Chapter 6
Severus walked quickly to the infirmary. He was on his way for his daily visit that he took each afternoon. He was feeling unusually hopeful; there were rumors at the head table at dinner that afternoon that Krista had awaken yesterday. Strongly wishing that these rumors were true, he pushed open the infirmary door and walked expectantly to her bed.
He felt a strange jolt in his stomach at what he saw. She was sitting up in bed, awake, reading the daily prophet. He strode over to her bedside and a look of delight filled her eyes as they met his. She folded the paper and laid it across her lap. Feeling awfully dumbstruck, he said, "You're awake."
A bemused look came across her face and she said, "So I am." She looked much better now. She had regained most of her color and the dark circles that had been under her eyes had started to fade. Still there seemed to be a certain frailty about her.
"How do you feel?" was his next question.
Still having that bemused look on her face, she answered, "I feel great." She looked him over carefully. To say the least, he looked as if he hadn't been sleeping well. Replacing the bemused look with concern, she asked, "Are you alright?"
Not mentioning the strange dreams and the long nights on watch he answered, "Of course." He gave her a weak smile, trying to ignore the look of concern on her face. He often felt she was reading his mind.
She watched him for a moment longer before finally asking, "What's been going on while I've been out?" He then told her everything that had happened to the school since her attack that night. When he was finished, she looked fearful. For the first time, she reached up and touched her neck. Her fingers slid over to small holes lying right over her arteries. The area was sensitive to touch; it was bruised from the puncture.
She knew very much about vampires. She had been on several expeditions hunting them. She'd even killed quite a few. She was lucky Mr. Filch had come along when he did. When a vampire has you in its grasp it is often intent on killing you. Had he not come at that very moment, she may have been done for. Again she recalled the dark hallway, the rustling shadows, and the strength her attacker had used to knock her over, the sharp piercing of her neck. It all made sense now.
Still, there was something that baffled her. Vampires weren't known to waltz into heavily guarded schools like Hogwarts to search for victims. She had a feeling that they were there that day for a very specific reason. And even though Severus said that they had yet to return, she was almost certain they would. Vampires don't give up so easily when they want something.
Coming out of her trance, she looked at Severus who was studying her carefully. She gave him a short smile and said, "That's a lot to take in."
He returned a smile and said, "I imagine."
Krista suddenly wondered what had happened to her class. Surely the couldn't have canceled the class altogether all this time. "What about my class?" she asked.
"We've been taking turns teaching," he explained.
She frowned and said, "So much trouble over my downfall. I need to get back to work. This is not the time to be shorthanded."
He hid a smile and said, "Don't worry, everything is under control. You need to get well before you can return." Her face remained wooden. This matter wasn't as simple as they were all making it out to be.
At that moment Madame Pomfrey bustled into the room carrying a dinner tray. "Visiting time is over, Professor Snape. She needs to rest." She eyed them both, set the tray on the bedside table, and walked back out of the room.
"Honestly, I feel fine." Krista said in an irritated tone.
Severus smirked and stood up. "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then," he said.
Krista's glower turned into a smile. "Ok, see you then." Severus turned to leave but he stopped. He turned back toward her with an uncomfortable look on his face. "What is it?" she asked.
"Erm…about that day…"
Krista's smile grew and she said, "Forget about it. I understand."
He gave her an awkward smile and said, "See you tomorrow." She grinned and watched him exit the room. After he was gone, she picked up the tray from her bedside table and inspected her dinner, feeling a great deal happier.
It was late at night, that's all she could tell. Her eyes were wide open and staring at the ceiling. She wasn't sleepy at the slightest bit. She supposed that all that sleep before was the purpose. She wished terribly that she could at least get out of the infirmary. If she were in her office, she could at least grade papers or something. All she had to look forward to in the hospital wing was meals and the occasional visitor.
She recalled Severus's visit that day. Madame Pomfrey had told her that he had visited every day while she'd been asleep. She recalled that worried look he'd had when he'd visited her. She thought it was awfully sweet of him to be so concerned about her. From what she'd heard from the students about him, it seemed out of character for him to act this way. She smiled at the thought.
Suddenly, a group of people burst into the infirmary. She shut her eyes quickly, pretending she was asleep. She heard their footsteps cross the room and they stopped at a bed nearby her. She cracked her eyes open and peered at the group surrounding the bed. One member of the group shifted and she saw what the commotion was about. A student was lying on the bed looking extremely pale. Krista felt a nasty lurch in her stomach. There had been another attack.
"What are we going to do Albus? We can't keep having these attacks!" she heard a voice whisper. She recognized the voice as Minerva McGonagall's.
"There is nothing left to do but increase security. We'll have to set up another patrol." Dumbledore answered.
"Isn't there some way we can get rid of them?" she asked fearfully.
"Yes, there are ways. The hard part is catching them." There was a pause of silence until finally Dumbledore said, "Come, let's leave him in peace." She shut her eyes again as the group of teachers walked out of the room.
She heard Madame Pomfrey bustling about the bed where the student lay for a few minutes. Finally, she went back into her office. Krista's eyes snapped open. This could not go on. She would have to do something. McGonagall was right; there could be no more attacks. She looked over at Madame Pomfrey's window. She saw no movement at the time. Quickly, she got up from the bed. She searched frantically through the bed side table drawer until she located her robes she'd been wearing the night of her attack.
She slipped the robes over her pajamas and searched through her pocket. Much to her relief, her wand was still inside the pocket. She glanced over her shoulder at Madame Pomfrey's office window and then hurried out of the room. She slipped through the corridors stealthily with one thing in mind; she must stop this.