"I Can't Let You Love Me" chapter 15
On Wednesday Phoebe was still at the clinic and still quite ill. She was no longer vomiting mostly because she refused to eat. The pain, however, remained. Much of the time she was "out of it" under the influence of one pain potion or other. However, she had been lucid long and often enough for Jeff Barnes to explain the situation to her.
The news that morning had not been good. James Barnes had conducted a thorough exam and agreed with his son: the pregnancy was malformed but it was not terminating on its own. Phoebe was ill because the pregnancy was toxic to her. She could go on for a while, but the toxic nature of the pregnancy would eventually endanger her life.
"So it's kill or be killed, is that what you're saying?" Phoebe commented in an attempt at dry wit.
"After a fashion. Phoebe neither of you will survive this pregnancy, it will kill you long before the baby would be viable." Jeffrey explained carefully.
"Well, it's not as if I'm desperate to save the baby." Phoebe said, a note of self disgust in her voice.
"If you don't feel desperate, what do you feel?" Jeff asked gently
Phoebe sighed, "I'm relieved. I'm relieved it has to be ended. But somehow that makes me feel like.... like..."
"A horrible person?"
"Yes," she said, looking down.
"I don't think it makes you a horrible person at all. I think what you're feeling is natural, normal, expected. In fact, I think its pretty damn extraordinary that you were even willing to consider keeping the baby considering."
Phoebe closed in on herself and looked away at this. "Considering..." she said softly, turning her back on Barnes to stare at the wall.
By Wednesday, of course, the news that one of the teachers was so sick they weren't in the hospital wing but were at the clinic in town had made it to Lucius Malfoy, via his son, Draco. Malfoy was very, very interested when he discovered just who that teacher was.
While Phoebe and Jeffrey Barnes were talking in the clinic Malfoy was making his oily presence known in the headmaster's office. He made some small talk about visiting his son while in the area and did some fishing about how things were going at the school. Given their mutual history, Malfoy wasn't surprised he got nowhere with Dumbledore. Not that there weren't other avenues.
Snapes eyes glittered sharply at Lucius as he strode into the Potion Master's office. How Severus wanted to wrap his hands around Malfoy's filthy neck! He wanted to grind the bastard's face into the floor and beat him nearly senseless before killing him. But he could do no such thing. In fact, he was cursed to have to treat Malfoy well. Fortunately, Snape wasn't very conversational under normal circumstances so Malfoy wasn't suspicious at his sharp, terse, answers. By the time Malfoy got around to asking about Phoebe Snape was ready with an appropriately sneering answer.
"The old fool has been worse than closed mouthed about the whole thing as has the dammed healer. But she can't stay in town forever," Snape said his stomach turning but his face maintaining the sneer, "When she comes back to the castle it is only a matter of time before I discover what is going on."
"The Dark Lord will want to know why you didn't report this, Snape," Lucius said icily
"I did not because I have nothing to report as yet," Snape snapped. "What there is to know you know from Draco as I knew you would. Why take the risk of contacting you when I knew your son would?"
Lucius spent some more time making sure there was nothing more he could learn from Snape before he left the castle... without visiting his son.
Snape sat slowly down after Malfoy left his office looking down at his shaking hands. He clenched and unclenched them several times which slowed the angry tremors but did not still them. He felt ill after this conversation... and frightened. Malfoy was just a bit too nosy.
Severus was practically chomping at the bit to run up the stairs and speak with Dumbledore but he knew that was too risky. If he were seen running to Albus right after Malfoy left and word got back to Malfoy... Instead he grabbed a quill and scribbled a quick note calling for a house elf to bring it to the headmaster immediately.
A short time later Severus was pacing impatiently in his quarters when he heard a slight rustling and looked up to see Dumbledore undoing his invisibility charm.
"Malfoy's been nosing around about Phoebe." Severus said without pre-amble.
"I know. He was in my office."
"YOUR office? I don't like that at all."
"It is curious considering the extreme unlikelihood he would get any information from me."
"She's not safe enough down there. She needs to be moved back up to Hogwarts." Severus insisted.
"I agree," Dumbledore said gravely, " In fact, I've already sent Poppy down to see to it."
Life never is that simple, however. Hours later Poppy Pomfrey was found stupefied in the healer's office which contained no trace of either healer or patient.
