Rose Among the Thorns: The Third Evans Sister
By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large
Standard Disclaimer Found Here: I don't own any and all things/people/creatures/candy/ghosts/etc that you recognize from J.K. Rowling's world-renown series of books.
Note: Wow! I'm almost to 100 reviews! Let's all celebrate when I get there with butter beer, chocolate frogs, and pumpkin pasties! And, should the 100th reviewer wish it, she/he will get a sneak preview of the next chapter. Does that sound like a fun reward?
On with the show!
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Solomon's Disease
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December had come at last, and was actually halfway over; Rose had never been so relieved. Snow was beginning to fall almost every day, melting only sometimes. The Hogwarts grounds were beautiful during winter, and the extra bundling up really didn't bother her any.
It was Saturday, and most of the students were outside building enchanted snowmen, having snowball fights, and sledding down the hill of the castle. Rose, however, was snuggled up in her bed and not feeling too well. It seemed she was developing a bit of a cold.
She moved like sloth as she dressed that morning, and carried a handkerchief with her as she stumbled out of the girls dormitory and into the common room. It had been a long time since she looked as terrible as she did at that moment. Her long hair was pulled into a messy bun, she wore gray sweats and slippers rather than tennis shoes. Sniffling, she settled down on one of the couches and opened one of her books to study. Unfortunately she could hardly concentrate, the words kept blurring and the edges of her vision were fuzzy. Her body didn't feel too well either; quite frankly it felt like she had been run over by a herd of hippogryphs.
The book was suddenly pulled out of her hands and she looked up, slowly, to see Severus Snape standing over her. "Reading your textbook upside down, while an interesting study method, probably isn't the best way to grasp the subject of—" he peered at the cover "—Charms."
Rose smiled sleepily up at him. "Just trying someding dew." Then she sneezed into her handkerchief.
Severus raised his eyebrows. "There's a reason I don't play in the snow, as you did yesterday. It generally keeps my health better."
"An' dis generally no fuhn. You're stho sthuffy." She sniffled, then took a deep breath through her mouth and gave him a mournful look. "I can't breathe through my dose." Indeed, she sounded decidedly congested.
"Ironic. I'm stuffy, you're stuffed up." He rolled his eyes before he settled himself down next to her on the couch. "What are your symptoms?"
She covered a cough. "Sthuffed up, coughing, headache, a fuw chills," she responded. "Just a cohld."
"Perhaps you should go down to the infirmary—"
"No," she interjected at once. "I'm find."
Severus looked skeptical but shrugged and handed her book back to her. "You should rest instead of studying," he said, trying to sound careless but only succeeded in sounding a little concerned. "Health is essential to make the grade, Evans."
Rose shrugged. "Find. I'm going back to behd." She sniffled, then went shuffling back towards her dormitory, feeling suddenly irritated. "I'm find," she repeated as she climbed between the sheets. "Just a cohld." With that, the only sounds she made for the remainder of the morning were sneezes, coughs, and the occasional sigh or groan.
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Bellatrix Black flying out of the girls' dormitory at three a.m. did not look at all composed, and seemed even a little afraid. "Rodolphus!" she shouted into the hallway of the boys. "Get Professor Bane!" She wanted the Head of Slytherin House; that couldn't be a good sign.
Wands were lit as Slytherin males stumbled to their doorways to see what was going on. A voice called out, from a second year, "What's going on? Somebody dead?"
"No!" Bella shouted angrily, "Someone's dying!"
A few boys began to push their ways through—Iber MacDohey, Head Boy, was one of them. Rodolphus Lestrange, a prefect in his sixth year, another. The third was Severus Snape, with a look of cold certainty in his eyes.
"Who?" Rodolphus asked before anyone else could.
"Evans! Rose Evans!" She grabbed Rodolphus by the collar of his night shirt -despite her relative small stature and his relatively larger stature— and dragged him towards the exit of the common room. "Get Bane! Now!"
Poor Rodolphus went skittering into a stone wall before he managed to get out of the room and go running for the Head of House.
MacDohey said the charm that would allow him into the girls' dormitory and strode quickly towards the third year room. There he found the female prefects and Head Girl worrying and pacing next to the bed of a delirious Rose Evans. "What's going on here?" MacDohey demanded, blinking in the bright lights of the bed chamber.
"Fever, delirium," the Head Girl, Agatha Horrent spewed out, stopping her pacing for a moment. "Bane—?"
"Lestrange went for him." MacDohey touched his hand briefly to Rose's forehead before snatching it away, his eyes wide. "She's practically boiling. How long as she been like this?"
"We don't know," a prefect said, wringing her hands. "Bellatrix came and got us saying that Evans was crying in her sleep. We came to check, Bella thought she was under some sort of spell or something."
"Idiot girl!" MacDohey roared, rounding on Bellatrix who managed to keep from wincing too much.
"How was I to know she was actually dying?" Bellatrix yelled back. "I'm no medi-wizard!"
At that point some order was restored by Professor Bane entering the room. "What in the world is going on here?!" he demanded.
In a few moments he had seen the girl, heard their stories, and had lifted Rose Evans right out of her bed. He was striding through Slytherin common room, where all the males were currently standing and milling about in wake of what was to be a fantastic disturbance. With one barked command Bane had every student running back to his or her beds without one of them hesitating.
Well. Maybe one of them hesitated.
His eyes glued to the pale form of Rose Evans, Severus's entire demeanor was one that spoke his indecision. Stay and try to help, or do as told and go back to his room?
Bane made the decision for him; he was searching through the hoard of passing students for someone who had enough sense to help him, and his eyes landed on the likeliest candidate almost at once. "Snape! Stop gawking and conjure a stretcher!" The Professor of Arithmacy had his arms a bit full at the moment.
Severus had taken a medical class and conjuring a stretcher was one of the first skills certain to be acquired in such a class. In moments he had one, and as the conjurer he had to follow Bane and Evans to the infirmary.
Madame Florence Littleworth was the resident nurse, but on the verge of retirement was training up Madame Poppy Pomfrey to see over the students. Madame Pomfrey was the nurse on duty that night, and was easily roused from sleep when confronted by a suffering young third year.
"Goodness gracious me!" She exclaimed as she helped transfer Rose to one of the hospital beds. "She's as hot as Hades!" With her wand and a few words the nurse tried to uncover what exactly was wrong with the young lady.
Severus had slunk back into a corner of the hospital wing that was in shadows, his black eyes taking in the scene with obvious worry. What had been a cold much earlier the day before was now an inferno of illness, and something told him this just wasn't normal. The look of confusion on Poppy Pomfrey's young face didn't help matters much, nor the consternation on Professor Lenox Bane's.
Chewing her bottom lip, a nervous habit Poppy was doing her best to break, she hurried to grab a medical dictionary. Muttering to herself she thumbed quickly through the book until she found a page. Apparently, though, that wasn't the right one. It seemed, to Severus Snape, as though she searched the book for hours.
Rose cried out in her sleep, a noise only identifiable as one of pain and confusion. Poppy's frown deepened but she only glanced up for a moment before resuming her search.
At last she found what she searched for.
Her shoulders tensed and her mouth moved soundlessly as she read to herself. She closed the book slowly and heaved a small sigh. "Hemitertian Fever."
"And what is that?" Bane demanded with his customary scowl firmly in place; he was known as one of the fiercest Slytherin Head of Houses that Hogwarts had ever seen, but his dour expressions did nothing to fluster the young nurse.
"In days long past it was a name linked to epilepsy or demon possession, but in this case the name was borrowed for one of the very few natural diseases that is considered dangerous to a wizard. It is, perhaps, the magical version of scarlet fever, pneumonia, and the like combined. It's rare and has to do with gene immunity inefficiency. What is her name?"
"Evans. Rose Evans."
"Ah yes, Lily's her older sister. Very well. We must keep Lily –likely she has the same problem handling the disease—and as many other students as possible away from this wing lest we find others are susceptible to it. Madame Littleworth and I will do all in our power to set the child to rights. But it could take some time, and a transfer to Saint Mungo's could worsen the condition.... Well. We shall see. I advise that her sister be informed of the matter while I call to Florence and have her come down, and the Headmaster should be notified quickly as well."
Severus came from his corner now, his young eyes wide and betraying a small amount of fear—fear was an emotion he normally kept restrained harshly. "She said it was a cold yesterday morning."
"Did she?" Poppy raised her eyebrows at the young boy. "At what time yesterday morning?"
Severus shrugged. "Nine thirty, maybe. Everyone was outside in the snow. She had been out the day before so...so it seemed likely she only caught a cold."
Poppy shook her head, frowning. "Why didn't she come straight here? We could've given her something for a cold and in the process discovered the Fever."
"She-she didn't want to bother anyone." He swallowed, not liking the sudden scrutiny of the adult witch and wizard in the room. "I tried to get her to come. But it did only seem like a cold."
"What were her symptoms earlier?" Poppy asked, studying him closely. "Sneezing? Congestion? Coughs? Aches?"
"Yes. All of that." Severus nerved himself. "How long until she recovers, Madame Pomfrey?"
"Quite some time," Poppy responded slowly. "What's your name, young man?"
"Severus Snape," he replied. "Fifth year."
Poppy sighed. "Are you her friend, Severus?"
Strangely he did not hesitate in his answer, which was simple enough sounding. "Yes ma'am."
"Can you be trusted with some responsibility, Severus?" the kind woman asked, her gaze still very intent.
Bane interjected here. "Severus is one of my finest students and certainly capable of any task you give him. However, I ask you to remember the holidays are coming and he has O.W.L.'s to study for."
The nurse nodded, a tired smile in place. "He'll need a quiet place to study, and this will be a quiet place indeed over the holidays. Rose Evans is not to be moved, and her sister cannot be here. What about you, Severus? Would you like to keep a sick person company over Christmas? I warn you, she'll likely remain unconscious for a few days at least."
Although he was confused by the task, Severus knew he had little else to do, and he was curious about the disease. "Won't I become sick, Madame?"
"We'll give you a vaccine first thing tomorrow morning."
To his surprise, the look in Professor Bane's eyes was encouraging him to agree to this. But why? Why was it so important that he—
Rumor had it that a large portion of several O.W.L.'s would be devoted to some of the wizarding world's magical medical fields. History of important medi-wizards, potions used for healing, charms used for healing, et cetera. The board of education was mostly comprised, lately, of retired medi-wizards who felt that more people should be aware of medical needs and deeds. They were completely bias. Professor Bane saw this as a chance to learn more—he'd have access to current medical books.
"I can do it, Madame Pomfrey," he agreed. "I'll help."
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Thank you for sticking through me with yet another chapter, one of the shorter ones, too. :-) Fun, yes? I ask all those begging for romance to develop to remember the ages of the characters I'm employing. Don't worry, it'll come, but they're still kids.
To My Reviewers:
Lysaandi: Poor Rose indeed! Her night was ruined and now look what miserable trouble I've brought up for her! Goodness. Thanks for the review!
Loraliant Angelisa Snape: Inspiration? I am pleased that you think I am such. Updating this quickly isn't a problem. I'm always, actually, about five chapters ahead of myself when I post. I find it makes it easier to continue writing and harder to become blocked. Oh, but I shouldn't have shared that secret, huh? Oh well. Glad you're still here with me!
Elvesmagic010: Dazzled by my brilliance, eh? Well, thank you! ::blushes:: A curse upon James is an interesting idea, and one I promise you Rose has thought about. I hope this chapter, though short, will be well received. You simply must let me know if you enjoy it.
Stonecoldfox: I didn't know that about marauder. That suddenly makes a lot more sense. Marauders were those who pillaged and plundered. No wonder James enjoyed 'nicking' (sp?) things so much. They were Hogwartian pirates. Ah well. It's weird to think of Snape as the victim of anything, but I'm slowly making some sense out of his character in my own little way. Do enjoy The Princess Bride, book or movie format!
Marcie: Thank you for the praise and the review! Chocolate frog to you!
Oriana3: Tsk, tsk. Are you supposed to be reading fanfiction by amateur authors at work? I doubt it. But I'm very glad you've found me and I hope you stay for the long haul. Trust me, it will be a long haul. Thank you for your praise, and I hope this meets with updating 'ASAP.'
Ange de la Nuit: I'm flattered someone whose native language is not English has taken a liking to my story. Yes, I went and looked you up. I even read some of the English version of your fanfic (I do that a lot to get the feel of a reviewer, to know what sort of thing they're looking for in a story). Marvelous story ideas. My French is terrible, but merci de la revue!
Rae Roberts: I was afraid ghostly dance instructors would be a little over the top, and I'm glad they were received so mildly. I seem to have this thing for men in black, as they are always my favorite character in movies and books. I almost dressed Snape as Zorro for the ball (I believe Disney had started the black and white television series by then, but I wasn't certain if it ended up in the UK). I'm grateful for your reviews and I do hope you continue to read this story. Thanks, Rae!
Nabenabe: Restoring faith in FF.N? Well, thank you! It is frightfully hard to find a good story, isn't it? Well, I'm very picky about what I read, so if you like good Harry Potter fics you may wish to check out my favorites list, as well as some of my constant reviewer's stories. Rae Roberts and Loraliant Angelisa Snape I highly recommend. They're both excellent writers and would be glad for another reader.
Thank you, one and all, for your kind reviews and high praise! Oh, and don't worry too much about Rose. We know, after all, that she lives past this dreadful disease. Worry about Severus Snape and the odd tumbles and jumbles of emotions that he's about to feel. Bwhahahahaha!
-JB-