Obviously I own nothing except Miss Thomas. The other themes and characters belong to the talented JK Rowling.

Chapter 14

Nearly ripping his robes with his frenzied movements Severus stripped off his cloak, jacket, vest and shirt; wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. He reasoned he would require some time to rest and perhaps send word to the Albus about this strange occurrence before returning to his charge, if anyone else had the knowledge to figure this out it would be the headmaster.

The cold air hit his skin like ice water sending a shiver down his spine and giving him a stark reminder that he was in fact still human.

'Surely not' his thoughts drifted momentarily back to the inane amount of gossip that seemed to forever float about the school about his vampire like appearance and love of dark places.

Using his bloodied shirt as a makeshift tourniquet, he gathered the potions he would need, taking great care not to disturb any of the more volatile concoctions he kept in his private store far away from the sniveling noses of his dunderhead students. 'Merlin only knows what those imbeciles could do to themselves given even half an opportunity' he imagined students sprouting second and third heads or bursting abruptly into flames, a wicked grin touched briefly upon his dark features despite the growing pain radiating from his arm.

Clearing his mind of these amusing yet distracting thoughts Severus sat firmly on the cold hard work stool he had used countless times while brewing complicated potions into the early hours of the morning. Gently placing his damaged limb on the large stone table he began his work by casting cleaning and protective barriers to avoid any further infection. Once the wound was clear of dry blood it soon began bleeding profusely again, knowing he should have gone to Madam Pomfrey the moment he found the wound open he began to worry that perhaps he was in over his head. Giving the tourniquet an extra twist he knew his time would be limited but not wanting to add any further magic than strictly necessary there was no other way.

At first the wound resisted his magic refusing to weave and re-knit the damaged flesh 'The wound must be cursed in some way' he said chattering to himself which somehow helped him to concentrate despite his normal need for absolute silence. Deciphering the new damage from the old was going to prove difficult, the dark mark itself was created with very dark magic and would likely influence the properties of this new mutilation

'Perhaps when she bit me there was some sort of partial transference?'

Using a mix of potions for closing the skin and revealing the nature of the damage, he poured a few drops into the gaping hole 'Please don't be green, for the love of Merlin anything but green' he pleaded knowing the odds of this being dark irreparable magic damage were increasingly against him and rising by the moment. The potent solution dripped over the rendered flesh releasing a hissing puff of smoke giving him little choice but to reach out and grab the counters edge to steady him while doing his best to cope with the pain.

Leaning forward and resting his head on the cool stone surface of the table, he considered the information that had just been revealed to him. It was just as he knew it would be yet he had hoped that for once he was mistaken, unfortunately as usual he was spot on.

Green smoke.

'Perfect. Fucking perfect' he grimaced through his teeth

A few deep breaths and he was able to right himself at the bench, a rapid set of flicks from his wand and his skin appeared scarred but intact and as normal as he could expect it to be.

This new development would require a change of plans, for a moment he seriously considered just leaving Hogwarts reasoning it would be so much easier to go than face whatever horror and pain his error was likely to cause him.

It was then, when his pain had begun to subside and his thoughts were clearing, that he finally noticed the presence in the room with him.

'Such language, and from a head of house no less'

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It was as Katelyn had expected.

The door had no handle.

The only reason it looked like a door at all was the wooden frame, otherwise it could easily be just another section of wall.

'How on earth does he go through it then?' she wondered out loud, her thoughts wildly gaining speed with each passing second. She needed to hurry, every bone in her body told her to find Severus right now but her brain was stuck with the problem of the sealed door blocking her path.

'Who knows how many more doors are out there' her mind forming and dissolving plans in rapid succession.

'Damn it!' she screamed, all at once just wanting this whole situation to just disappear.

'If I am a bloody witch, why can't I get out?' agitation and fear rising high in her chest, the whooshing sounds of blood rushing around her body played in her ears.

Frustration was beginning to overtake rational thought and it took everything she had not to grab the nearest item and hurl it against the offending door.

Taking a deep breath she stopped pacing. Time was short and caution was just wasting it in huge blocks.

Placing both palms flat against the grainy wood of the door and letting her forehead rest against this infuriating obstacle with a small hollow thud Katelyn wondered just exactly how Severus used his magic to make things move. It was a foreign idea to her that such things could possibly exist yet she had no reason to doubt that in the case of this door something infinitely more complicated than a metal lock was holding it in place. Letting her hands search the length and width of the door for the spot she was sure was there somewhere, she was certain she had seen the professor do this a few times when he thought her to be asleep.

The sensation that flowed through her fingers could only be described as strange; they tingled with pins and needles when she held them over a small patch of wood at her eye level. Katelyn was sure this was the spot she had been searching for but yet the door held firm.

'I need to get through' she spoke out loud though she barely realized it.

All at once the tingling increased to burning, not painful but not entirely pleasant either. Feeling the door begin to move she released the breath she had been holding from the moment the strange feelings had begun.

Not stopping to survey her surroundings she took the sitting room at a run navigating around the couch and armchairs, while narrowly avoiding crashing into the low slung coffee table that had been invisible to her from her original position. Eventually she found the outer door and moving her hands in the same fashion she had used for the previous door proceeded to tell the door she wanted it to open. The tingling was definitely there but taking a closer look at the surface she saw the handle and the series of metal strips running across its width, while there was most certainly magic involved there was no hope she would be able to get through this way.

This door was locked with a key.

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