Chapter 85
Harry just glared at Hermione and without further ado, he did the only thing that came to his mind. Snape rushed over to the fireplace and called out for Madam Pomfrey. The witch's head appeared in the fireplace and Snape yelled "Poppy quick! An emergency"
The potion master returned to his students and spat in utmost disgust "Potter! How dare you to abuse the unconscious girl in such a fashion!"
Harry turned away from Hermione and glared at Snape.
"I'm not kissing her; if that's what you're thinking. I'm trying to safe her life! If you want to help, do as I say otherwise bugger off"
Snape stared at his student, at loss for words maybe for the first time in his life. He recognized the girl's chest rising when Harry lowered his mouth over hers again. Quickly he knelt down beside Hermione and started to push on her chest as instructed. Fortunately Madam Pomfrey stepped out of the fireplace just when Harry started to feel a pulse. The mediwitch didn't ask what happened. She placed a floating charm on Hermione's limp body and stepped into the fireplace with Snape close behind.
Harry was about to follow when he remembered that Ron was still leaned against the wall. He thought it would be the best idea not to lift the body bind from him before they were back in the tower. While he floated Ron beside him, he cursed himself for not punching Malfoy harder. As soon as he reached the common room, he settled Ron in an armchair and called out for Seamus.
"Hermione's in the infirmary and it doesn't look good. I had to put him in a full body bind. You can release him as soon as I'm gone, but keep him in here"
With that he was out of the room and running down the corridor. His heart was pounding in his chest; not only because of the running, but mostly because of his worries about Hermione. At least CPR had brought her back, but it was still unclear what had caused her breakdown. He reached the hospital wing in record time and found Snape standing next to Hermione's bed, wearing his usual scowl. On the other side was Professor Lupin, looking worse than in a very long time. Madam Pomfrey was tending to Hermione, who was again twisting and turning on her bed.
Then Harry stepped closer to Lupin and asked "What's wrong with Hermione?"
"We're not sure yet" the werewolf whispered. "Go back to your common room, please. Madam Pomfrey needs to concentrate and there's nothing you can do at the moment"
"But I want to be here" Harry said stubbornly, but Lupin stopped him.
"I insist that you go back to your common room. I will let you know as soon as anything changes"
Harry knew that this was serious and so he reluctantly obliged. He heard Malfoy groaning in his bed as if he was going to die.
Leave it to Malfoy to make a huge affair out of a broken nose, he thought and closed the door behind him.
As soon as Harry had left, Madam Pomfrey turned towards Lupin and Snape. "I'm sure that the girl has been poisoned, but I can't determine with what"
Snape stepped closer to the bed and Lupin recognized that the wizard suddenly looked even paler than normally.
"Do you not smell this?" he questioned. When he saw Poppy and Lupin shaking their heads, he heaved a sigh.
"We have to hurry. Poppy give her a strengthening potion and make sure that her system is not collapsing again. I will be back as soon as possible with a potion that might save her"
While he spoke he stepped into the flames and flooed back to the dungeons. In his private lab he started to add a bezoar, activated carbon, cobalt and sulphur to a common strengthening potion and let it simmer for a few minutes. While he waited for the potion to be ready, he paced in his study what seemed like eternity. Who would want to poison the girl was beyond him. Her previous behaviour had indicated that she had consumed a love potion. There was no doubt about it, but what love potion did include this particular ingredient. He had been taken aback that neither Lupin nor Poppy had recognized the smell of bitter almonds from the girl, but obviously these two belonged to the 50% of the population that couldn't smell it.
"Severus, hurry!" he heard Lupin's voice from the fireplace and rushed into his lab.
He filled the new potion into a vial and flooed right back to the infirmary. When he recognized the greyish color of her skin, he hoped that his antidote would work.
"Give her 8 drops of the potion every 2 hours. It should help detoxicating her system"
Poppy did as she was told and Lupin took Severus aside.
"Do you know what kind of poison had been used?"
"Yes I'm quite sure that she's been poisoned with hydrocyanic acid"
"How did you know?" Remus asked impressed.
"I recognized the smell of bitter almonds when we reached the infirmary. I had already smelled it in the classroom, but then I thought it was from my own stock."
Then he turned towards Madam Pomfrey and said courteously "I will try to find out what kind of potion had been administered, because we still have to handle the effects of that if...when she feels better. Call me if you need me"
He left the infirmary and walked slowly to the dungeons, deep in thoughts. Since he had discovered the bitter almond scent, he was racking his brain for a possible answer. Not in all these years as a potion master, he had come across a love potion that used bitter almonds. He knew that Malfoy had something to do with it and Lucius had all kind of books about the deadliest potions at home. Snape then suddenly picked up his pace and all but ran to the library. There had to be something in the restricted section that he hadn't paid enough attention to. He pushed the door open with one swift move, nodding curtly at the strict librarian.
"Severus! What are you doing here at this time?"
He spun around and looked into vivid green eyes.
"Well, I'm here to research on love potions"
Snape knew that this had been the wrong way to phrase it when he saw how hard Lily had to stifle a giggle.
"It's not the way it sounds, I assure you. It seems that Malfoy has slipped Miss Granger a love potion."
Lily still smiled broadly and tried hard not to break out in laughter at the obvious discomfort of her old school friend.
"We should sit down and then you can tell me what got your nerves so twisted" Lily suggested and they sat down on a table furthest away from the librarian.
Snape quickly recalled what had happened when Hermione showed up for detention and this time it took Lily all her strength not to collapse on the floor.
"So she actually kissed you?" she inquired with a twinkle in her eyes that could've given Dumbledore a run for his money.
Severus just nodded curtly and continued. Soon Lily's expression changed from amusement to shock as he told her about Hermione's breakdown and what Harry had done to bring her back. A warm feeling of pride welled up inside her when she thought about her son's reaction.
"I trust you haven't awarded him any points for his presence of mind?"
Snape felt her glare on him and he clenched his fist before he answered nonchalantly.
"This was not an academically achievement, my dear"
"Oh don't give me that rubbish, Sev" Lily called out and waved her hand dismissively. "I've seen for myself that you awarded Goyle points for having his tie tied correctly"
Her sudden outburst earned her a stern look from the librarian and Severus knew it would be the best to change the subject.
"Excuse me, but I have to look up some old potions and see if I am able to find what was used to bring Granger in this condition" he said and pushed his chair back.
"Let me help you, please. I really like that girl and it concerns me that she's not well"
Severus shrugged his shoulders and marched off to the restricted section. It was already past midnight and they hadn't found anything significant. Snape heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes, before he closed, what seemed like the hundredth book.
"Let's look at the facts once more. We know that someone has put bitter almonds or something that contains cyanide into the love potion, but-"
Snape's head jerked up. "What? Say that again"
Lily gave him a confused look.
"What have you just said?" Severus urged.
"I said that someone has put bitter almonds or something that contains cyanide into the love potion"
"Damn! Why haven't I thought about that earlier? Do you still want to help me?" Severus called out.
When Lily nodded, he grabbed a book from the huge pile in front of him and said "meet me in the dungeons in 10 minutes" and rushed out of the library.
As soon as he reached his study, he pointed his wand at the portrait of Salazar Slytherin and mumbled something intelligible.The painting swung aside and Snape grabbed a little package from a hidden vault in the wall. Just when he returned to his desk in the classroom, he heard footsteps in the corridor. He ignored them and opened the package with trembling hands. The wrapping was grey and dusty after over 10 years packed away in the stone vault. Snape opened the book that contained all the different torture curses besides the Cruciatus curse until he found what he was looking for. During his active deatheater times, he had collected several most complicated and dangerous potions and other ways to make people do his bidding. Unfortunately he had shared his discoveries with Lucius and so his former friend had been in the possession of exactly the same book. He was sure that Draco must have nicked it and that the answer to their problem could be found in there.
Quickly he browsed through the book, trying hard to ignore the more than graphic images in it. He wasn't proud of his deeds as a deatheater; all the torture he had inflicted on the innocent and the many women he had taken against their will, was enough to give him regular nightmares until the end of times. Unfortunately, Draco already seemed to go into the same direction, the wrong direction. However now that his father couldn't influence him in a negative way anymore, maybe he had a chance to set the boy's ideas straight. He heard the door to the classroom open and close and raised his head. Lily was standing in front of him and looked intrigued at the book in front of him.
"I found it!" he said simply and pointed his finger at a text in the middle of the page.
The witch looked at him and recognized that he looked quite ropy. His eyes were heavy lidded and dark shadows had manifested around them. The pale skin of his face had turned to a sickly grey and she knew that if he didn't get sleep soon, he would just pass out from exhaustion. There was only so much that a man can take and it seemed to her that the past days of the potion master must have been quite tiresome.
"What do have there, Severus?" she asked and followed him back into his study.
They sat down at on the black leather armchairs and Lily placed the book on the little table in front of her. Her eyes grew wide when she read all the effects the potion caused.
"Did ALL that happen?" she asked him, truly afraid of the answer.
"No, I assure you. Leave it to Malfoy's arrogance to try something that complex and mess it up. Fortunately he left some ingredients out; most likely because he couldn't get a hold of it, and I'm quite sure that he replaced this one" he pointed at a certain part of the text.
"What's that supposed to read?" she asked him curiously and stared at the intelligible part of the text.
"You have to know that Lucius has exactly the same book. We charmed it that it looks exactly like this, so that every time I added something new, it would appear in the same way in his copy. When I added this particular potion to the book, I have been in a hurry so this part here is nothing more than a scribble."
Lily nodded and beckoned him to continue.
"It is supposed to read kidney stone, but I'm quite positive that Malfoy identified it as cherry stone."
"OH my god!" Lily gasped. "This is where the cyanide came from. He added 7 cherry stones to the potion and..."
"Exactly my dear. The fact that he butchered the potion like that will make it almost impossible to cancel the effects and the fact that even if the potion would've been brewed correctly, the effects are permanent, doesn't help." Snape sighed and rubbed his eyes once more. "I don't know what to do, Lily"
The witch looked at him pitifully and stroked his cheek softly. "First of all we have to make sure that Hermione survives the night. When she's out of danger than I'm sure you'll find away to cancel the potion"
"You are right, Lily"
Just then the witch moved to the fireplace and called out for Madam Pomfrey.
"Lily, why are you up in the middle of the night" the mediwitch scolded.
Lily however ignored her and said "Severus told me everything that happened. How is she?"
Poppy looked at her sleepily and answered "She's a lot better; thanks to Severus. Her heartbeat is steady and her rosy color is coming back too. It seems that this night will show if she will make it through without any after effects"
"We all have to hope, Poppy" Lily said and was about to leave when the mediwitch spoke again.
"You have to take better care of yourself. It's not healthy for you to be up at this hour of the night in your condition."
Poppy took the fire tongs and held out a little vial for Lily.
"You better take this my dear. It's a sleeping draught" she said sternly and the younger witch took it between her teeth.
When she turned away from the fireplace, she recognized Severus was brooding over another tome, his hands entangled in his long black hair. She quickly conjured a cup of tea and emptied the vial in it.
"Drink that, Severus." she commanded and the potion master took the cup graciously.
He drowned the cup absentmindedly and his eyes closed immediately. A smile crept on Lily's lips and she looked at his relaxed features for a moment. Carefully, she floated him to his bedroom and snickered at the thought how James would react if he would know she was in Severus private chambers. She made sure he was comfortable and casted another spell on the sleeping man in front of her.
"This should do the trick" she said quietly and exited his room.
The next morning, Lily was pleased that Severus did not show up for breakfast. Dumbledore gave her a knowing smile before she made her way towards the dungeons. She had met shortly with James before breakfast. He wasn't pleased to stay alone at Godric's Hollow, but he knew it was for the best. They had taken in Zara's mom until the new house was ready to move in. The woman was still a little scared about the whole situation and she dreaded another encounter with Snape, but James had assured her that the potion master wasn't that upset anymore. Lily stepped into the classroom and carefully proceeded to Severus private quarters. She found him still sound asleep and decided she would take matters into her own hands. Snape's first class this morning would be the 7th years Gryffindors and Slytherins and she knew that even Sev would be up in time, he wouldn't be able to handle them; not in his current condition. Just when she cautiously exited his private chambers, she heard the commotion in front of the classroom doors. With a swift move she opened and the students filed in and took their regular seats. When everybody was settled, Lily stood in front of the desk and cleared her throat.
"I have to inform you that the class is cancelled for today. Professor Snape is working on a very important potion, but he told me today's assignment and so I want you to go to the library now and write an essay about this particular potion. Two scrolls should suffice; to be handed in next class" she said firmly and flicked her wand to reveal the name of today's assignment.
By the mentioning that Snape wouldn't be here today, all the students were cheering but only until they heard what a difficult potion they had to write an essay about.
"Now leave the classroom and proceed to the library. I will check on you in a few and when I see any kind of misbehaviour, I will take points. Is this understood?"
The students nodded mutely and Lily clearly heard some Slytherins muttering if she was even allowed to dock points when she wasn't even a real teacher.
"Let me assure you Mr Flint that I can and will dock points from everybody that steps as much as a toe out of line"
With that she glanced at the Weasley twins, who gave her the most angelic smile they were capable off. The students left the classroom just before lily heard a roaring from Sev's chambers.
"Seems like the sleeping beauty has awakened" she snickered and took a seat in the front row to enjoy what was going to happen.
Lily was maybe the only person, who wasn't intimidated or offended by Snape's behaviour. For her he had always been a great friend and it had disturbed her severely that her husband and other friends could never tolerate Severus. She hoped that when this all was over, the marauders could finally make peace with the potion master, although she knew it would be hard work. Why men always had to be so stubborn was totally beyond her. A few moments later, Snape made his bat-like entrance as usual, only to find his classroom empty.
"I swear if they don't have a damn good excuse for being that late, I will make sure that neither Slytherin nor Gryffindor will have points left to deduct after end of class" he bellowed and took his usual place at the desk.
"Don't worry about that Sev; they won't come at all."
His head turned to Lily, who he had decided to ignore before and arched his eyebrow questioningly. The witch could see the dark man's hands trembling with anger, when suddenly he said in his most dangerous voice "It seems that the dunderheads are really skipping class today; which means that I hereby deduct all the points from..."
"Stop, Severus" Lily spoke up quickly. "It's not their fault. I send them away"
"You did what?" he growled dangerously low and his expression would have made even a 5th year scream.
"Well, after the sleeping draught I have given you last night and cast a spell on you to prolong the effect, I thought you wouldn't be able to teach any classes this morning. And you wanted to work on Hermione's counter-potion, so I asked Kimberly to cover your classes for today" she answered sweetly and batted her eyelashes at him.
Snape banged his fist on the table and hissed "Stupid meddling Gryffindors"
"I take that as a thank you" Lily smiled and watched Severus proceed to his private lab, before she exited the classroom.