sweet as lemonz: thanks for being a faithful reader and reviewer. The second chapter of my original fic is up over at fiction press if you're still interested in reading it. (the link to it's in my bio)

Chapter 11: Poisons and Antidotes

A few days later the halls were full of commotion and students once again and I was attempting to start a new unit of study. I saw very little of Severus outside of meal time and he gave every indication of being busy beyond belief, and I had a suspicion that not all of his work was related to teaching. Every time I went down to collect ingredients for Harry's latest potion's work he was brewing. I could go down early in the morning or late at night and he'd be bent over a caldron with a look of intense concentration, sometimes there would even be other caldrons simmering a few meters away from where he was working. All this work made me wonder what exactly it was Voldemort wanted. After all it was Severus' brilliance with potions that had made him valuable to Voldemort in the first place.

If talk among the students was to be believed then Severus was being nastier then ever in class, which I suspected was because he was getting very little sleep. Whenever I saw him at meals – which was less and less often as we progressed through January – he had dark circles under his eyes and looked more then a little stressed out.

One night while I was collecting ingredients for the next days potions lesson with Harry I noticed that he had a couple shelves full of vials containing the antidotes for many rare poisons. Well if he was brewing both the poisons and the antidotes on a short time frame that would explain what he was up to. But I didn't dare disturb him and ask.

Then, unexpectedly, Grandpa sent me a message to come to his lesson with Harry. The message didn't explain why when I hadn't been to one of his and Harry's sessions since September he all of a sudden wanted me there. But it became obvious within mere moments of me being there.

"Ahh, Adrian, I'm glad you could make it," Grandpa said when I walked in. "I wanted you here for a sort discussion on wandless magic. You see Harry's method of Occlumency appears to be that he creates a shield around his mind, a similar shield to the one created by the Protego charm."

I looked at Harry in surprise, that kind of wandless magic was hard. Actually all wandless magic was hard, but the most common type was an ability to do simple things, like turn on and off the lights in a room, not actual spells. "But that would imply a wandless spell, that kind of thing is almost unheard of."

"Well he has cast wandless spells before, by accident, once he blew up his aunt."

I blinked in surprise. "Ok, so what do you want me here for?"

"I was curious to know how it could be controlled."

"I don't even know if it would be similar to what I can do," I said doubtfully. "It took me years of practise to control my abilities when I'm concentrating hard. However it's easier when there's something that stimulates me to do it, like if it's necessary, or I'm angry or in pain."

Harry was looking at me curiously. "What can you do?"

"Minor telekinetic stuff." When he looks at me expectantly I sigh and concentrate on a stack of books on Grandpa's desk causing them to lift into the air before setting them back down. "It used to get me into all kinds of trouble when I was younger and I'd get angry and objects would go flying and break."

Harry grinned but before anything more can be said McGonagall burst in. "Headmaster, something has happened to Damien Jackson, he's in the hospital wing."

Damien was the Slytherin boy who had remained at Hogwarts over the holidays so I immediately felt some concern.

"What exactly happened, Minerva?" Grandpa asked as we head for the hospital wing.

"We don't know, he's having fits and they get worse every time someone gets close to him."

Then Grandpa and I broke into a sprint leaving a shocked McGonagall and Harry behind.

"Back away from him," Grandpa bellowed as we burst into the hospital wing. "Don't touch him and certainly don't use magic on him!"

Madam Pomfrey jumped in surprise and turned to stare at us.

"Has Severus been contacted?" Grandpa asked.

"He wasn't there," Madam Pomfrey answered as McGonagall and Harry enter the hospital wing behind us. "What's wrong with him, Headmaster?"

Grandpa is studying Damien with a worried expression. "We need the antidote."

"Be right back," I said as I took off in the direction of the dungeon hoping that the antidote was on that shelf. Severus' office was locked and warded when I reached it. Grabbing my wand I made quick work of the wards, it seemed that my experience as a curse breaker was finally paying off, and raced over to the shelves containing the antidotes. Riffling through them I found the vial I was looking for at the back, grabed it and raced back up to the hospital wing.

"Found it," I gasped as I burst through the doors.

Grandpa grabbed it from me and poured the entire vial down Damiens throat.

For a few long minutes the only sound that could be heard in the entire hospital wing was the sound of my heavy breathing as I attempted to catch my breath. Then, finally, Damien stopped thrashing and settles into sleep.

"That was much to close," Grandpa murmured placing the empty vial on the table next to the bed.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked.

"Someone gave him a rare dark potion that's purpose is to induce madness," Grandpa explained. "If given enough time that sate would become permanent and the person who has drank the potion is accelerated towards that permanent state of madness if other touch them or use magic on them."

"It happens faster if you use magic on them," I added.

"I've never heard of anything like that," McGonagall said.

"You wouldn't have," I said walking over to the window and placing a hand on either side of the frame. "It's practically impossible to brew."

"Then who brewed it?"

"I'd be less worried about who brewed it then how it got into Hogwarts and why it was given to young Damien," Grandpa replied. "Now, Minerva, if you would kindly escort Mr. Potter back to Gryffindor tower. Poppy, Adrian and I will keep an eye on Mr. Jackson here while you do the other work I know you have to do."

Everyone looked like they had more questions, but no one will ever argue with Grandpa so they do as they are told.

Once the doors closed I said, "You and I both know that there is only one person in the world who can brew that potion."

"Oh I suspect that there is someone else somewhere who could," Grandpa interrupted gently.

I snorted. "Well I'd have trouble with the antidote, let alone the original potion. Only Severus could have brewed that."

"And he did, at the request of Voldemort. He also brewed the antidote at my request."

I turned around to look at him. "Then how did Damien end up ingesting it?"

"I suggest we wait until Severus returns for that answer."

Shortly after midnight Severus swept into the hospital wing cloaked in his Death Eater robes. "Did you find the antidote in time, Headmaster?"

"Actually Severus, Adrian found it. But young Mr. Jackson is fine."

"How did Damien get it in the first place?" I asked.

Severus started as if seeing me there for the first time. "Draco Malfoy was angry at Damien for having ties with the other houses and I suspect this was punishment."

"His father got it for him then?"

"I suspect that the Dark Lord himself gave it to Mr. Malfoy in return for a difficult task. It was mentioned that Draco had a task to perform."

"He's a Death Eater?"

"That's what I just said," Severus sneered. "And I'd supposed you'd have expected it from him."

"No, I'm surprised Voldemort would use a 16 year old."

"The Dark Lord will do many things to achieve his ends," Severus replied before sweeping out of the hospital wing and off in the direction of his dungeon.