Disclaimers as always.

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Starlight, who's been with me all the way, Windra, Beth, Silver*Chime, for her enthusiasm and Stellarsiren.

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Chapter 14

Snape cancelled all his classes and spent the day locked in his classroom immersed in ingredients and potions. He worked diligently, discarding many half-brewed potions, as he experimented and searched for an antidote to counteract the potion Eleni had ingested.

If he had had the luxury of time, he would have done an extensive, further analysis on the sample he had extracted from the empty vial but time was not something he had. He needed an antidote and he needed it now.

By evening he had a close enough result to what he was seeking. He filled two vials and rushed to the hospital wing. But when arriving, Snape was alarmed to see Madam Pomfrey standing over Eleni, murmuring spells and enchantments, her eyes frantic and afraid.

Dumbledore was there too, whispering into Eleni's ear, imploring her to hold on, to fight whatever it was that had taken a grip of her.

Snape paused then hurried towards them. 'What's wrong? What's happened?' he demanded.

'I don't know,' said Poppy, 'her blood count has dropped dramatically and her fever has risen even higher. Nothing I have tried has worked. She is deteriorating so quickly that I am not sure….' Her voice broke unable to utter the words that were running through her mind.

'It's like something has taken hold,' said Dumbledore, his voice only just calmer than Poppy's. 'It's tearing through her system ripping it apart.'

Snape looked at Eleni. She was groaning, thrashing, panting in pain. Rivulets of sweat dripped down her face as her chest rose and fell erratically.

'Quick,' he commanded, 'lift her, so I can give her this potion.'

'What is it?' asked Poppy.

'An antidote,' he snapped. 'Once I discovered what she had taken, I immediately began work on an antidote. But it was tricky and difficult because I didn't have enough time to do it properly. So it's not perfect but it's the only chance we've got.'

'But,' began Poppy.

'No buts,' said Snape. 'Lift her up now.'

Dumbledore had enough respect for Snape's gifts not to argue. He also knew that Snape was right. The antidote was Eleni's last chance. He placed his hand under Eleni's shoulder and lifted her.

Snape's eyes were a mask of concentration, as he smoothed her damp hair away from her face and then cradled her limp head in his hand. With the other hand he reached into his pocket and retrieved the vial that he had prepared and held it over her mouth. Methodically he let the contents slowly run into the half open mouth, careful not waste a drop.

When he finished, he gave Dumbledore and Poppy a nod. They breathed and gently laid her back on the bed.

'In two hours she'll need another dose,' he told them. 'I'll remain here till it's time to administer it.'

'Severus,' said Dumbledore, looking at him questionably. 'Now that you've administered the potion, you can perhaps explain.'

'Very well,' said Snape moving away from the bed. Dumbledore followed him.

Snape glanced back at the bed before turning to Dumbledore and beginning. 'What she took was not the potion I prepared for her. I managed to extract two drops from the empty vial Minerva found in her room and after a preliminary analysis I consulted my book on deadly potions. What Eleni took was "insaniaugment".

Dumbledore was shocked. 'My goodness. I've heard that the effects of that potion are devastating.'

'Yes,' said Snape. 'During Voldemort's last reign, the potion was used by certain death eaters. Frequently because the torture administered was so severe, the victim went into shock and lost all memory. The potion was then used two fold, not only to return the memory but to magnify the memory of the torture a thousandfold. It resulted with the receiver losing all faculties and rendering them permanently insane.'

'And that's what Eleni took?' asked Dumbledore.

'Yes,' said Snape.

Dumbledore looked in Eleni's direction and frowned. 'Yet…' he said.

Snape nodded in acknowledgment guessing Dumbledore's thoughts.

'I thought of that too. I've surmised that the reason she has not gone into full psychosis, is because of the counteragents in the potion she was previously taking.'

'My God,' said Dumbledore. 'How on earth did she come to having this potion and why would she have taken it, that is if she knew what she was taking. Severus it does raise many grave questions.'

'I agree,' said Snape. 'And all the questions I promise will be answered. I plan to do a more thorough analysis on the extraction once she awakes. She might also be able to enlighten us on how she came in possession of the potion.'

'Albus, Severus,' cried out Poppy, who was re-examining Eleni. 'Come quick.'

'What is it?' asked Dumbledore.

'Her blood pressure is normalizing.'

Snape pressed the back of his hand against her forehead.

'Her fever is still high,' he said, 'but it's subsided.'

'The antidote is working,' said Dumbledore.

The three of them stepped back and took a simultaneous sigh of relief.

'I'll remain here,' said Snape, 'till it's time to give her the next dose.'

'Very well,' said Dumbledore, 'but then I'll take over. I want you to go and rest.'

'Fine,' said Snape, moving the chair closer to Eleni's bedside.

'I'll be back in two hours,' said Dumbledore, resting his hand on Snape's shoulder. 'Well done Severus, you did well.'

'Yes you certainly have done well,' said Poppy, before turning her attention to a first year that had entered the hospital wing crying and holding his wrist. Two of his friends were flanked on either side, both talking at once.

'Oh dear,' she crooned kindly as she moved towards them, 'what's happened here.'

Snape clicked his tongue in irritation and drew the curtain across with a swift sudden movement. Sometimes he wondered how Poppy tolerated the hospital wing.

**************

For once Hermione's attention span was as scattered as the boys. Harry, Ron and she had talked all day about Eleni and what had happened. They had sat at the back of each class, barely paying attention.

However if they had looked around, they would have noticed that they weren't the only ones unable to keep their mind on their work. What had happened to Eleni was on everyone's mind.

The trio were thankful when classes were over for the day and they could return to the relative peace of the Gryffindor common room and discuss what had occurred without worrying about glares from any teachers.

However on the way they bumped into Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

'Greeting,' said Malfoy, in a mocking tone. 'Why the glum faces?'

'Shut up Malfoy,' said Harry.

'Oh poor Potter's all upset that his little friend is sick.'

'Malfoy,' said Ron, 'don't you have anything else better to do than sneaking around like an idiot.'

Malfoy grinned and rested his frame against the wall behind him. He studied his manicured fingernails.

'Heard that Devon is done for,' he said casually. 'How sad for her.'

'She's not done for,' said Harry. 'I'm sure she'll be fine.'

'Don't count on it,' said Malfoy. 'Things happen you know. Sometimes people don't recover, they go quite mad. But oh well, what's one more, one less in the world.'

Ron growled and tightened his grip on his wand.

'I'm warning you Malfoy,' he said. 'One more word and you'll get it.'

'Gee Weasley, I'm trembling,' said Malfoy, doing a little dance in front of Ron.

Ron lifted his wand into attack position.

'Ron don't,' said Hermione, stepping between them, 'he's not worth it.'

'Let's bow to her honour, the Mudblood speaks,' said Malfoy.

Ron went to wave his wand and shoot Malfoy in the air and onto his head. But he stopped when he heard rapid footsteps approach.

'What's going on here?' asked McGonagall.

'Oh nothing Professor,' said Malfoy sweetly while Crabbe and Goyle nodded support. 'I was just enquiring about Eleni Devon but they have not been very obliging.'

McGonagall eyed Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle with distaste. 'The three of you shouldn't be here. Now go.'

Harry, Ron and Hermione watched Malfoy lead the pack away.

'How's Eleni?' asked Hermione, when she was certain Malfoy had gone.

'I'm afraid not too well,' said McGonagall.

'Do you have any idea what caused it?' Harry asked.

'Not really,' she said, 'and I'm afraid we won't know till she wakes up. Now I know the three of you are worried but it's best you try and continue as normal. I'll let you know the moment I know something.'

Draco left Crabbe and Goyle and went to the Owlery.

He patted his handsome black owl and scribbled hastily on a piece of parchment.

"Dear father

Everything has gone to plan.

Draco"

He smiled and tied the note to his owl, who regarded him with cool eyes.

'Okay,' Draco whispered to it, as the owl's eyes glinted. 'Go to father and give him the good news.'

**********************

Snape absentmindedly held Eleni's hand while he stared into space and pondered the situation.

How did she get the potion?

And if she knew what it was, why did she drink it?

Snape however suspected that that hypothesis wasn't the correct one.

He knew more than anyone, how afraid she was of retrieving her past. Therefore he thought, it was fair to assume that she hadn't knowingly taken the potion.

Which made the situation even more disturbing. Someone had planted the potion. Probably exchanged his potion with theirs. How? And why?

Snape pushed away his suspicions. It was useless speculating without the evidence. And that he planned to discover after a more extensive analysis.

He knew that every brewer of potions had their own unique identifiable signatures. And he was confident he's find out who had brewed the potion. With that vital information, there'd be clarity and hell to pay.

He glanced down at his hand and was startled when he saw he was holding Eleni's hand. He hastily let go and turned the other way.

What was happening to him? Was it tiredness that was causing all this concern for the girl?

He knew that he had raised eyebrows with his constant bedside vigil. Yet he felt a duty, an obligation and not only because Dumbledore had asked him to keep an eye on the girl. He had never been this way with any student, well he thought except for Potter but then that was only grudgingly because there were debts to be paid with Potter's father and because of his own personal hatred of Voldemort.

Snape glanced at Eleni. No he thought, this was different because he alone knew what she had seen. And what it had done to her. Had he not experienced a similar thing in his past?

Snape shifted uncomfortably in his chair, aware that once she was awake there'd be many questions.

He leaned over and touched her forehead and was pleased with the results. The fever had mercifully broken and her body temperature was returning to normal.

'Ah Severus,' said Dumbledore, pulling the curtain back and breaking into his thoughts. 'How is she?'

'Better. As you can see, her breathing has normalised, she appears calmer and her fever has broken.'

'She must be almost ready for her second dose.'

'Yes,' said Snape, noticing that he was once again holding her hand. He carefully let go.

'How long till she awakes?' asked Dumbledore.

'It shouldn't be too much longer.'

'Good because I want to be here when it happens,' said Dumbledore. 'And once we administer the second dose, I want you to go and rest.'

'I need to finish the analysis,' said Snape.

'Severus, the analysis can wait. Now let me help you. I'll hold her and you give her the potion.'

*************************

It seemed that she had been running forever through the forest. All she could hear was the sound of her ragged breath and the pounding of her feet against the forest floor.

Somewhere behind her were the men with the reptile masks and the "Vampirimots".

She ran on and on, desperate to get away but knowing that they were closing the gap. At times they were so close, she could feel their cold damp fingers touch the back of her neck.

As she ventured deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Forest, the forest became thicker and thicker making it more of an effort to move forward. Yet she kept going, fighting through the undergrowth determined not to give up.

But as much as she tried, each breath she took was like a stab to the lungs. And her legs had frozen into exhaustion.

Yet she continued running, refusing to give up.

She saw the tiny stone house in the distance. Eleni didn't stop to ask herself if it was empty or how it came to be in the forest. Instead she ran to the door, flung it open and raced inside and slammed it shut behind her.

She bent and took painful breaths willing her trembling body to calm down. Surely now she was safe, surely she had foiled them.

But then she heard them, stamping through the forest and approaching fast. She looked at the door in horror as the doorknob began to turn.

'No,' she cried, heaving her body against the door. 'I'm not going to let you in.'

There was little strength left in her body but she used every ounce of it to keep the door shut. Eleni heard them through the door, laughing and wailing in high pitch voices as they pounded and pounded on the door, trying to push it open.

'Let us in, let us in,' they said, in sweet, sonorous tones, 'and all your pain will disappear. You will sleep forever in oblivion.'

'No,' she panted. 'Never. I'm not going to let you in.'

But they continued to pound at the door. They kept pushing and pushing at the door, till finally it began to give way.

She screamed when she saw the door slowly creep open. Through the tiny gap she saw a pair of bloodied fangs and fingers reaching out wanting to touch and contaminate her.

'Please, please,' she cried, 'go away, leave me alone. Oh God please help me I can't hold on, I can't. I'm trying but I can't. It's too much, I can't hold them all off. Please God help me, I haven't got the strength to hold on.'

Then just as she was about to give up and let them overrun her, a pair of hands came up beside her, slamming the door shut.

Eleni turned her head weakly to look at who the hands belonged to.

'Professor Snape,' she whispered. 'What are you doing here?'

He moved his whole body against the door and looked at her.

'It's alright Eleni,' he said. 'I'll help you keep them back.'

'As will I,' said another voice, on the other side of her.

Eleni turned towards the other voice as tears of relief clouded her vision.

'Professor Dumbledore.'

Dumbledore smiled. 'Everything is going to be all right. We're both here now. There is nothing for you to worry about. We promise we'll keep them out.'

Eleni rested her head against the door and began to cry.

(end of chapter)

Whew!!!! Writing this sort of stuff is emotionally draining. But I hope you liked it.

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