Severus arrived in the Infirmary with an unconscious and shallowly
breathing Hermione. He looked more panicked than the mediwitch ever
remembered seeing him. Though, one look at Hermione would explain the
whole reason why. It was clear that this girl had a possibility of not
making it.
Severus set Hermione down on the nearest cot as gently as he possibly could. "What happened?" Poppy asked, checking her vitals.
"She's had a dose of very concentrated Vertaserum." Severus replied. "It was meant for Korun who has a tolerance of it." Guilt was all over his face. It was he who had volunteered for Hermione to take the potion herself to prove that what she had said was true. He should have had them order a normal dose for her. If anything happened to her. . .
'Now's not the time to be thinking of it.' Severus thought. 'All that matters is that she makes it.'
"I'm going to try a filtering spell to work through her bloodstream, but I'm afraid a lot of the potion has been absorbed into her cells." Poppy said, not looking all that hopeful. "I'm afraid that we might have to be prepared-"
"Just do what you have to!" Severus snapped at her. "We're wasting valuable time by speaking."
Normally, Poppy was not one to take that attitude. But she would deal with the Headmaster later. For now, he had a point. She began the filtration spell, amazed at how much she had actually retrieved from her bloodstream. She was about to dispose of it when Severus stopped her.
"Keep that for me." He said. He shook his head at her questioning eye, and motioned for her to continue her work. At this point, Hermione's lips were beginning to turn slightly blue. Poppy placed the residue into a container, and turned back to her patient.
"We need to introduce a diluter into her bloodstream to help take care of the concentration in the cells." She said. "But I don't have any in stock."
"What about an antihangover potion." Severus suggested.
The mediwitch thought a moment. "It just might work. Some of the properties of Vertaserum are similar to alcohol." She quickly walked to her cabinet, and retrieved the potion. Severus positioned himself behind Hermione, lifting the upper half of her body to help pour the liquid down her throat. Her skin felt cold. Poppy came back with the vial, and poured it down, forcing her to swallow it.
Gently, Severus let Hermione back down on the cot. They saw no improvement in her visible condition. Poppy began to place more scanning spells over her. "Her heart rate is through the roof!" She exclaimed. Her breathing was still quite laboured.
'Please, Hermione.' Severus thought, watching the young witch struggle through. Suddenly, the heart monitoring spell alarmed.
Hermione's heart had stopped.
"NO!" Severus yelled. "Do something!"
Poppy began to use some heart massaging techniques. It wasn't working. Hermione's skin began to go even paler as the cold took over. Her lips were becoming bluer. After an unsuccessful attempt massaging her heart, Poppy pulled out her wand and tried to use a few spells to shock it back into a beat.
Once. . .
Twice. . .
Three times. . .
Finally, after no change in the condition, Poppy lowered her wand. Her expression was absolutely pained as she looked at Severus and shook her head.
"Oh gods, no." He whispered, looking at the form on the bed. "It cannot be." He ran to her bedside, grabbing her hand. "Come on Hermione. Come on. You can pull through. Just work through it. I know you can do it. You're too stubborn to die."
He shook off the mediwitch's hand. "Keep trying."
"Severus."
"Keep trying!" He snapped. When it didn't seem that she would move, he moved over the figure lying on the bed. He began to perform muggle CPR, forcing air into her lungs and pushing to get her heart beat going again. It seemed like forever he was trying, but nothing changed.
"Please come back." Severus cried in an uncharacteristic show of emotion. "Please." He grabbed her shoulders, lifting her off the bed. "You can't give up." He began to shake her as he had done when she had almost cast the killing curse on herself. Finally, he hugged the now frigid figure to himself, clinging onto her so hard he feared something would break between them. "Please." He whispered into her hair. "I love you."
Suddenly, Hermione's body spasmed, and she took in a deep breath. Her eyes popped wide open, and her breathing became erratic. "Hermione?" Severus asked in disbelief.
Poppy pushed him aside and lowered her back on the cot. Checking her vitals, she looked back at the Headmaster, remains of tears in her eyes resulted from the display of emotion from the usually cold and aloof Headmaster. "I don't want to give you any false hope." She said. "But she might make it through this."
Severus smiled, keeping his eyes fixed on Hermione as Poppy worked to keep the cells disposing of the potion. It was hours later when Hermione was sleeping comfortably in the cot.
~@~
A dark figure stood vigil over Hermione for the rest of the night. Another figure entered the room, slowly approaching.
"Headmaster?" Bill asked.
"Poppy believes she will be all right." Severus replied, not taking his eyes off of her.
"You should get some sleep." Bill said. "It's been an eventful night."
"I will not leave her." Severus said. "Ever."
"I'm sorry." Bill said. Severus turned his head, taking his eyes off of Hermione for the first time since she had regained her vitals. He had a questioning look on his face. "I should have had a lighter concentration brought instead of giving her the other. I was surprised that Korun could get that kind of dosage and end up with nothing more than a headache."
"And where is Korun?" Severus asked, face hardening by the mere mention of the wizard.
"He is under house arrest until we can figure out why there was such a discrepancy in the two stories." Bill replied. "But he will be kept away from Hermione."
"I have a few theories as to why the stories were so opposite." Severus said. "I'll be investigating them. Will I be able to get your assistance so that the results of the investigation will not be questionable?"
"Yes." Bill replied. "Of course."
"Good." Severus replied, looking back to Hermione. Bill made to leave the infirmary when he was stopped by the Headmaster. "Do not blame yourself, Mr Weasley. The fault is mine."
"Headmaster?"
Severus looked back at him. "I was the one who volunteered her to take it, despite how concentrated I knew it was." He looked to Hermione again. "I shouldn't have made the offer. I wanted to prevent her name from being drug through the mud."
"I won't let you take all the blame." Bill said, walking out of the infirmary without another word.
~@~
CRACK!
Bill grabbed Colin from behind, forcing him against the stone wall. "How could you?!?" He cried. "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?" Colin asked, checking for damage at the back of his head.
"Don't act all fucking innocent, Colin. You were always better at potions than me. Why didn't you stop us from giving the potion to Hermione?" Bill said, absolutely angered at the innocent play by Colin.
"And you would have me second guess a potions master while he's in the room?" Colin asked. "And Snape! Do you think I have a death wish?
"That's no excuse, and you know it." Bill said. "Internal Investigations will hear about this."
"No they won't." A figure in the dark said. Bill turned to face a wand. "Imperio."
~@~
"Severus!" Hermione gasped, waking up suddenly.
Severus rushed to her side. "I'm here."
Hermione looked at him, panic filled her eyes. "It's starting again."
Thinking that he meant she could feel the effects of the over dosage, Severus scanned her body. Finding little left in her bloodstream, he looked up at her confused. "What's starting again, Hermione?"
"The Deatheaters!"
A/N:
Let me emphasize this.
I'm very very very very very very very very sorry. I've been having too many problems with this so called wonderful thing called technology. First, my Internet goes down, then my computer dies on me, then I can't write anything on my father's computer in fear that he would delete it. Then I have to get my work back onto my new hard drive, and then I work every day for almost a month. It sucks, but I'm hoping to catch up now that things are back to normal.
What is normal anyway?
I don't know. But I would like to thank all my very patient readers.
Snuffles: I want to see Snape do some ball ripping as well. Am I being cruel to Hermione or what?
Morag: It's not overly happy, but I think I might be getting depressing. Ah well, it all fits well later.
Celeste: I changed the last chapter a bit. Not very much. But I hope that this chapter is an improvement for you.
ChishionoTenshi: Thank you. It's hard keeping Snape in character sometimes.
Kylaia: There are a couple of theories that I'm toying with. I thought that I'd introduce them later and kind of see which one looks more realistic.
Sakura-Star-66: I'm sorry about the long wait. I feel really bad about it.
And a big thanks to my betas:
Rebelplayboybunny
Sandra
Michelle
Severus set Hermione down on the nearest cot as gently as he possibly could. "What happened?" Poppy asked, checking her vitals.
"She's had a dose of very concentrated Vertaserum." Severus replied. "It was meant for Korun who has a tolerance of it." Guilt was all over his face. It was he who had volunteered for Hermione to take the potion herself to prove that what she had said was true. He should have had them order a normal dose for her. If anything happened to her. . .
'Now's not the time to be thinking of it.' Severus thought. 'All that matters is that she makes it.'
"I'm going to try a filtering spell to work through her bloodstream, but I'm afraid a lot of the potion has been absorbed into her cells." Poppy said, not looking all that hopeful. "I'm afraid that we might have to be prepared-"
"Just do what you have to!" Severus snapped at her. "We're wasting valuable time by speaking."
Normally, Poppy was not one to take that attitude. But she would deal with the Headmaster later. For now, he had a point. She began the filtration spell, amazed at how much she had actually retrieved from her bloodstream. She was about to dispose of it when Severus stopped her.
"Keep that for me." He said. He shook his head at her questioning eye, and motioned for her to continue her work. At this point, Hermione's lips were beginning to turn slightly blue. Poppy placed the residue into a container, and turned back to her patient.
"We need to introduce a diluter into her bloodstream to help take care of the concentration in the cells." She said. "But I don't have any in stock."
"What about an antihangover potion." Severus suggested.
The mediwitch thought a moment. "It just might work. Some of the properties of Vertaserum are similar to alcohol." She quickly walked to her cabinet, and retrieved the potion. Severus positioned himself behind Hermione, lifting the upper half of her body to help pour the liquid down her throat. Her skin felt cold. Poppy came back with the vial, and poured it down, forcing her to swallow it.
Gently, Severus let Hermione back down on the cot. They saw no improvement in her visible condition. Poppy began to place more scanning spells over her. "Her heart rate is through the roof!" She exclaimed. Her breathing was still quite laboured.
'Please, Hermione.' Severus thought, watching the young witch struggle through. Suddenly, the heart monitoring spell alarmed.
Hermione's heart had stopped.
"NO!" Severus yelled. "Do something!"
Poppy began to use some heart massaging techniques. It wasn't working. Hermione's skin began to go even paler as the cold took over. Her lips were becoming bluer. After an unsuccessful attempt massaging her heart, Poppy pulled out her wand and tried to use a few spells to shock it back into a beat.
Once. . .
Twice. . .
Three times. . .
Finally, after no change in the condition, Poppy lowered her wand. Her expression was absolutely pained as she looked at Severus and shook her head.
"Oh gods, no." He whispered, looking at the form on the bed. "It cannot be." He ran to her bedside, grabbing her hand. "Come on Hermione. Come on. You can pull through. Just work through it. I know you can do it. You're too stubborn to die."
He shook off the mediwitch's hand. "Keep trying."
"Severus."
"Keep trying!" He snapped. When it didn't seem that she would move, he moved over the figure lying on the bed. He began to perform muggle CPR, forcing air into her lungs and pushing to get her heart beat going again. It seemed like forever he was trying, but nothing changed.
"Please come back." Severus cried in an uncharacteristic show of emotion. "Please." He grabbed her shoulders, lifting her off the bed. "You can't give up." He began to shake her as he had done when she had almost cast the killing curse on herself. Finally, he hugged the now frigid figure to himself, clinging onto her so hard he feared something would break between them. "Please." He whispered into her hair. "I love you."
Suddenly, Hermione's body spasmed, and she took in a deep breath. Her eyes popped wide open, and her breathing became erratic. "Hermione?" Severus asked in disbelief.
Poppy pushed him aside and lowered her back on the cot. Checking her vitals, she looked back at the Headmaster, remains of tears in her eyes resulted from the display of emotion from the usually cold and aloof Headmaster. "I don't want to give you any false hope." She said. "But she might make it through this."
Severus smiled, keeping his eyes fixed on Hermione as Poppy worked to keep the cells disposing of the potion. It was hours later when Hermione was sleeping comfortably in the cot.
~@~
A dark figure stood vigil over Hermione for the rest of the night. Another figure entered the room, slowly approaching.
"Headmaster?" Bill asked.
"Poppy believes she will be all right." Severus replied, not taking his eyes off of her.
"You should get some sleep." Bill said. "It's been an eventful night."
"I will not leave her." Severus said. "Ever."
"I'm sorry." Bill said. Severus turned his head, taking his eyes off of Hermione for the first time since she had regained her vitals. He had a questioning look on his face. "I should have had a lighter concentration brought instead of giving her the other. I was surprised that Korun could get that kind of dosage and end up with nothing more than a headache."
"And where is Korun?" Severus asked, face hardening by the mere mention of the wizard.
"He is under house arrest until we can figure out why there was such a discrepancy in the two stories." Bill replied. "But he will be kept away from Hermione."
"I have a few theories as to why the stories were so opposite." Severus said. "I'll be investigating them. Will I be able to get your assistance so that the results of the investigation will not be questionable?"
"Yes." Bill replied. "Of course."
"Good." Severus replied, looking back to Hermione. Bill made to leave the infirmary when he was stopped by the Headmaster. "Do not blame yourself, Mr Weasley. The fault is mine."
"Headmaster?"
Severus looked back at him. "I was the one who volunteered her to take it, despite how concentrated I knew it was." He looked to Hermione again. "I shouldn't have made the offer. I wanted to prevent her name from being drug through the mud."
"I won't let you take all the blame." Bill said, walking out of the infirmary without another word.
~@~
CRACK!
Bill grabbed Colin from behind, forcing him against the stone wall. "How could you?!?" He cried. "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?" Colin asked, checking for damage at the back of his head.
"Don't act all fucking innocent, Colin. You were always better at potions than me. Why didn't you stop us from giving the potion to Hermione?" Bill said, absolutely angered at the innocent play by Colin.
"And you would have me second guess a potions master while he's in the room?" Colin asked. "And Snape! Do you think I have a death wish?
"That's no excuse, and you know it." Bill said. "Internal Investigations will hear about this."
"No they won't." A figure in the dark said. Bill turned to face a wand. "Imperio."
~@~
"Severus!" Hermione gasped, waking up suddenly.
Severus rushed to her side. "I'm here."
Hermione looked at him, panic filled her eyes. "It's starting again."
Thinking that he meant she could feel the effects of the over dosage, Severus scanned her body. Finding little left in her bloodstream, he looked up at her confused. "What's starting again, Hermione?"
"The Deatheaters!"
A/N:
Let me emphasize this.
I'm very very very very very very very very sorry. I've been having too many problems with this so called wonderful thing called technology. First, my Internet goes down, then my computer dies on me, then I can't write anything on my father's computer in fear that he would delete it. Then I have to get my work back onto my new hard drive, and then I work every day for almost a month. It sucks, but I'm hoping to catch up now that things are back to normal.
What is normal anyway?
I don't know. But I would like to thank all my very patient readers.
Snuffles: I want to see Snape do some ball ripping as well. Am I being cruel to Hermione or what?
Morag: It's not overly happy, but I think I might be getting depressing. Ah well, it all fits well later.
Celeste: I changed the last chapter a bit. Not very much. But I hope that this chapter is an improvement for you.
ChishionoTenshi: Thank you. It's hard keeping Snape in character sometimes.
Kylaia: There are a couple of theories that I'm toying with. I thought that I'd introduce them later and kind of see which one looks more realistic.
Sakura-Star-66: I'm sorry about the long wait. I feel really bad about it.
And a big thanks to my betas:
Rebelplayboybunny
Sandra
Michelle