A special thanks to all my loyal readers who enjoy the chaos of my stories.
I am so very, very sorry about the HUGE delay in posting on this one - My
business is in dire straits due to the current economic state in our
province (funny how people don't take riding lessons when they don't have a
job, hunh?) and all my focus has been on keeping the ship afloat and NOT
having to let any of our staff go.. Anyways, more trauma (literally and
figuratively) for my beloved Slytherin friends..
Chapter 30
"Draco, why did you bring me here?" she asked in a hushed voice. "What is there that I can do for a man in such shape? Merlin's beard, he looks as if he were hit by a bus!"
"You can get him the hell out of here, back to Hogwarts where some magical healing will do so much better than any of this Muggle crap! Dumbledore may have decided that it's OK for the lowly Slytherin head of house to die, but I have not!" His voice rose in anger, and then dropped again suddenly. "I could not live with that, and neither could Cassandra. Now PLEASE do something. Get us the hell out of here before they come back and deciding that drowning him might suit his needs better than their previous choice of electrocution!"
Sighing, Mdm. Pomfrey moved over to the bed. There was not much of Severus in view, and what there was couldn't be properly recognized. Only his characteristic roman nose and the ugly tattoo which leered at her from his left forearm confirmed that the wreck in the bed was truly Severus Snape, the once formidable Potions Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She briefly ran her hands over the entire length of his body, hovering them an inch off the thin cotton sheets. She paused over his head, and then began again, talking to herself quietly under her breath so that Draco, who was standing guard at the door and had placed a disinterest charm over it to keep the Muggle nurses and doctors at bay, couldn't hear a word she had said. This in turn led to him muttering a variety of things under his breath, and it was very fortunate for him that the old matron couldn't hear his choice words for her. Even-tempered or not, such things should have gotten him hexed into next week.
She looked over at the angry young man by the door and shook her head. Everything in her said that she ought to leave the husk of a man on the bed to his natural demise, feeling that the fates had been more than unkind to Severus in the first place to have kept him alive for so long. She knew that he had suffered much in his 37 years, and the task of spying on Voldemort and its repercussions left an indelible mark on him. Pain haunted his every move, and she remembered that the last time she had seen him even close to a smile was in his seventh year, directly before he graduated top of the class. Looking over a Draco again, she realized that it was out of her hands, she had been brought here (albeit against her will) and now she must fulfill her duty. Her gut tugged at her, warning again that this was not in the patient's best interest, but rather in the interest of Draco and the young lady suffering back in the school infirmary. With a last look down at the mass of bandages and blood stains that she had once known as the dour Head of House, she coughed and nodded at Draco, summoning him over to her.
"I must do what is within my power, as is my duty. However, do not expect him to be grateful should he happen to awaken. He is mortally wounded Draco, and some magic has already been preformed upon him to keep him alive thus far. I only do this because of Miss Caliga... I feel that his presence may be able to draw her forth from the grips of the poisons she was given. They have a bond, Mr Malfoy, and it runs deep enough that conscious or not, she will know when we bring him back to the ward and that in itself may be what it takes to bring her back to us." Surveying the scene, she clucked her tongue.
"This will be challenging. I'm going to have to use a special disappartation, and I have only had to use it a few times in my career. "
"But I thought you would splinch if you apparate with a really sick or injured person." Draco cautioned.
"Yes, you would splinch him if you tried. this is a specific charm that we learned in Medi-School and it offers protection to his physical body while we transport. I can't take you with us Mr Malfoy; you're going to have to get yourself back on your own. Maybe use that Portkey you have hidden in your pocket?"
She leant over the prone form on the bed, and began saying incantations in a sing-song way. She then spoke in a loud voice, without looking back at the boy, gave him one command.
"Remove the charm off the door. I am taking him now."
Draco flicked his wand at the door, breathing the counter-charm quietly and then ducked into the corner out of sight of anyone walking down the now dimly lit hallway. When he looked back at the bed, it was empty save for the bloodstains and the imprint of its last occupant. Reaching into his pocket for the Portkey, feeling the edges of the cloth which he had wrapped over it, and mentally steeled himself for the launch through space, pleased that his mentor had been taken from this horrible place. He closed his eyes preparing to go, but found that instead of being jerked forward, he was being spun out into the corridor of the hospital, a vise-like grip on his right arm.
"This is the boy I was telling you about, the one with the father in that horrible accident.He said he was the brother of that girl who disappeared from the fourth floor. We need him fro questioning, but he ran off earlier. I've got him!" ****Should I leave it here? It would be a nasty-ass cliffhanger really, wouldn't it? Fortunately dear reader, I love you almost as much as I love Severus, so we shall continue on... And you've all been so patient with me *******
Draco's eyes popped open in shock and horror. What the fuck was this? Why hadn't the Obliviate charm worked? What was going on here?
Seeing the look on his face, the nurse smiled down at him, not loosening her grip on his arm.
"Don't worry young fella, we've called Family Services on your behalf, and they'll take care of you until your father." her voice trailed off. " Until we can work something else out" she finished rather lamely.
Draco's mind was whirling.fuck, fuck, fuck, think dammit! Fuck fuck fuck, I have to get the hell out of here, if I cast Adavara Kadavara to get it done! He tried in vain to jerk free from her hold, but to no avail.
"You can come with me until we get a few things straightened out!"
Another voice came up from behind him, and he found himself being pushed into a small room with two chairs and not much else. He sat down, trying to quell his rising panic at being trapped in Muggle London (he'd be expelled if he port keyed in front of Muggles, no matter what the reason, and then his father WOULD finally kill him, and running didn't feel like an option right now as his head WAS actually reeling from the shock and effort of the day.) What else could he do?
"Do you have a name, young man?"
Draco blinked back, a dull expression on his face. So lost in trying to decide his escape, he hadn't heard the question being asked of him. He decided to go with the stupid mute thing a moment longer.
"Your Name! I asked you your name! Can you not hear me?"
Draco was silent, uncertain what to say. What would a good Muggle name be? He couldn't use his name, or Snape's, or (heaven-forbid) Cassandra's last name. What if this person was in league with ignoble? Who was to say who was good or evil in this power play they had all become caught up in. Think, think, think think.
"I think he might be in shock, Sir. I mean look at him, he's so pale..."the nurse spoke up on Draco's behalf.
"Let the boy speak for himself. He seemed to be able to talk just fine before."
"I..I..." He stalled for a moment, a thought took him and he touched the tip of his wand and thought of a particularly nasty hex that Weasley had hit him with earlier that year.
"Ad nauseum" he whispered, so quiet that no one else in the small cubicle could possibly hear him. The familiar churning of his stomach contents began and he knew it would only be a moment until...
"I feel sick" he spat out, and promptly vomited all over the other two occupants of the small space.
AS both of the adults recoiled at the bile which now drenched them, Draco seized the moment and bolted from the room and down the corridor. Flying into a storage closet, he dug his hand down deep into his pocket and worked his way quickly between the folds of the cloth to touch the port key. He could here shouts in the corridor, and running footsteps, but his fingers hit the prize and he knew he was home free. This time when he recognized the pull in his gut, as a second unfortunate gut wrenching heave began. 'Ad nauseum does indeed take some time to wear off,' he thought to himself miserably. 'I wonder exactly WHERE the puke goes when you vomit while transporting?'
With that he landed in a heap outside the gates to Hogwarts in a puddle of his own fluids, and he laying there retching and heaving. He had forgotten about the increase in volume of his stomach contents that made the spell extra effective. If you had thrown everything you had to give up, the spell would gladly create more. It felt like hours. It had been at least ½ hour since he had transported there, and Draco still couldn't stop retching long enough to get up and go for help, and with each successive hurl he felt something tear in his stomach. 'I wonder if self-induced hexes are more powerful?" Casting the thought out, Draco gasped for breath as the pain seared through his innards. Staring down at the growing puddle, holding himself off the ground with shuddering arms, he blanched as the bile came up with streaks of red. The ground swam before him and all went dark.
Chapter 30
"Draco, why did you bring me here?" she asked in a hushed voice. "What is there that I can do for a man in such shape? Merlin's beard, he looks as if he were hit by a bus!"
"You can get him the hell out of here, back to Hogwarts where some magical healing will do so much better than any of this Muggle crap! Dumbledore may have decided that it's OK for the lowly Slytherin head of house to die, but I have not!" His voice rose in anger, and then dropped again suddenly. "I could not live with that, and neither could Cassandra. Now PLEASE do something. Get us the hell out of here before they come back and deciding that drowning him might suit his needs better than their previous choice of electrocution!"
Sighing, Mdm. Pomfrey moved over to the bed. There was not much of Severus in view, and what there was couldn't be properly recognized. Only his characteristic roman nose and the ugly tattoo which leered at her from his left forearm confirmed that the wreck in the bed was truly Severus Snape, the once formidable Potions Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She briefly ran her hands over the entire length of his body, hovering them an inch off the thin cotton sheets. She paused over his head, and then began again, talking to herself quietly under her breath so that Draco, who was standing guard at the door and had placed a disinterest charm over it to keep the Muggle nurses and doctors at bay, couldn't hear a word she had said. This in turn led to him muttering a variety of things under his breath, and it was very fortunate for him that the old matron couldn't hear his choice words for her. Even-tempered or not, such things should have gotten him hexed into next week.
She looked over at the angry young man by the door and shook her head. Everything in her said that she ought to leave the husk of a man on the bed to his natural demise, feeling that the fates had been more than unkind to Severus in the first place to have kept him alive for so long. She knew that he had suffered much in his 37 years, and the task of spying on Voldemort and its repercussions left an indelible mark on him. Pain haunted his every move, and she remembered that the last time she had seen him even close to a smile was in his seventh year, directly before he graduated top of the class. Looking over a Draco again, she realized that it was out of her hands, she had been brought here (albeit against her will) and now she must fulfill her duty. Her gut tugged at her, warning again that this was not in the patient's best interest, but rather in the interest of Draco and the young lady suffering back in the school infirmary. With a last look down at the mass of bandages and blood stains that she had once known as the dour Head of House, she coughed and nodded at Draco, summoning him over to her.
"I must do what is within my power, as is my duty. However, do not expect him to be grateful should he happen to awaken. He is mortally wounded Draco, and some magic has already been preformed upon him to keep him alive thus far. I only do this because of Miss Caliga... I feel that his presence may be able to draw her forth from the grips of the poisons she was given. They have a bond, Mr Malfoy, and it runs deep enough that conscious or not, she will know when we bring him back to the ward and that in itself may be what it takes to bring her back to us." Surveying the scene, she clucked her tongue.
"This will be challenging. I'm going to have to use a special disappartation, and I have only had to use it a few times in my career. "
"But I thought you would splinch if you apparate with a really sick or injured person." Draco cautioned.
"Yes, you would splinch him if you tried. this is a specific charm that we learned in Medi-School and it offers protection to his physical body while we transport. I can't take you with us Mr Malfoy; you're going to have to get yourself back on your own. Maybe use that Portkey you have hidden in your pocket?"
She leant over the prone form on the bed, and began saying incantations in a sing-song way. She then spoke in a loud voice, without looking back at the boy, gave him one command.
"Remove the charm off the door. I am taking him now."
Draco flicked his wand at the door, breathing the counter-charm quietly and then ducked into the corner out of sight of anyone walking down the now dimly lit hallway. When he looked back at the bed, it was empty save for the bloodstains and the imprint of its last occupant. Reaching into his pocket for the Portkey, feeling the edges of the cloth which he had wrapped over it, and mentally steeled himself for the launch through space, pleased that his mentor had been taken from this horrible place. He closed his eyes preparing to go, but found that instead of being jerked forward, he was being spun out into the corridor of the hospital, a vise-like grip on his right arm.
"This is the boy I was telling you about, the one with the father in that horrible accident.He said he was the brother of that girl who disappeared from the fourth floor. We need him fro questioning, but he ran off earlier. I've got him!" ****Should I leave it here? It would be a nasty-ass cliffhanger really, wouldn't it? Fortunately dear reader, I love you almost as much as I love Severus, so we shall continue on... And you've all been so patient with me *******
Draco's eyes popped open in shock and horror. What the fuck was this? Why hadn't the Obliviate charm worked? What was going on here?
Seeing the look on his face, the nurse smiled down at him, not loosening her grip on his arm.
"Don't worry young fella, we've called Family Services on your behalf, and they'll take care of you until your father." her voice trailed off. " Until we can work something else out" she finished rather lamely.
Draco's mind was whirling.fuck, fuck, fuck, think dammit! Fuck fuck fuck, I have to get the hell out of here, if I cast Adavara Kadavara to get it done! He tried in vain to jerk free from her hold, but to no avail.
"You can come with me until we get a few things straightened out!"
Another voice came up from behind him, and he found himself being pushed into a small room with two chairs and not much else. He sat down, trying to quell his rising panic at being trapped in Muggle London (he'd be expelled if he port keyed in front of Muggles, no matter what the reason, and then his father WOULD finally kill him, and running didn't feel like an option right now as his head WAS actually reeling from the shock and effort of the day.) What else could he do?
"Do you have a name, young man?"
Draco blinked back, a dull expression on his face. So lost in trying to decide his escape, he hadn't heard the question being asked of him. He decided to go with the stupid mute thing a moment longer.
"Your Name! I asked you your name! Can you not hear me?"
Draco was silent, uncertain what to say. What would a good Muggle name be? He couldn't use his name, or Snape's, or (heaven-forbid) Cassandra's last name. What if this person was in league with ignoble? Who was to say who was good or evil in this power play they had all become caught up in. Think, think, think think.
"I think he might be in shock, Sir. I mean look at him, he's so pale..."the nurse spoke up on Draco's behalf.
"Let the boy speak for himself. He seemed to be able to talk just fine before."
"I..I..." He stalled for a moment, a thought took him and he touched the tip of his wand and thought of a particularly nasty hex that Weasley had hit him with earlier that year.
"Ad nauseum" he whispered, so quiet that no one else in the small cubicle could possibly hear him. The familiar churning of his stomach contents began and he knew it would only be a moment until...
"I feel sick" he spat out, and promptly vomited all over the other two occupants of the small space.
AS both of the adults recoiled at the bile which now drenched them, Draco seized the moment and bolted from the room and down the corridor. Flying into a storage closet, he dug his hand down deep into his pocket and worked his way quickly between the folds of the cloth to touch the port key. He could here shouts in the corridor, and running footsteps, but his fingers hit the prize and he knew he was home free. This time when he recognized the pull in his gut, as a second unfortunate gut wrenching heave began. 'Ad nauseum does indeed take some time to wear off,' he thought to himself miserably. 'I wonder exactly WHERE the puke goes when you vomit while transporting?'
With that he landed in a heap outside the gates to Hogwarts in a puddle of his own fluids, and he laying there retching and heaving. He had forgotten about the increase in volume of his stomach contents that made the spell extra effective. If you had thrown everything you had to give up, the spell would gladly create more. It felt like hours. It had been at least ½ hour since he had transported there, and Draco still couldn't stop retching long enough to get up and go for help, and with each successive hurl he felt something tear in his stomach. 'I wonder if self-induced hexes are more powerful?" Casting the thought out, Draco gasped for breath as the pain seared through his innards. Staring down at the growing puddle, holding himself off the ground with shuddering arms, he blanched as the bile came up with streaks of red. The ground swam before him and all went dark.