Chapter 5: Recovery
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**Saturday**
Pale light from the East windows illuminated the ward. The white sheets reflected and increased the light, throwing it back on stone walls, vaulted ceiling, and bright paintings. At first glance the beds seemed to be strangely empty, which in a school where magical and physical injuries were common would indeed be strange. But at the far end that was in shadow still, the sleeping form of Hermione Granger could be found. Suddenly the shadows seem to move of against the light of their own accord. The morphing blackness developed a face, a very pale and forbidding face. The black frock coat and robes of Professor Snape blending into the shadows and darkness often allowed hime to approach miscreant students or unsuspecting enemies unnoticed. Silently, he approached the girl's bed. His facial features were schooled into disdainful indifference, but several emotions warred in his mind for dominance.
He felt guilty for not being able to prevent her injuries. If he had only locked that damned door, this wouldn't have happened. I can't let another muggleborn die because of my failures, he thought. I will do everything in my power to see her live and recover. Grudgingly he admitted to himself, It would be a waste to lose such a powerful mind and magical ability. "I promise, I will help you, Hermione. If it is the last thing I do," he whispered to the sleeping form. Hearing a noise in the corridor, he lifted the silver cloak and disappeared seconds before Professor Dumbledore and Lupin entered the Hospital Wing.
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She must be dreaming. Snape would never use her given name, nor would he ever hold vigil for a sick Gryffindor student or any student. But that last promise sounded so real, right down to the silky baritone of his voice, but without the usual scorn. She heard footsteps and an insistent Professor calling her name. Slowly she came awake.
She woke to the worried eyes of her favorite DADA professor staring back at her. She took a moment to look around and, not seeing Professor Snape, assumed that she had been dreaming after all. Finally she said, "Hello professors. What time is it?"
Lupin gave her a weak smile, but kept the saddened look as he replied, "It is six thirty on Saturday morning. Obviously it is after dawn. I'm sure this night has been a major shock to you."
"Actually it wasn't. At least, not in the sense of you being a werewolf. I've known for a while now. The attack was a bit of a shock though," she responded. She saw a look of surprise cross his weary features overriding the self-loathing and sadness.
"But ...when...how did you figure it out? I thought I was careful. Why didn't you tell me she had already known before the attack?" he asked Dumbledore accusingly.
Albus calmly replied, "You needed to hear it from her and it would not have made any difference about tonight's events."
Looking contrite Remus turned back to Hermione and said, "Hermione, I truly never meant to hurt you. I was not in control of myself. I am sorry I did this to you. Can you forgive me?" He asked this last with the desperation of a man on the edge.
Her face determine and her voice firm she responded by saying, "I know you didn't. That creature was not you. It may be your animal form, but it was not you. There is nothing to forgive for you did nothing wrong. But if it helps, I forgive the attack by you other self. As for already knowing, I guessed after Professor Snape gave us the werewolf essays early, while you were ...sick. I just connected the dots." Seeing the look of self-pity in his eyes, she added, "It does not make you a bad person. The kindest wizard and best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had. In fact it makes you better for the position. You have first hand experience. I would hate to lose you as a professor."
A disbelieving but relieved look came over the professor's face. "Thank you. I promise I will do anything I can to help you recover. I will not rest until you are well. Besides how can you cheer for Harry at the quidditch match against Hufflepuff if you can't climb the stairs?" he said, trying to inject hope into his tone.
"What is everyone doing here?" Madame Pomfrey asked tiredly, entering the ward from her adjacent quarters. "She is supposed to be resting Albus you should know better that to interrupt a healing session," she admonished roughly for disturbing her patient.
"Remus wished to reassure himself that Miss Granger was alive and recovering. We'll be going now and leaver her to your expert care. Professor Lupin will be available to help with anything you may need in aiding Miss Granger's recovery. Feel free to call on him. Professor Snape will be working on an antidote potion in the meantime. Until then, rest well and good luck, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said and left, Lupin trailing behind him.
"You can't get better chances of recovery than with Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape to help you. You'll be up and around in no time. In the meantime, you need to sleep," said the mediwitch. Turning to the cabinet next to the bed, the older witch removed a flask of purple liquid. Turning back to Hermione she said, "Drink half of this. It will let you sleep for three hours. Then you should have breakfast and then we will start on your therapy. Now drink."
Grimacing at the foul smell and her inability to move, Hermione watched as Madame Pomfrey tipped the flask into her mouth and she gagged as it hit the back of her throat. Asserting all her willpower she swallowed convulsively and was asleep almost instantly. Unnoticed by the mediwitch, Professor Snape turned and left the Hospital Wing. He had an antidote to invent and brew.
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**11 AM**
Maybe an infusion of snake anti-venom and belladonna essence mixed with powdered moonstone an moonflower. Yes, that could work. Furtively, Snape moved around his worktable carefully measuring different portions of the ingredients into several different cauldrons. One of these has to work. Soon each cauldron was bubbling nicely and Snape returned to his bookshelf for more ideas.
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"OW! That hurts," Hermione yelled, her entire leg throbbing. Se was propped up into a sitting position on the bed. Madame Pomfrey was crouched over the end of the cot gripping the younger witch's ankle and calf. They had been attempting to have Hermione push against the mediwitch's pressure. Least to say, it was not working.
Madame Pomfrey released the pressure of her hold on the girl's leg. With a smile she said, "Good, at least you can feel it. The more you feel and move it on your own the faster your recovery will be. The fact that you can feel the pain is a sign that the nerves are fighting the poison. Your goal is to be able to move you legs by this evening. Where do you feel the pain? The joints? The foot?"
"The whole leg. It felt like it was being pinched all over at once. Now it's just throbbing like the dickens," she replied with a grimace. She wished she could mover her arms to rub the affected leg.
"That's good. It's widespread," she reassured her distraught patient. "I know it hurts, but we should continue. I will give you something for the pain once we have created all of it." Moving to the other side of the bed she said, "Let's try the other leg."
Pushing through the pain, Hermione concentrated solely on resisting the applied pressure on her foot. After several agonizing moments of sharp needles of pain shooting up her leg that seemed to last for hours, her left foot gave a small twitch of its own accord. Gasping for breath, she smiled, "Did you see that? My foot moved!"
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"Where is she?" Harry asked the air at large.
Ron looked up despondently from his roast beef sandwich and responded, "I don't know, mate. She wasn't at breakfast either." Suddenly he looked around as if she might just be at another table or something. Harry looked at his fiery haired friend with a I-already-knew-that look and said logically, "She probably came back late last night and slept in. She's probably in the library already."
Absently, being focused on picking his next course, Ron replied, "Yeah you're probably right?" He paused in thought for a moment, looking odd indeed, before continuing, "But what if something is wrong. Even she wouldn't miss two meals on a Saturday, even for a paper. Not to mention she already had it written anyway."
"We could ask Dumbledore or McGonagall if they have seen her. Or Professor Lupin. Maybe she stayed talking to him all night," Harry suggested sensibly.
Finishing off the last of their lunch, they left the Great Hall to find their missing friend and DADA professor.
But their werewolf professor proved as elusive as their friend. Frustrated, they approached the gargoyle guard of the Headmaster's office. Naming all the candy in Honeyduke's they could think of did not give the entrance, when Harry was struck by sudden inspiration. "Lemon drop," he said decisively. The winged statue obediently revealed the staircase to a smug Harry and Ron, who was dumbstruck by the obviousness. They hurried up the stairs and hoped they would get some answers at the top.
They found Dumbledore reaching for the handle of the door just as Harry pushed it open. Startled they all stopped in their tracks. Dumbledore quickly recovered and greeted them by saying, "Good afternoon. I was just coming to find you. I have some news about Miss Granger. No doubt you noticed that she seems to be missing." He paused as they nodded the affirmative looking confused. He continued, "Sadly she will be away this weekend. She received news last night about an illness in the family. She left by portkey last night as the letter was urgent. She will no doubt be back on Monday, as nothing short of death, and maybe not even that, would keep her from her schoolwork. Until she returns I recommend taking advantage of this weather and getting in some quidditch practice. I hear the Hufflepuff team has improved with new members this year." Giving that hint he deftly ushered the two perplexed and confused teenagers into the corridor before wishing them a good day and disappearing down the hall.
"What was that? Why didn't Hermione tell us? We would have understood if she had to go away," Ron said looking at Harry.
Harry gave Ron a disgusted look for being so selfish. He responded by saying, "You don't think do you? She was worried about her grandmother. She just forgot and had to leave before she could tell us. If she wants us to know she would send us a letter."
"But she doesn't have an owl. How would she get it to us?" Ron asked.
Harry paused for a moment before saying, "Why don't we send her a letter? Then she can send a response back with Hedwig."
Ron smiled at this idea. "Okay but you write it. My handwriting isn't that great."
This decided, they headed to the owlery to find Hedwig.
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**Later that Afternoon**
Bend. Come on bend, Hermione commanded her limbs. She had found that complete concentration and mental commands helped with the therapy. Lupin had joined the two witches shortly before lunch and replaced Madame Pomfrey as the physical brace for Hermione. They had made some progress with her ability to move her limbs. She could move all her toes separately and with deliberate concentration, rotate her foot with little or no pain. They were now focusing on controlling the movement of her knees. With agonized slowness her right leg twitched and bent slightly, with the minimum of pressure from Lupin's hands, before the pain forced her to relax back to the straight and limp position.
Lupin smiled and released his supportive hold of her ankle. "That was good. You were actually in control of it that time," he said encouragingly. Seeing the fatigue and pain on her face he added, "You need to take a break. You've made a great amount of progress so far."
She leaned back into her pillow and nodded wearily in consent. She mentally suppressed the throbbing pain that's was pounding in her chest and legs, while the professor retrieved the pain relief potion. After treatment had been administered she relaxed until a snowy white owl flew through the door and landed with a thump in her lap. Recognizing the owl and the handwriting on the envelope she smiled and opened the letter from her two best friends.
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Books of all sizes and color were spread haphazardly across the table and desks, many standing open to various pages. The several cauldrons had been reduced to two which were bubbling softly on the work table. One was emitting copious amounts of silver steam while the other gave off periodic explosions of purple sparks.
After consulting a page in a considerably old and moldy looking black book a disheveled and tense Severus Snape carefully added five drops of murtlap essence to the two cauldrons. The steam abruptly stopped and the thick liquid turned thing and became a horrible shade of ochre, while the sparking cauldron turned a clear silver color. He cracked an uncharacteristic smile. This might be the key. I almost have it, he thought excitedly. Encouraged, he returned to the desk and picked up a small blue book of healing plants, determined to find the cure for the girl in the ward three floors up.
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A joyful peal of laughter could be heard in the corridor outside of the Hospital Wing. Though anybody who knew what the patient was in for would wonder what there could possibly be funny. The story of James Potter getting in trouble for being caught snogging his girlfriend by the current potions professor after curfew was what was indeed funny though. Remus Lupin had been keeping Hermione from boredom during dinner by entertaining her with his school time anecdotes.
Squinting tears of laughter from her eyes she gasped for breath. Then bit back a yelp as a sudden pain shot through her shoulders and went straight to her head. To her professor's surprised Hermione went limp, but tensed suddenly as her cinnamon eyes rolled back in her head. He rushed to grab her as she slumped over and began to twitch and jerk violently in his arms. Panicking, he shouted for Madame Pomfrey.
The mediwitch came running out of her office and taking in the scene enfolding in front of her, rushed to the bedside. "Petrificus totalus!" she yelled. Hermione went completely still. The change caught Remus by surprise causing him to overbalance and fall on top of the younger witch incongruously.
Righting himself he asked, "What happened?" He looked at the unconscious Hermione worriedly.
Poppy sighed and explained, "I was afraid this might happen. She had a seizure. It is a side effect of the poison. Hopefully, it hasn't done any more damage than was already there. Enervate."
Slowly, Hermione blinked back into consciousness. She tried to sit up, something she had been able to do since lunch, and found she couldn't move. Full paralysis had returned. Tears of pain and frustration clouded her vision. She choked back a sob as she said, "I can't move again. Why can't I move?"
Sympathetic tears sprang to the mediwitch's eyes as she responded by saying, "As I feared you had a seizure. This is something I warned you about earlier. Unfortunately it has erased all the work you have managed today. You will have to start over tomorrow. The only problem is that unless Professor Snape can create the antidote, you are susceptible to more seizures which may cause constant regression by to paralysis."
This news only served to make Hermione's tears fall harder. Seeing this Professor Lupin rushed to comfort his student, friend and victim, "We will work on it. I have confidence in Professor Snape. You couldn't find someone more dedicated or qualified to find you a cure. This is just a setback, not the end. You will get better. I promise."
To be continued ...
@@@@@@@@ R and R please! Chap. 6 soon.
@@@@@@@
**Saturday**
Pale light from the East windows illuminated the ward. The white sheets reflected and increased the light, throwing it back on stone walls, vaulted ceiling, and bright paintings. At first glance the beds seemed to be strangely empty, which in a school where magical and physical injuries were common would indeed be strange. But at the far end that was in shadow still, the sleeping form of Hermione Granger could be found. Suddenly the shadows seem to move of against the light of their own accord. The morphing blackness developed a face, a very pale and forbidding face. The black frock coat and robes of Professor Snape blending into the shadows and darkness often allowed hime to approach miscreant students or unsuspecting enemies unnoticed. Silently, he approached the girl's bed. His facial features were schooled into disdainful indifference, but several emotions warred in his mind for dominance.
He felt guilty for not being able to prevent her injuries. If he had only locked that damned door, this wouldn't have happened. I can't let another muggleborn die because of my failures, he thought. I will do everything in my power to see her live and recover. Grudgingly he admitted to himself, It would be a waste to lose such a powerful mind and magical ability. "I promise, I will help you, Hermione. If it is the last thing I do," he whispered to the sleeping form. Hearing a noise in the corridor, he lifted the silver cloak and disappeared seconds before Professor Dumbledore and Lupin entered the Hospital Wing.
@@@@@@@
She must be dreaming. Snape would never use her given name, nor would he ever hold vigil for a sick Gryffindor student or any student. But that last promise sounded so real, right down to the silky baritone of his voice, but without the usual scorn. She heard footsteps and an insistent Professor calling her name. Slowly she came awake.
She woke to the worried eyes of her favorite DADA professor staring back at her. She took a moment to look around and, not seeing Professor Snape, assumed that she had been dreaming after all. Finally she said, "Hello professors. What time is it?"
Lupin gave her a weak smile, but kept the saddened look as he replied, "It is six thirty on Saturday morning. Obviously it is after dawn. I'm sure this night has been a major shock to you."
"Actually it wasn't. At least, not in the sense of you being a werewolf. I've known for a while now. The attack was a bit of a shock though," she responded. She saw a look of surprise cross his weary features overriding the self-loathing and sadness.
"But ...when...how did you figure it out? I thought I was careful. Why didn't you tell me she had already known before the attack?" he asked Dumbledore accusingly.
Albus calmly replied, "You needed to hear it from her and it would not have made any difference about tonight's events."
Looking contrite Remus turned back to Hermione and said, "Hermione, I truly never meant to hurt you. I was not in control of myself. I am sorry I did this to you. Can you forgive me?" He asked this last with the desperation of a man on the edge.
Her face determine and her voice firm she responded by saying, "I know you didn't. That creature was not you. It may be your animal form, but it was not you. There is nothing to forgive for you did nothing wrong. But if it helps, I forgive the attack by you other self. As for already knowing, I guessed after Professor Snape gave us the werewolf essays early, while you were ...sick. I just connected the dots." Seeing the look of self-pity in his eyes, she added, "It does not make you a bad person. The kindest wizard and best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had. In fact it makes you better for the position. You have first hand experience. I would hate to lose you as a professor."
A disbelieving but relieved look came over the professor's face. "Thank you. I promise I will do anything I can to help you recover. I will not rest until you are well. Besides how can you cheer for Harry at the quidditch match against Hufflepuff if you can't climb the stairs?" he said, trying to inject hope into his tone.
"What is everyone doing here?" Madame Pomfrey asked tiredly, entering the ward from her adjacent quarters. "She is supposed to be resting Albus you should know better that to interrupt a healing session," she admonished roughly for disturbing her patient.
"Remus wished to reassure himself that Miss Granger was alive and recovering. We'll be going now and leaver her to your expert care. Professor Lupin will be available to help with anything you may need in aiding Miss Granger's recovery. Feel free to call on him. Professor Snape will be working on an antidote potion in the meantime. Until then, rest well and good luck, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said and left, Lupin trailing behind him.
"You can't get better chances of recovery than with Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape to help you. You'll be up and around in no time. In the meantime, you need to sleep," said the mediwitch. Turning to the cabinet next to the bed, the older witch removed a flask of purple liquid. Turning back to Hermione she said, "Drink half of this. It will let you sleep for three hours. Then you should have breakfast and then we will start on your therapy. Now drink."
Grimacing at the foul smell and her inability to move, Hermione watched as Madame Pomfrey tipped the flask into her mouth and she gagged as it hit the back of her throat. Asserting all her willpower she swallowed convulsively and was asleep almost instantly. Unnoticed by the mediwitch, Professor Snape turned and left the Hospital Wing. He had an antidote to invent and brew.
@@@@@@@
**11 AM**
Maybe an infusion of snake anti-venom and belladonna essence mixed with powdered moonstone an moonflower. Yes, that could work. Furtively, Snape moved around his worktable carefully measuring different portions of the ingredients into several different cauldrons. One of these has to work. Soon each cauldron was bubbling nicely and Snape returned to his bookshelf for more ideas.
@@@@@@@
"OW! That hurts," Hermione yelled, her entire leg throbbing. Se was propped up into a sitting position on the bed. Madame Pomfrey was crouched over the end of the cot gripping the younger witch's ankle and calf. They had been attempting to have Hermione push against the mediwitch's pressure. Least to say, it was not working.
Madame Pomfrey released the pressure of her hold on the girl's leg. With a smile she said, "Good, at least you can feel it. The more you feel and move it on your own the faster your recovery will be. The fact that you can feel the pain is a sign that the nerves are fighting the poison. Your goal is to be able to move you legs by this evening. Where do you feel the pain? The joints? The foot?"
"The whole leg. It felt like it was being pinched all over at once. Now it's just throbbing like the dickens," she replied with a grimace. She wished she could mover her arms to rub the affected leg.
"That's good. It's widespread," she reassured her distraught patient. "I know it hurts, but we should continue. I will give you something for the pain once we have created all of it." Moving to the other side of the bed she said, "Let's try the other leg."
Pushing through the pain, Hermione concentrated solely on resisting the applied pressure on her foot. After several agonizing moments of sharp needles of pain shooting up her leg that seemed to last for hours, her left foot gave a small twitch of its own accord. Gasping for breath, she smiled, "Did you see that? My foot moved!"
@@@@@@@
"Where is she?" Harry asked the air at large.
Ron looked up despondently from his roast beef sandwich and responded, "I don't know, mate. She wasn't at breakfast either." Suddenly he looked around as if she might just be at another table or something. Harry looked at his fiery haired friend with a I-already-knew-that look and said logically, "She probably came back late last night and slept in. She's probably in the library already."
Absently, being focused on picking his next course, Ron replied, "Yeah you're probably right?" He paused in thought for a moment, looking odd indeed, before continuing, "But what if something is wrong. Even she wouldn't miss two meals on a Saturday, even for a paper. Not to mention she already had it written anyway."
"We could ask Dumbledore or McGonagall if they have seen her. Or Professor Lupin. Maybe she stayed talking to him all night," Harry suggested sensibly.
Finishing off the last of their lunch, they left the Great Hall to find their missing friend and DADA professor.
But their werewolf professor proved as elusive as their friend. Frustrated, they approached the gargoyle guard of the Headmaster's office. Naming all the candy in Honeyduke's they could think of did not give the entrance, when Harry was struck by sudden inspiration. "Lemon drop," he said decisively. The winged statue obediently revealed the staircase to a smug Harry and Ron, who was dumbstruck by the obviousness. They hurried up the stairs and hoped they would get some answers at the top.
They found Dumbledore reaching for the handle of the door just as Harry pushed it open. Startled they all stopped in their tracks. Dumbledore quickly recovered and greeted them by saying, "Good afternoon. I was just coming to find you. I have some news about Miss Granger. No doubt you noticed that she seems to be missing." He paused as they nodded the affirmative looking confused. He continued, "Sadly she will be away this weekend. She received news last night about an illness in the family. She left by portkey last night as the letter was urgent. She will no doubt be back on Monday, as nothing short of death, and maybe not even that, would keep her from her schoolwork. Until she returns I recommend taking advantage of this weather and getting in some quidditch practice. I hear the Hufflepuff team has improved with new members this year." Giving that hint he deftly ushered the two perplexed and confused teenagers into the corridor before wishing them a good day and disappearing down the hall.
"What was that? Why didn't Hermione tell us? We would have understood if she had to go away," Ron said looking at Harry.
Harry gave Ron a disgusted look for being so selfish. He responded by saying, "You don't think do you? She was worried about her grandmother. She just forgot and had to leave before she could tell us. If she wants us to know she would send us a letter."
"But she doesn't have an owl. How would she get it to us?" Ron asked.
Harry paused for a moment before saying, "Why don't we send her a letter? Then she can send a response back with Hedwig."
Ron smiled at this idea. "Okay but you write it. My handwriting isn't that great."
This decided, they headed to the owlery to find Hedwig.
@@@@@@@
**Later that Afternoon**
Bend. Come on bend, Hermione commanded her limbs. She had found that complete concentration and mental commands helped with the therapy. Lupin had joined the two witches shortly before lunch and replaced Madame Pomfrey as the physical brace for Hermione. They had made some progress with her ability to move her limbs. She could move all her toes separately and with deliberate concentration, rotate her foot with little or no pain. They were now focusing on controlling the movement of her knees. With agonized slowness her right leg twitched and bent slightly, with the minimum of pressure from Lupin's hands, before the pain forced her to relax back to the straight and limp position.
Lupin smiled and released his supportive hold of her ankle. "That was good. You were actually in control of it that time," he said encouragingly. Seeing the fatigue and pain on her face he added, "You need to take a break. You've made a great amount of progress so far."
She leaned back into her pillow and nodded wearily in consent. She mentally suppressed the throbbing pain that's was pounding in her chest and legs, while the professor retrieved the pain relief potion. After treatment had been administered she relaxed until a snowy white owl flew through the door and landed with a thump in her lap. Recognizing the owl and the handwriting on the envelope she smiled and opened the letter from her two best friends.
@@@@@@@
Books of all sizes and color were spread haphazardly across the table and desks, many standing open to various pages. The several cauldrons had been reduced to two which were bubbling softly on the work table. One was emitting copious amounts of silver steam while the other gave off periodic explosions of purple sparks.
After consulting a page in a considerably old and moldy looking black book a disheveled and tense Severus Snape carefully added five drops of murtlap essence to the two cauldrons. The steam abruptly stopped and the thick liquid turned thing and became a horrible shade of ochre, while the sparking cauldron turned a clear silver color. He cracked an uncharacteristic smile. This might be the key. I almost have it, he thought excitedly. Encouraged, he returned to the desk and picked up a small blue book of healing plants, determined to find the cure for the girl in the ward three floors up.
@@@@@@@
A joyful peal of laughter could be heard in the corridor outside of the Hospital Wing. Though anybody who knew what the patient was in for would wonder what there could possibly be funny. The story of James Potter getting in trouble for being caught snogging his girlfriend by the current potions professor after curfew was what was indeed funny though. Remus Lupin had been keeping Hermione from boredom during dinner by entertaining her with his school time anecdotes.
Squinting tears of laughter from her eyes she gasped for breath. Then bit back a yelp as a sudden pain shot through her shoulders and went straight to her head. To her professor's surprised Hermione went limp, but tensed suddenly as her cinnamon eyes rolled back in her head. He rushed to grab her as she slumped over and began to twitch and jerk violently in his arms. Panicking, he shouted for Madame Pomfrey.
The mediwitch came running out of her office and taking in the scene enfolding in front of her, rushed to the bedside. "Petrificus totalus!" she yelled. Hermione went completely still. The change caught Remus by surprise causing him to overbalance and fall on top of the younger witch incongruously.
Righting himself he asked, "What happened?" He looked at the unconscious Hermione worriedly.
Poppy sighed and explained, "I was afraid this might happen. She had a seizure. It is a side effect of the poison. Hopefully, it hasn't done any more damage than was already there. Enervate."
Slowly, Hermione blinked back into consciousness. She tried to sit up, something she had been able to do since lunch, and found she couldn't move. Full paralysis had returned. Tears of pain and frustration clouded her vision. She choked back a sob as she said, "I can't move again. Why can't I move?"
Sympathetic tears sprang to the mediwitch's eyes as she responded by saying, "As I feared you had a seizure. This is something I warned you about earlier. Unfortunately it has erased all the work you have managed today. You will have to start over tomorrow. The only problem is that unless Professor Snape can create the antidote, you are susceptible to more seizures which may cause constant regression by to paralysis."
This news only served to make Hermione's tears fall harder. Seeing this Professor Lupin rushed to comfort his student, friend and victim, "We will work on it. I have confidence in Professor Snape. You couldn't find someone more dedicated or qualified to find you a cure. This is just a setback, not the end. You will get better. I promise."
To be continued ...
@@@@@@@@ R and R please! Chap. 6 soon.
