THE EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER
By: Scatterheart
"No matter what road you travel on, you seem to go through the darkest places." (PM Dawn)Section Twenty One
The room was locked now, with three bolts and a chain. Poppy Pomfrey said to Hermione that it was for Severus' own good, really – a rabble-rouser had apparently burst in and charmed him with a morendus spell, and she could not risk such mindless antics in the future.
"He will be in tip top shape very soon," Madame Pomfrey assured as she arranged a small assortment of pills in a porcelain bowl. "All he needs is quiet and rest."
"But the Cruciatus—"
Pomfrey chuckled, sounding amused and a little impatient. "My dear, you've come here six times in the last five days. I've told you that he is not dying, regardless of what schoolyard rumor you heard. When he was hit with Cruciatus, his body reacted by running a high fever. And that fever will soon run its course. Now, I don't mean to pry, but don't you have classes to attend?"
"Yes. Well, thank you again, Madame Pomfrey." Hermione began to walk out of the ward, her feet dragging like lead.
"My dear."
She turned around.
"Look," the nurse resumed on a softer note. "I know you're very worried about your professor – and rightly so – but please, believe me that he'll be back on his feet and taking points away from your house and blasting apart rosebushes at Yule Balls before you know it. Understand, my dear?"
"Yes, I guess," she said, her throat aching. It was a feeling she had grown thoroughly accustomed to during the last several weeks. She trudged out of the hospital ward, bleakly, as though a rain cloud had decided to make its permanent residence above her head.
Four days later the rain cloud disappeared.
She was on her way to the Great Hall for dinner when she saw him in the distance, glaring down at a group of first-years as his black cloak swirled about his feet.
"And ten points from Gryffindor," she heard him say.
Oh God.
Severus Snape.
--
To be continued.