been deepened."
"Potter touched it as well," Gryffindor's Head of House pointed out.
"Yes, I don't expect a bright future in forensics for him…"
"What I meant was why there seem to be no signs of the Taste affecting him."
"Again, bad preparation." The man seemed bored out of his mind to explain this. "Potter's body probably did not even register such a small exposure, to his luck. Miss Patil's misfortune was to have this splattered all over her. Too much area of contact. I suspect some of it must have hit her lips too, so we should consider ingestion."
"Any treatment you suggest other than rest?" Dumbledore asked him.
"No need for anything else. Madam Pomfrey gave her a generous amount of Sleeping Potion. I trust her to be fully recovered by the time she wakes up."
"And the people responsible for it duly punished by then," the boy thought, eyes out of focus, only half listening to the conversation around him. Anger was building up inside him in ways he didn't fully understand. This was supposed to be a good night for her…
"Padma!"
The Hospital's doors swung open and Parvati sped forward, Sophia standing by the door frame – Harry nodded her way, expressing his thanks on summoning Padma's twin without need of asking. The girl smiled a thin smile before closing the doors and disappearing.
"What happened to…?"
"She's perfectly fine, I assure you," McGonagall attempted. Parvati didn't even seem to notice her as she strode, eyes fiery as those of a Hell hound.
Harry moved ahead, reaching for Parvati's arm and holding it steadily, not strong enough to hurt but with enough pressure to make her look directly at him. He tried to sound reassuring…
"She'll be okay, Parvati. There was an… accident earlier, but she's being cared for now. Professor… Snape says she'll be fine as soon as she wakes up."
"What accident?" she hissed, Snape's diagnostic apparently not enough to dissuade or calm her down.
"No one knows for sure," said Harry, but looking at her in a way that clearly indicated he had a theory, "she was found in a bathroom covered in this weird potion."
"She remembers how she was covered in it?"
"She didn't say a word about it. Not much about anything in fact, she just cried a lot. Part of what she was experiencing, actually…"
"What do you…?"
"The potion she was affected with," said Harry sadly. "It causes these profound mood twists."
Snape scoffed. "It is so like you to simplify things like that, Potter. Then again, not much can be expected from a student who sees a strange liquid and doesn't think to call the Potions specialist in the vicinity before anyone else."
"I'm just trying not to alarm her, Professor. And I did consider instructing Sophia to summon you, but when would you ever take seriously a calling requested by me?" Harry retorted, earning a glare from Snape. The sullen Head of House had to admit the boy had a point.
"Tread carefully, Potter…"
"Enough, you two!" said Parvati angrily. "What was wrong with her, anyway?"
"It is more than mood twists. The Taste of Paradox reverses a person's current emotional and mental states in a violent and extreme fashion, so that the person can no longer concentrate on anything other than that. Your sister was fortunate enough to be the target of a poor Potions maker…"
"With such a sunshine of a teacher... go figure…"
"… because the potion was too raw. Given that she seemed to be in such a good mood, Miss Patil only experienced a sudden sadness, some form of misguided grief. Hence, her depression and… mood twist," he finished, smiling at Harry in an infuriatingly condescending way.
"What would happen if the potion was stronger?" Parvati asked, only to regret it.
"Her mind would have been invaded with the places her worst nightmares wouldn't go to; much in the same manner a sad person would feel the heat of a scorching bliss in her every action." Snape said this as a man reading a boring monologue, although that glint of fascination he felt about the controlling side of Potions was always there. "Most people under this condition, be they happy or sad when they are exposed to 'the Paradox', are so deeply affected that their minds stop distinguishing reality from illusion. Permanent insanity is not uncommon..."
"Severus," Dumbledore warned him, "there's no need to scare the girl. Your sister will recover fully," he added, turning around, the Headmaster's reassuring smile calming down the Gryffindor, "but I risk betting that you won't be persuaded to leave her side until she wakes up."
"Damn straight I won't."
Harry's hand loosened the grip and she used her free arm to rub off a stubborn tear away. The Headmaster smiled kindly, conjuring an extremely comfortable couch close to Padma's bed.
"I won't need it, Professor Dumbledore," she said simply, and surprising them all – Harry not as much – she took off her shoes, pulled the sheets on the bed and arranged herself so that Padma's pillow was over her lap, her hand stroking her sister's hair gently, her expression stern and protective. Madam Pomfrey didn't even bother protesting, only summoning a pillow behind Parvati's head and retreating to her office.
"Since I'm no longer required here," Snape started dully, moving towards the door, "I'll return to the… festivities… Karkaroff seemed to want a word with me."
"Thank you for your help, Severus."
"It is my job," he answered curtly to the Headmaster, already by the door.
"I'll be on my way too, Dumbledore," said McGonagall. "Soon we'll have to set up the extra patrols… that is if you're still serious about this no curfew idea…"
"I am," the Headmaster shrugged, that hint of sparkle in his eyes. "It's not something we can offer everyday."
"I understand." Nothing in her tone indicated she agreed, but she did seem, at least, willing to cooperate with a night of extra work so that students could have some 'freedom'…
"You should probably head back too, Harry…" Dumbledore advised him. The boy didn't look back at the Headmaster, eyes only to the Patil sisters. He didn't need words when Parvati eyed him back…
"I'll stay for as long as you want me to."
"That's okay, Harry, I really want to be alone with her."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure."
Dumbledore retreated after those words, promising Parvati he'd return during the night to check up on them. Harry was following on his heels, a quiet expression on his face, when:
"Harry?"
It was Parvati calling. He exchanged a quick look with the Headmaster before making his way back to the girls' bed, the sound of shutting doors behind him indicating they were alone.
"Parvati?"
"I know that look."
"Then you know you won't be able to stop me either," he resumed, serious. His fists were still clenched. She simply nodded.
"So you know who it was?"
"I have a pretty strong guess."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning there's only a handful of people inside these walls able to screw up a Potion like that. Add motive – misguided as it may be – , opportunity, a genuine disregard to Padma's well being… the list grows short."
Parvati nodded yet again, comprehension dawning. Another tear rolled down like fire down her cheek.
"Snape will probably come to the same conclusion; if he hasn't already," he added after a short silence.
"What makes you think so?"
"Normally he'd jump at the opportunity of punishing a student for making a potion like this one without authorization. He made no mention of it to Dumbledore, nor was he asked about it. Meaning he knows the signature flaws of whoever made it. Doesn't seem to me that he'll take the necessary… precautions so it doesn't happen again."
"Will you?"
It only took a silent look to Padma's sleeping face. He squeezed her sister's hand briefly.
"Count on it."
"Good." She squeezed his hand back before letting go."Get the bitch."
AUTHOR NOTES: corrected a small mistake pointed out by a reviewer, otherwise exactly the same chapter. Sorry for the delay on this. Harry's confrontation with Padma's attacker(s?) next up. Reviews are, as always, welcome and make me better. I'm not so sure I made the potion credible (as far as "potions" are credible, anyway…), and the dialogues seemed a bit stiff… I don't know, this was just one of those parts I felt insecure about writing. Tell me what you think, okay? :)
Hope to hear from you soon,
Intervigilium