"Madame Pomfrey!"
The door to the Infirmary flew open before him, and Snape strode into the hospital wing as all the torches lit up instantaneously. Momentarily blinded, he halted, pain searing through his temples as his own migraine chose to return with a vengeance.
"What is it? What's wrong" Madame Pomfrey came flitting out of the far door, highly distressed. "What's worth all this shouting in the middle of the night? I have patients here you know!"
Indeed she did. There were three students lying behind screens in their beds.
"I need you to look at this child immediately! She will need a private room, and we need to contact Dumbledore, this matter is of concern to him."
"Come this way, quickly then." Catching Snape's furious glare, she got the idea that he didn't need to be told to hurry and mentally checked herself before she said any more.
Explaining the events of the evening, Snape laid the child gently on the bed. Madame Pomfrey shooed him out of the room to change the girl into pajamas, and as Snape paced around outside the door, he heard her gasp. "MY dear Merlin! I've never seen anything like this." He knew then his concerns about the child's weight were well founded, and it hadn't been the shadowy light of his chambers, nor his overly concerned imagination that had made the child appear to be so thin.
"Severus, I need to know what all she was given tonight - her breathing is very shallow, her heart rate is sluggish and faint and she isn't responding to any pain stimuli. Gods, has she always been so thin and well, unhealthy?"
Running a hand through his already disheveled hair, wondering what in Hell was taking Dumbledore so long; Severus quickly listed the ingredients of his private Migraine Pain Serum. "I began by placing the headache charm on her, and then used the cooling salve, which had absolutely no effect on lowering her pain level - if anything, it intensified. Then I tried the headache elixir, which indeed helped, but only for a few minutes. The only other person I've ever seen with Migraine this severe is."
"You." Madame Pomfrey cut him off. "It was a difficult time for you, I remember all those nights you would come up here, and I would try to help.. And then you suddenly stopped coming to me for help. why was that? I know you still suffer from them."
"That was in 6th year, when I perfected my own personal potion to deal with my problem myself." He replied "I'm not much of one for relying on others. Anyhow, my private elixir is 1 part Dreamless Sleep Potion, 1 part shrivelfig, I part dragon's blood, 1 part morphine, 2 parts shredded boomslang skin and 2 parts sedative potion"
Madame Pomfrey took in her breath sharply "A combination of Dreamless Sleep, Sedative Potion, and MORPHINE?" She was incredulous. "Those are all three toxic substances, and morphine is illegal in wizarding circles due to its unknown magical side effects. I am not sure how they will interact in a child, let alone a child in such a malnourished state as she is."
Snape furrowed his brow. "Can you wake her? Have you tried enervate?" He asked. "It often takes three hours to wake from that particular potion for me, so if she doesn't stir, I wouldn't be alarmed."
"Poppy." He asked suddenly. "Why is this child so painfully thin - she looks like living death?"
"I don't think that child has eaten for weeks, Severus. I checked her over and she is highly malnourished and in a severely weakened state. I put a nourishment spell on her as well as my strongest health and healing spells, but past that we need to know what caused her to basically starve herself. I've never seen anything like this my entire career!"
"I wonder what drove her to this." Snape growled under his breath.
There was a knock on the private door, and Dumbledore entered the room. "How bad is she, Poppy?" He asked in a concerned tone, walking over to the still form lying in the bed. Looking down at her, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Miss Caliga is a fifth year isn't she? She looks tinier then that little Creevey boy was on his first day in - so small and frail."
"I feel we should contact her parents immediately, Headmaster - She needs to go to St Mungo's and be in the care of her parents and their staff there. I am not confidant in dealing with a child in such serious condition." Poppy was nervously wringing her hands.
"That would be fine," replied Snape, his angry black eyes silencing the witch before Dumbledore could speak "but unfortunately, she has no parents, and as her Head of House I feel sending her alone to St Mungo's would not be beneficial to her. When she awakens, she will have no trace of the headache left, and we will be able to speak with her about the other. situation." Turning to face his white-haired superior, Severus continued. "Headmaster, I need to speak to you alone. There is another reason I would prefer not to send her to St Mungo's if at all possible." Stepping out of the room, Snape went into the hall with the older wizard at his heels, while Madam Pomfrey shot him a hard look and went to tend to the child.
"How do I begin." Snape started. Pinching the bridge of his aquiline nose as was habit, He took a deep breathe, and then exhaled. "I have taken the girl's predicament personally, Albus, and as such."
"I have the feeling that you may have used something a little unconventional with this student, Severus?" Dumbledore's eyes looked grave "and that is why you are so reluctant to have her go anywhere but here?"
Chewing his lip, Snape scowled back at him, kicking at the stone floor as he did so "You are correct. I have never, ever seen anyone in that level of pain unless under Cruciatus. She was catatonic when I found her, and the agony caused her to loose consciousness not long after. As you well know, this had been going on for two weeks."
"That is indeed something to be concerned about."
"Nothing worked, Albus! Nothing! I tried all of my usual daytime potions, and they were rendered ineffective after 10 minutes. I felt compelled to act on it." He looked away, eyes downcast. "However, now I worry that.."
"Why didn't you just bring her up here immediately?" Dumbledore replied quietly.
"I knew I had what she needed in my private stores - Poppy is rather inept at dealing with these types of things I am afraid. I have learned long ago that her analgesic potions are basically as useful as Muggle chewable Tylenol. I do not trust my more potent concoctions in her hands. They need to be specifically handled." His voice trailed off, eyes growing darker by the minute. He spoke again, sharper than he meant, "It's not that I wasn't aware of the risk! Albus - I recognized that look, the pain in her eyes - there is only one thing that can alleviate it, short of a bullet, or a well aimed wand at a mirror! Filtch said that this has been going on for over two weeks! Over two weeks - how much can the child bear? It's unheard of."
"Yes, Filtch had conferred with me regarding our mysterious nighttime prowler, and I do believe that it was Cassie. Poor child, that she felt there was no where to turn and no one to help her with the torture. Now we will simply have to wait and monitor her, watching for when she awakes to know how the potion has fully affected her. It was certainly a grave gamble that you took. ." He sighed before continuing to himself "artistic, emotionally driven teachers and not always prone to clarity in thought, Albus. You would do well to remember that in your next round of hiring..."
"I do not regret it!" Snape's eyes flashed and the muscles at his jaw jumped uncontrollably. "I would not leave her like that, unaided! She was crying out for her mother.." His voice trailed off, wrought with emotion he thought he had long ago driven out. "She is a prideful child, and I have never even seen so much as a tear come into her eye in the 4 years she's been here, even that day that Longbottom brat spilt Bubotuber pus on her hand." He fell silent, unable to continue.
"It sounds like she has caught your attention on more than one occasion, Severus." Dumbledore replied mildly.
Snape jerked his head up to reply, his right nostril twitching but was interrupted before he could respond.
"Headmaster! Severus! Come quickly!" Madame Pomfrey ran out into the hall to get them. "I need help now!"
The door to the Infirmary flew open before him, and Snape strode into the hospital wing as all the torches lit up instantaneously. Momentarily blinded, he halted, pain searing through his temples as his own migraine chose to return with a vengeance.
"What is it? What's wrong" Madame Pomfrey came flitting out of the far door, highly distressed. "What's worth all this shouting in the middle of the night? I have patients here you know!"
Indeed she did. There were three students lying behind screens in their beds.
"I need you to look at this child immediately! She will need a private room, and we need to contact Dumbledore, this matter is of concern to him."
"Come this way, quickly then." Catching Snape's furious glare, she got the idea that he didn't need to be told to hurry and mentally checked herself before she said any more.
Explaining the events of the evening, Snape laid the child gently on the bed. Madame Pomfrey shooed him out of the room to change the girl into pajamas, and as Snape paced around outside the door, he heard her gasp. "MY dear Merlin! I've never seen anything like this." He knew then his concerns about the child's weight were well founded, and it hadn't been the shadowy light of his chambers, nor his overly concerned imagination that had made the child appear to be so thin.
"Severus, I need to know what all she was given tonight - her breathing is very shallow, her heart rate is sluggish and faint and she isn't responding to any pain stimuli. Gods, has she always been so thin and well, unhealthy?"
Running a hand through his already disheveled hair, wondering what in Hell was taking Dumbledore so long; Severus quickly listed the ingredients of his private Migraine Pain Serum. "I began by placing the headache charm on her, and then used the cooling salve, which had absolutely no effect on lowering her pain level - if anything, it intensified. Then I tried the headache elixir, which indeed helped, but only for a few minutes. The only other person I've ever seen with Migraine this severe is."
"You." Madame Pomfrey cut him off. "It was a difficult time for you, I remember all those nights you would come up here, and I would try to help.. And then you suddenly stopped coming to me for help. why was that? I know you still suffer from them."
"That was in 6th year, when I perfected my own personal potion to deal with my problem myself." He replied "I'm not much of one for relying on others. Anyhow, my private elixir is 1 part Dreamless Sleep Potion, 1 part shrivelfig, I part dragon's blood, 1 part morphine, 2 parts shredded boomslang skin and 2 parts sedative potion"
Madame Pomfrey took in her breath sharply "A combination of Dreamless Sleep, Sedative Potion, and MORPHINE?" She was incredulous. "Those are all three toxic substances, and morphine is illegal in wizarding circles due to its unknown magical side effects. I am not sure how they will interact in a child, let alone a child in such a malnourished state as she is."
Snape furrowed his brow. "Can you wake her? Have you tried enervate?" He asked. "It often takes three hours to wake from that particular potion for me, so if she doesn't stir, I wouldn't be alarmed."
"Poppy." He asked suddenly. "Why is this child so painfully thin - she looks like living death?"
"I don't think that child has eaten for weeks, Severus. I checked her over and she is highly malnourished and in a severely weakened state. I put a nourishment spell on her as well as my strongest health and healing spells, but past that we need to know what caused her to basically starve herself. I've never seen anything like this my entire career!"
"I wonder what drove her to this." Snape growled under his breath.
There was a knock on the private door, and Dumbledore entered the room. "How bad is she, Poppy?" He asked in a concerned tone, walking over to the still form lying in the bed. Looking down at her, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Miss Caliga is a fifth year isn't she? She looks tinier then that little Creevey boy was on his first day in - so small and frail."
"I feel we should contact her parents immediately, Headmaster - She needs to go to St Mungo's and be in the care of her parents and their staff there. I am not confidant in dealing with a child in such serious condition." Poppy was nervously wringing her hands.
"That would be fine," replied Snape, his angry black eyes silencing the witch before Dumbledore could speak "but unfortunately, she has no parents, and as her Head of House I feel sending her alone to St Mungo's would not be beneficial to her. When she awakens, she will have no trace of the headache left, and we will be able to speak with her about the other. situation." Turning to face his white-haired superior, Severus continued. "Headmaster, I need to speak to you alone. There is another reason I would prefer not to send her to St Mungo's if at all possible." Stepping out of the room, Snape went into the hall with the older wizard at his heels, while Madam Pomfrey shot him a hard look and went to tend to the child.
"How do I begin." Snape started. Pinching the bridge of his aquiline nose as was habit, He took a deep breathe, and then exhaled. "I have taken the girl's predicament personally, Albus, and as such."
"I have the feeling that you may have used something a little unconventional with this student, Severus?" Dumbledore's eyes looked grave "and that is why you are so reluctant to have her go anywhere but here?"
Chewing his lip, Snape scowled back at him, kicking at the stone floor as he did so "You are correct. I have never, ever seen anyone in that level of pain unless under Cruciatus. She was catatonic when I found her, and the agony caused her to loose consciousness not long after. As you well know, this had been going on for two weeks."
"That is indeed something to be concerned about."
"Nothing worked, Albus! Nothing! I tried all of my usual daytime potions, and they were rendered ineffective after 10 minutes. I felt compelled to act on it." He looked away, eyes downcast. "However, now I worry that.."
"Why didn't you just bring her up here immediately?" Dumbledore replied quietly.
"I knew I had what she needed in my private stores - Poppy is rather inept at dealing with these types of things I am afraid. I have learned long ago that her analgesic potions are basically as useful as Muggle chewable Tylenol. I do not trust my more potent concoctions in her hands. They need to be specifically handled." His voice trailed off, eyes growing darker by the minute. He spoke again, sharper than he meant, "It's not that I wasn't aware of the risk! Albus - I recognized that look, the pain in her eyes - there is only one thing that can alleviate it, short of a bullet, or a well aimed wand at a mirror! Filtch said that this has been going on for over two weeks! Over two weeks - how much can the child bear? It's unheard of."
"Yes, Filtch had conferred with me regarding our mysterious nighttime prowler, and I do believe that it was Cassie. Poor child, that she felt there was no where to turn and no one to help her with the torture. Now we will simply have to wait and monitor her, watching for when she awakes to know how the potion has fully affected her. It was certainly a grave gamble that you took. ." He sighed before continuing to himself "artistic, emotionally driven teachers and not always prone to clarity in thought, Albus. You would do well to remember that in your next round of hiring..."
"I do not regret it!" Snape's eyes flashed and the muscles at his jaw jumped uncontrollably. "I would not leave her like that, unaided! She was crying out for her mother.." His voice trailed off, wrought with emotion he thought he had long ago driven out. "She is a prideful child, and I have never even seen so much as a tear come into her eye in the 4 years she's been here, even that day that Longbottom brat spilt Bubotuber pus on her hand." He fell silent, unable to continue.
"It sounds like she has caught your attention on more than one occasion, Severus." Dumbledore replied mildly.
Snape jerked his head up to reply, his right nostril twitching but was interrupted before he could respond.
"Headmaster! Severus! Come quickly!" Madame Pomfrey ran out into the hall to get them. "I need help now!"