Hermione hesitated for a moment as she entered the room.
It was one thing to be in the private rooms of a teacher, but another was to see her own teacher more dead than alive, especially the teacher most students were afraid of and looked up at with admiration.
The teacher who for years had survived Voldemort and the espionage work.
"Oh my God," Hermione kidnapped as she slowly stepped closer to the bed. Dumbledore had sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at his protégé.
"That's about the state he's been in for about a week and a half. For three days, since Halloween, it's been so bad.
Madame Pomfrey wants to give him three more days before she refuses to do anything to keep his life so painful. She thinks it's best for him if..."
"...you let him go." Finished Hermione the sentence for the headmaster. "What's your opinion, professor?"
"I can see somewhere that we are only torturing him unnecessarily, but I wouldn't be able to kill him. That's why I asked you to help us, Hermione.
There are certainly some other options than the magical means at our disposal."
Hermione stood next to the bed of her potion teacher and looked into the pale and feverish face.
"How high is the fever?"
"At the moment it's 43°C."
"This is much too high. What did you do about it?"
"Nothing. "NICHTS!? Which of the house elves would you unconditionally trust, professor?"
"Dobby!"
With a pop the house-elf appeared and was pleased when he saw Hermione.
"Hello, Hermione. Good evening, Professor Dumbledore, sir. How is Severus?"
"Not very well, Dobby. But Hermione needs your help to help him."
"Of course, Hermione. How can I help you?", the house-elf said.
"It would be nice if you could get me a sheet of parchment, pen and ink first, Dobby."
With another plop the house-elf disappeared, only to reappear a moment later.
Hermione took the desired things from him and wrote a short but urgent letter to her parents.
"Dobby, I need these things on the list. Can you bring them to me here and bring this letter to my parents afterwards?
"Sure you can."
After a minute or two, Dobby returned with a bowl of hot and cold water, one empty, and a stack of towels.
"I wrote a letter to my parents. I need some things from the Muggle world to help him. I don't know if it will work, but it's worth a try.
Professor Snape can't stay down here. It's very draughty here and the mattress is clammy. Do you know a place where we can take him where we can ventilate properly?"
"We can take him to my bedroom. I realize that this is not the right place for him."
Dumbledore called another house elf, with whose help they apparated from the dungeons into the director's bedroom.
"Much better," Hermine said after they had put her professor in the big bed.
"Could you put two of the towels in the cold water and wring them out afterwards? They shouldn't drip anymore, otherwise they would wet everything.
Then wrap them around his calves. With the Muggles this is called a calf compress. It is especially helpful for mild fevers. It shouldn't be pointless for him either, but I need additional antibiotics to reduce the inflammation and a fever remedy."
"How are you going to give him all that, Hermione? Please don't force me to wake him up with another enervate."
Before Hermione could get an answer, Dobby appeared. He entered, compared to his height, a huge package.
"Hermione, Professor Dumbledore, sir. This is what I'm supposed to give you from your parents. They also added a letter."
"Thank you Dobby."
Hermione took the parcel and the letter from the house elf and opened the latter first.
Hermione,
We have just received a visit from a very strange creature, who introduced himself with Dobby, the house elf.
He handed us your letter in which you asked us for some medication and needles.
We ask you not to take the whole matter too much to heart, it is very likely that the professor will not survive the whole thing.
We have a lot of patients here in the hospital who don't survive pneumonia or blood poisoning in otherwise normal circumstances.
He has a chance of under one percent. He is so weakened by the enormous blood loss and curses that it is a miracle that he has survived the last 10 days.
All the best
Mum and Dad
Hermione gave the letter to Dumbledore, who became a bit paler.
She unpacked the parcel and sorted its contents on the enlarged bedside table. Dumbledore, who had put the letter on page, watched her with interest.
"I asked my parents to send me infusions. This is how we regulate the water balance, since Professor Snape is not able to drink at the moment and even if he has woken up, we should keep this for a few more days, because the lost amount cannot be absorbed all at once in the natural way.
Furthermore you can easily give painkillers and antibiotics. I have asked my parents to send me these in liquid form because they work faster and are better tolerated.
The only problem will be the withdrawal afterwards, but he should be able to cope with it already."
She smiled. Dumbledore was fascinated to see how she handled things without any problems. She worked with great concentration and speed, but without the hustle and bustle that Poppy radiated.
She pushed Severus' sweater a little high to get better to the back of his hand, where she skilfully inserted the needle that led over a tube to the infusion.
"The needle has two entrances. One is used to administer the NaCl solution from the infusion bags, which we will renew every three hours to make sure it doesn't lose any more fluid.
Later we will also give the medication here, but we will give it through the second access on his hand for the time being, because it must be dosed higher and must work faster.
If necessary, we can also do this later. However, we must wait and see.
I have now connected an infusion, which must be checked regularly and given him a antipyretic and antibiotics. He does not need painkillers now because he does not feel the pain caused by unconsciousness.
I leave a sedative injection and a sleeping pill injection here for safety."
Dumbledore finally understood why all the teachers were enthusiastic about this student. She managed to calm people down with her expertise and her way of giving them a feeling of security.
Dumbledore was sure it had been right to tell Hermione his secret, even though Poppy and Minerva would not be thrilled.
"I must thank you, Hermione. What you did for Severus is simply stunning."
"But I haven't achieved anything yet. You look terribly tired, professor. How long haven't you slept?"
"It's been a while since I slept through the night."
"I will stay here this night, if you will allow me professor. Tomorrow is Saturday and there we have no lesson."
"Of course, Hermione. I think that's a good idea. I'll let Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey know that I've inaugurated you and you're staying the night. They should also get some sleep.
Next door you will find my library. You are welcome to pick out one or two books to read. I'll stop by later.
Now that my bed is full, I sleep in my living room. Another bed fits there. You can wake me up if something happens. I want to be informed about every change.
Thank you again, Hermione."
"I have to thank you, professor. Of course I will let you know. Good night."
When Dumbledore left the bedroom, some hope glittered in his eyes. Maybe Severus wasn't quite as lost as he thought he was a few hours ago.