Chapter 86

Prince Gregorius was pacing in front of the table where Voldemort had assembled his allies. "We are here for several months now and still you haven't attacked that bloody school. The wolfmen have already left and I'm not willing to wait any longer."

He glared at the red eyes of Voldemort but quickly turned his eyes away when he felt a burning sensation in his head.

"You will show my master some respect!" Wormtail squeaked from his place next to Voldemort's throne.

"My men are tired to feed of stray cats and rats" the prince cast a threatening glance at Wormtail. "We want human blood and when you don't let us out of this wretched mansion tonight, I can't guarantee that my fellow vampires will keep their hands of your precious deatheaters any longer"

Voldemort had not spoken a single word until then but his eyes were glowing in a dark and dangerous ruby red. "I assure you, my friend that we only have to wait a little bit longer" the Dark Lord hissed and beckoned the vampire to take a seat.

While the Prince sat down next to Kork, the spokesmen of the Sons of Sekhmet, Voldemort whispered something to Wormtail and the little wizard left. Just moments later, Bellatrix Lestrange entered the room and knelt down in front of Voldemort.

"How can I serve you, my Lord?" she purred and kissed the hem of his robes.

"Have you heard anything from Lucius?" he inquired and his red eyes bore into her grey ones.

Bella rose from the floor and bowed slightly.

"I just came back from Malfoy Manor and Narcissa told me that her husband is missing for 2 days already. She has informed the ministry about his absence and they have assured her that he has left work on time. So he must have disappeared between the ministry of magic and his own home."

"Any traces what happened to him?" Voldemort asked.

"No, my Lord, I'm afraid not. I have already set Avery and Macnair on his track and I hope they will find out about his whereabouts very soon."

"Have you been able to find what I asked you to?" the evil wizard inquired excitedly.

"Yes, my Lord. The required item has already been delivered to your private study and I trust that we can bring you the boy soon as well."

"That's what I like to hear" Voldemort hissed and beckoned Bella over to him.

She knelt down next to his throne and his bony hands entwined in her long black hair. The witch smiled like a cat that has gotten the cream and rubbed her cheek against his robes.

"Well, when are we going to strike?" Kork finally spoke up and his cat-like eyes glowed threateningly in the gloomy room.

"As soon as I have the potion ready and I have heard from my little spy. I have read in his mind that he has some interesting ideas with a certain Gryffindor. You are all dismissed"

Prince Gregorius looked at Kork with an expression of utmost disgust. He didn't feel comfortable with these men and he wished the wolfmen wouldn't have left. It was a fact that vampires and wolfmen didn't get along too well, but they at least knew each other. The Sons of Sekhmet where dangerous... very dangerous, and Gregorius was certain that Voldemort had no idea what he had them all gotten into. He wished that he would have been as smart as Harpax and wouldn't have signed that wretched wizarding contract.

Now he was bound and wouldn't be able to leave here until his task was complete. He had heard about those creatures from Egypt, but he had always thought they were just a myth. Unfortunately, the strange wizard had found them and recruited them; as far as you can recrute them. He was extremely unsure that they would follow any orders but he was certain that they were extremely bad news. Slowly he went back to their haven in the dungeons to inform his fellow vampires about the news. He entered the dark room through an oak door and was immediately surrounded by three of the group.

"He has still not made a plan when we're going to attack, not will he let us away from the estate to feed" Gregorius said calmly and recognised that the others were glaring daggers at him.

"The day I get out of here, I will personally decapitate you and feed your heart to the hellhounds" Ivan called out and grabbed his prince at the front of his shirt.

"Calm your nerves now, Ivan!" Gregorius chided him. "We need to stick together now or those evil Egyptians. They are working on their own accord, I'm sure, but that dumbss of a wizard won't listen to reason."

Ivan glared at him and his pale and sunken face proved that he needed to feed.

"Well so I guess rats are on the menu again today!" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Gregorius stepped up to his fellow vampire and said "I promise you that you can feast on those deatheaters as soon as this contract is fulfilled"

Voldemort looked sternly at Wormtail and Bellatrix, who had stayed in the room with him.

"You need to keep a close eye on those two. I don't want any battles inside here. they have to save their wrath for the day when I am ready to attack Hogwarts" he hissed and then Wormtail recognised the same insane glittering in Voldemort's eyes as he had seen in Bella's so many times before.

Not for the first time in his miserable life he wished he would have never betrayed Lily and James.

--------------------

Madam Pomfrey was sitting on the bed next to Hermione, who was glowing with a terrible fever. The poison was still raging inside her and the potion that professor Snape had concocted for her was not working as effectively as before. She had been stable through the night, but since 2 hours, she was getting worse. Her face had lost all the rosy touch and was now quince-yellow. Madam Pomfrey knew that if she would open her eyes, they would have exactly the same color. It seemed that her liver was damaged because of the cyanide and the mediwitch was losing all hope for the girl to survive. Hermione was twisting and turning on her bed and mumbling something intelligible.

"What do you want to say, my dear?" the mediwitch said calmly and bent over Hermione's face to hear better.

"Severus... need Severus" Hermione whispered and Poppy sadly tilted her head to the side.

Maybe it was the best for her if she could see the potion master again. Poppy reluctantly left her charge and contacted the headmistress first. Minerva McGonagall had been very disturbed by the news about Hermione, but the mediwitch thought it might be the right time to let the girl's parents come. Nobody knew if or how long she would hold on. After her brief conversation with the headmistress, she contacted Severus in his private lab. Just a few moments later, the potion master entered the hospital wing and beckoned Poppy in a corner far away from Hermione's bed.

"Why did you call me, Poppy?"

"I'm sorry, Severus, but the girls asked for you. She's not well and your potion doesn't help her anymore. I'm afraid that her liver is damaged and I don't know if we can save her"

Severus eyes were wide in shock. He had been so sure that his potion would at least prevent the worst. He couldn't let her die; that was unacceptable. Not only did he not want to lose a brilliant student and brilliant she was he had to admit through gritted teeth. He also knew what would happen to Draco if she should die. The son of a deatheater and a sworn mudblood-hater had killed said mudblood. That would suffice to keep him in Azkaban until the end of time. He couldn't allow that.

"Poppy, call Mr Potter and Mr Weasley to pay Miss Granger a quick visit and then we will transfer her to my private lab. I want to run some tests which I cannot oversee in the hospital wing" he said firmly and rushed out of the room in search of the headmistress.

Poppy pursed her lips; she wasn't happy with this arrangement and he would never willingly let the girl leave the infirmary, but she also knew that Severus was Hermione's last chance. She snapped her fingers and a little house-elf appeared in front of her.

"How can Dobby serve?" the house-elf squeaked and Poppy bent down to him.

"Professor Snape wants you to fetch Mr Potter and Mr Weasley and bring them here. In case they ask why, you're not allowed to answer any questions"

"As you wish" and with a plop Dobby was gone.

Harry was dozing off trying hard to concentrate on the monotonous voice of Professor Binns. Without Hermione taking down notes, somebody had to pay attention, but soon he realized that it wouldn't be him. Ron wasn't better off, but Harry could see his thoughts were with Hermione, because of the worried look on his face. Just when Harry's head was about to sink on his chest again, he felt a sharp pain on his shin and his head jerked up. He recognized Dobby bowing in front of him through the tear that had sprung to his eyes due to the stinging sensation in his leg.

"What is it, Dobby?" he asked through gritted teeth and rubbed his leg.

"Master Professor Snape ordered me to fetch you and your Weazy"

Harry looked at him suspiciously; what could Snape probably want from them?

Dobby grabbed his hand and tried to pull him from his chair. Several of the other students already looked very intrigued at the little house-elf and the black-haired boy knew that they had to hurry before the ghost was alerted. He nudged Ron and his friend muttered something intelligible.

"Come on Ron! Snape wants to see us"

Ron looked at him with sleepy eyes and pushed himself off the chair. Carefully they followed Dobby out of the classroom under the scrutinizing glares of their class mates.

"Where are we going?" Harry inquired but he didn't receive any answer.

He felt a little uneasy about the fact that Snape wanted to see them, but everything was better than listening to Binns. He felt his heart missing a beat when he realized that they were not going to the dungeons but towards the hospital wing.

"Dobby, is it about Hermione?" he urged but the house-elf didn't reply; just his ears drooped slightly.

When they reached the hospital wing, Dobby bowed deeply in front of Madam Pomfrey.

"Is there anything me can do?" he asked but the mediwitch shook her head and with a plop he was gone.

Harry was getting extremely angry now. Although he was used to having to find out everything for himself and that nobody ever tells him anything, he was quite tired of it.

"What is going on here?" he demanded in a rather harsh voice.

"Will you keep your voice down! This is an infirmary and my patients need rest" The mediwitch snapped.

Harry looked at her confusedly because he couldn't see anyone except Hermione. It seemed that Draco had been allowed to leave already and no other student was in the infirmary except of his friend.

"I want to know what's wrong with Hermione and why Snape wanted us to come here"

Ron had left Harry's side and was now sitting next to Hermione, holding her hand in his. It hurt Harry severely to see his best friends like this. Hermione was glowing from inside and sweat was steadily streaming from her face, wetting the sheets. She looked like she was having seizures and her bushy hair was a felted mess from twisting and turning on the bed. He watched Ron stroking Hermione's hands and face and he knew whoever did that to her would pay severely. His attention returned to Madam Pomfrey, who was looking at him with utmost pity.

"I'm sorry to inform you Mr Potter, that the chances for your friend to survive are very small. A love potion has been administered to her, which was terribly concocted. Whoever did it, read the instructions wrong and added the wrong ingredients. The result was that Miss Granger got severely poisoned and her liver was damaged."

She paused for a moment and dragged Harry to a nearby chair. "Take a seat Harry" she said calmly and motioned him to sit down.

"Professor Snape has told me to bring you here. He wants her transferred to the dungeons to run some test that might safe her. Just in case his test will be in vain, you should have the chance to..."

The mediwitch didn't finish the sentence, but Harry understood her nevertheless. Hermione was going to die. He felt like all emotion besides one was drained from his body and left it totally numb. The fury raging inside him boiled up even more when his brain started to work again.

Why should Snape of all people try to safe Hermione?

He hated her, the insufferable Gryffindor know-it-all. There had to be more about it than that. A terrible thought came to his mind and he glared at Madam Pomfrey.

"I'm not going to allow it!" he said firmly, baling his hands to fists.

"I beg your pardon, Mr Potter?"

"I told you that I'm not going to allow Snape playing his games with my friend. I'm sure he knows who did this to her and most likely it was a Slytherin. Now he wants to destroy all the evidence. He's not going to help her! He's going to finish her off!"

While he spoke, Harry grabbed Madam Pomfrey's perfectly starched and ironed white apron and clutched it in his hands.

"Don't be ridiculous, Potter"

Harry turned around and spotted Snape standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

"5 points from Gryffindor for not addressing your Professor in the correct manner. To be perfectly honest with you, your friend is going to die today, if I cannot cancel the potion she has received. Her body has already been damaged severely and I cannot guarantee she will make it through at all." Snape growled dangerously. "The headmistress has already called for Miss Granger's parents, so I daresay you say your good byes and don't waste any more of my precious time"

Harry glared back at Snape and narrowed his eyes in fury.

"How do I know that you don't use her as a human guinea pig for your own studies?"

Snape's little patience was running out, so he just pushed Harry towards Hermione's bed and hissed "I have no idea what you're talking about and now do as you're told or you might have your friend's life on your conscience"

Harry shot a last nasty glance at Snape, who had followed Madam Pomfrey to her office to discuss final details before he looked at Hermione. He took one of her hands in his and suddenly all of the adventures they had been through together replayed in front of his mind's eye. The day they became friends after Ron and he had rescued her from the troll, their way to the Philosopher's stone, her laying in the hospital wing, petrified by the basilisk, how they had saved Sirius and Buckbeak two years prior and how she had helped him with the tasks during the Triwizard Tournament. That brought him back to what he had relieved so many times in his dreams already – Cedric's death. He wouldn't let his friend die; Hogwarts would never be the same again. While he watched Hermione fighting against the poison inside her and his best friend crying silently on her blankets, he knew that Ron would never be the same as before. This would take more of the insouciance and happiness from the boy than Voldemort ever could. Even if Hermione survives, they wouldn't know if she would ever fully recover. His eyes darted back to Snape and he prayed for all of them that Snape would be able to help her. Strangely most of all he prayed for Snape and Hermione; for her because of the obvious reasons, for him because he didn't want to have to kill him for failing Hermione. He looked at his friend in her white hospital nightgown for what seemed like eternity until Madam Pomfrey finally came and led them away. Ron looked like in trance and didn't want to let go of Hermione's hand.

"Come on mate; we have to go" Harry said as calmly as possible and let Ron out of the hospital wing.

"Do what you can to save her, Professor" he said with a last look at Snape. "She is a wonderful person, although you never bothered to see any of her many good sides"

Snape nodded curtly and Harry left with Ron.

-----------

Dudley was waiting in his classroom for the arrival of Professor Wells. He had been informed that she would cover today's potion classes because Professor Snape was busy with more important matters. He was a little bit concerned that he hadn't seen Hermione at breakfast and he wondered if she was still lusting after the greasy git. If Dudley wouldn't have tuned out all the whispered conversations at the Gryffindor table, he would have realized that Hermione was fighting for her life at that very moment. Professor Wells entered the classroom, concern edged on her face and her hands slightly shaking.

"Dudley, I wish that you complete the essay about mandrakes today. I have to admit that I don't have the peace of mind to oversee any kind of potion brewing"

Or at least not with you dunderhead, she added silently.

Dudley snorted slightly; he hated writing essays, but maybe she would tell him why every teacher seemed to be so absentminded today. While he got out parchment, quill and ink, he observed Professor Wells very carefully. Her mind was not there with him and his curiosity got the better of him.

"Professor?"

"Hmmm"

"Can you tell me please, why everybody is so concerned and depressed?"

The witch heaved a sigh and looked at him with slightly puffy eyes.

"I'm quite surprised that you haven't heard about it yet. We were trying to keep you all unaware of it, but rumors have spread all over the school already."

She massaged the bridge of her nose and continued.

"Someone has administered Miss Granger a love potion"

Dudley's eyes grew wide in shock. "Is this so bad?" he said meekly and his Professor looked at him suspiciously.

When he didn't say anymore she continued. "Love potions are strictly forbidden in this school; but besides that, the potion hasn't been brewed correctly. Poison has been added and this resulted in a damage of Miss Granger's liver. She might not survive"

The sad voice of Professor Wells echoed through the room and felt a vice-like grip squeezing his heart. The consequences of what he had done came clearly to his mind and he buried his head in his arms. Professor Wells looked at the boy in front of her sobbing heart-rending at his desk. As she walked over to calm him she heard words between sobs.

"I didn't want this to happen. This wasn't what I have planned"

Suddenly her hands clutched around his fat arm and jerked him up.

"What? What do you mean, you didn't want this to happen" she all but screamed while Dudley stared at her like a deer in the head lights.

Kimberly could se the boy's face go from beet red to ghostly white in just a few seconds.

"If you have anything to do with it.... you better tell me now. It might Professor Snape to save her. She is fighting for her life at this moment. Didn't you know that?"

Dudley tried to speak but only a meekly croak came out of his mouth. At this moment Kimberly couldn't hold back any longer and slapped his cheek hard. This seemed to do the trick and Dudley snapped out of his state. Tears were brimming in his eyes and Kimberly almost felt a little sorry for him. If he really had to do something with this, Minerva would most likely expel him - Gryffindor or not.

"How did you manage to brew such a complex potion anyway?" she asked him impatiently while Dudley sobbed into his hanky.

"Didn't brew it.." he squeaked between hiccups.

"You just admitted that you had something to do with it, so speak up or I will get Professor Snape to question you and he will not be pleased if I have to interrupt him now. If you get my point!" she urged him and finally Dudley started to talk.

It was better he got it out now; he didn't even want to think what kind of interrogative methods Snape would have in store.

"I have feelings for Hermione, but she is totally besotted with that Weasley twit, so I thought I could make her like me with a love potion"

Kimberly took a chair and sat down next to Dudley, who was dabbing his eyes with the damp handkerchief he was still clutching with his sausage-like fingers.

"Well, I knew that Malfoy is good in potions, so I asked him if he could help me."

The witch sighed. Now it was affirmed that Draco had his hands in this. Dudley has calmed down slightly, except of the occasional hiccup as he continued.

"He agreed and the next time we met he already had a potion ready. I was excited to get it so easily. First I thought he would just show me how to do it, but he presented a vial and told me how to use it. I slipped the whole content in her pumpkin juice during dinner, but unfortunately the first man she saw was Snape"

Professor Wells sighed deeply, trying to control the anger inside her. This girl was battling with death just because of the silly crush of a student.

"You can thank every god and goddess out there that it was Snape she has seen first. Fortunately she has been in his quarters when the poison took effect. I don't even want to think what would have happened if she would have been in her chambers"

"Poison? What poison? I didn't give her poison, did I?" Dudley spoke up and looked at the witch with frightened eyes.

"I see that you didn't want to poison her, but Mr Malfoy obviously did. You should listen to your house-mates... don't trust Mr Malfoy. He has just taken advantage of your lack of knowledge and your credulity"

Dudley heard the seriousness in her voice and swallowed hard.

"Do you think that Draco had something evil in mind?"

"I cannot say for certain, but as much as I know about Draco Malfoy, I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that"

Dudley was shocked. He couldn't believe that Draco would do something so terrible. It had to be a mistake. The next chance he would get, he would have to question him about this poisoned potion.

"What is going to happen to me now?" he asked meekly and lowered his gaze.

Kimberly had returned to her desk and scribbled on a piece of parchment.

"Dobby?" she called and the little house-elf appeared in front of her.

"Take this to Professor Snape and tell him it is urgent." she said firmly and handed him the note. Dobby bowed until the tip of his long nose almost touched the ground before he disappeared with a plop. Dudley rubbed his eyes; he definitely wasn't used to house-elf' magic yet.

Then Kimberly turned towards him and said "I'm going to take you to the headmistress. Certainly she wants to deal with that personally."

With that she left the desk, came over to him and grabbed his arm.

"You don't have the slightest idea in how much trouble you have gotten yourself, young man" she growled and dragged him out of the classroom.