Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, or ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings.
Chapter 6: Robbed
Minerva woke to light streaming in her window in the infirmary. Sitting up, she noticed immediately that she could move her arms and legs without shaking or pain. Poppy realized that she was awake and immediately rushed over to her.
"Minerva, how are you feeling this morning?" she probed.
"Poppy I have not felt this good in quite a while. Whatever potions I took last night must have fixed things," she relayed.
The medwitch performed a diagnostic spell and gasped in surprise. "You're cured! But it's impossible! What I gave you was only for pain relief."
Minerva until that point had forgotten about her late night visitor. She picked up one of the vials next to her bed. "Are these your vials?"
In the daylight Poppy was able to get a good look at them. "Merlin's ghost, no! These aren't mine at all. I have to test these immediately. How did these end up here?" she paused and noticed the other woman averting her eyes. "Minerva, you know something. Tell me how these potions ended up here."
"Why don't you analyze them first?" the Transfiguration professor persuaded.
Poppy snorted at her question being dodged, but proceeded to examine the vials while Minerva changed back into her school robes. The medwitch had an expression of awe and wonder as she turned back to her patient. "Whoever made these had an extensive knowledge of potion interactions and results. These are unclassified new mixtures, but what is in them has probably cured you indeed. Now what do you know?"
Minerva sighed and fingered her hat. "I thought I might have been dreaming, but I suspect that-"
Dumbledore entered the room and spoke before she could finish. "I was just coming by to check on you, Minerva. It's so good to see you awake and obviously feeling better. How is this possible?"
"She was just about to tell me herself. I suspect that she had a visitor last night who brought her different potions than what I would have given her," Poppy added.
Feeling both pairs of eyes on her, she knew she had to tell them. "Mr. Snape came by last night and switched the vials," she told the others quietly. "It was noble of him, almost a Gryffindor thing to do, but I do not know why he did it."
Dumbledore frowned slightly. "We must have a word with him at once after St. Mungo's verifies whether or not you are cured. Though it did work, students should not be trying to cure medical ailments without any training or instruction."
Severus felt a heaviness in the pit of his stomach when he was summoned out of his classes to the infirmary. If the potions I made didn't work and she is worse, I am out of ideas, he thought regretfully. As he pushed the door to the infirmary open, the first thing he saw was an irritated medwitch holding his vials.
"Young man, do you have any idea what you have tampered with? You are not to be giving medicine to my patients until you have as much experience as a healer as I do! Why I ought to-"
"No Poppy, he does not need your chastisement. Let him come here and speak for himself," a voice from farther behind the door said.
Relief washed over Severus as he saw Minerva sitting up on top of the bed in her professorial robes. Then he felt the red creep up into his cheeks as he spotted Dumbledore. "Mr. Snape, I believe you have some explaining to do," the headmaster stated.
Severus sighed, suddenly embarrassed about what he had done. I'll probably be expelled for this. Merlin, I was only trying to help her! This is what I get for doing the right thing, he thought to himself. "Do you want to know whether or not I switched the vials? I did. Do you also want to know if I made what was in them? I brewed it myself. No, I did not have a chance to test the potions on anything before trying out this plan." But of you think I'm sorry for any of it, you all have another thought coming, he added mentally.
Dumbledore eyed him with scrutiny for a moment, as if he knew what Severus' last thought was, then he turned back to Minerva. "Professor McGonagall, I think I shall let you handle this matter," he said as he turned to leave.
Poppy jumped up to follow him. "Aren't you going to expel him? He tampered with-"
Dumbledore put up a hand to silence her protests. "Now Poppy, the young man was only trying to do something to help someone else. If anything, though it was a great risk he should receive house points for that. As I have just said, Minerva can handle this."
The door shut as he left and Minerva eyed Severus with an expression he could not quite read. It looked as if she was somewhere between confusion and a decision for discipline. "Mr. Snape, though what you did came out with positive results, if you recall my last lecture I remember saying that experiments should be tried on those things which are less important. Though I was speaking of our animal familiars, it can also apply to this situation. I would like to know one thing: why would you do that for me?"
"Professor, as un-Slytherin as this is about to sound, I wanted to help you because you have been helping me. I thought this was the best way to do it and when you collapsed I realized that there would not be time to test it," he explained frankly.
She sighed heavily and looked at him with mixed emotions. "I have to assign you a week's worth of detentions with Filch for trying something so dangerous," she paused and felt sorry for what she had said, seeing his crestfallen expression. "However, because of the sentiment behind what you did as well as the result, I award seventy-five points to Slytherin. You had best return to your classes, Mr. Snape," she relayed. "And I owe you my thanks for what you have done."
"Thank you, Professor," he muttered as he left the infirmary.
As the healers from St. Mungo's were let into the castle, Potions Master Vincent Eygore, ran into them. "Excuse me, but do you gentlemen need something?"
"We have come to verify the health of a patient. She has been cured completely two new potions," one remarked.
"We were even told that a student invented the cure," another added.
Eygore instantly knew what to say next. "He was borrowing it from me, of course. I teach Potions here and the lad used my ideas. Granted he was the one who brewed the concoctions, but the recipes were mine."
When the healers reached Minerva, they told her what she already new: she was indeed cured. Smiling, she attempted to tell them who invented her cure. "Mr. Snape deserves the credit for coming up with such ingenious potions," she relayed.
The healers looked confused. "Professor McGonagall, we were told that Professor Eygore invented the cures. Because he is in charge of potions here, we are taking his word that he is the real inventor. Only someone with an extensive knowledge of potions could have cured you."
Her jaw dropped and she watched them indignantly as they left. She knew the truth about the potions and felt dreadful that it had been skewed in the name of fame. As soon as Poppy released her the following afternoon, she marched directly over to Eygore's office.
After she heard him say that she could enter, she briskly walked into his office, stopping only when at his desk. "Hello Vincent," she said through gritted teeth, attempting to maintain her civility.
"How are you, Minerva? You look considerably better than you have for a while," he replied, seeming not to notice her irritation. "Why don't you have a seat?"
She gracefully sat down, not breaking eye contact with him. "I am well, thank you. However, I came here to discuss a matter regarding an inaccurate portrayal of who really invented the cure to my condition."
Eygore cleared his throat. "The boy got lucky and does not deserve the credit for such a discovery when the rest of us have researched these things for a number of years."
Minerva primly folded her hands in her lap. "Perhaps it takes one person who sees things differently in order to finally make a breakthrough."
At this he snorted. "My dear professor, somehow we must come to an understanding on this matter. Inventing new potions is too high a responsibility to bestow on a student. He needs years of training before he can do it correctly."
She jumped up and glared at him. "You cheated him out of receiving credit for something that was genuinely his idea! He could have gotten a scholarship or some other form of recognition."
Eygore also stood and they locked stares. "I will not discuss this any further. I have no intention of going back on what I told the people from St. Mungo's, nor do I have any intention of treating the boy any differently."
Storming out in a huff, she dashed to her office, too distracted to notice the confused students. Later as she sat at her desk planning material for the following weeks, a familiar knock was heard at her door. "Come in," she stated.
Severus entered and sat down. After an awkward pause he spoke. "Professor, how are you feeling?"
"I am quite well, thank you. I find myself to be just a bit disgruntled now though. I spoke with Professor Eygore about your experiments and got absolutely no where," she relayed.
The young man stared at his hands for a moment. When he looked up she saw deep frustration in his eyes. "I find it ironic that while I can serve detention for something I have discovered, I can't claim it," he said evenly
She nodded. "I'm so sorry Professor Eygore stole your work. I can't believe my own colleagues can be so revolting! I sincerely wish that Professor Slughorn hand not decided to take a four-year sabbatical," Minerva expressed, standing and punctuating the air with hand gestures.
Severus stood and faced her. "It's my own bad luck as usual. What could I possibly do?"
She hated how rational he sounded when something that could have made him famous, or at least granted him a scholarship, was stolen from him. "How can you just accept this? I promise I will fight this will every ounce of clout I have until-"
"No, Professor, it isn't necessary. Who would believe a student and a formerly terminally ill patient? Such disappointments are a part of life," he interjected dryly.
Placing her hands on his shoulders, she looked into his dark brown eyes. "Does a Slytherin have nothing to fight for in life?"
"That's not true; a Slytherin just picks which battles he thinks he can win instead of fighting all of them at once," he explained coolly.
She calmed down slightly. "Touché, Mr. Snape. I suppose you do make a valid point. I just wish there was something I could do to convince Professor Eygore that what he is doing is unethical."
"Someone ought to make all of his shoes disappear and ransom them in that case. The man has gout and would most likely pay attention to whatever was said to get them back," Severus suggested, causing Minerva to chuckle.
"How very Slytherin of you. I shall keep that one in mind…" she abruptly trailed off and he noted her curious expression as she looked at him. "You are slightly taller than I am." Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the lessons she had worked on earlier. "Excuse me, I have lessons to do."
They stepped away from each other and he headed for the door. "And I have three essays to write. Thank you for trying to help me, but this is not something I can fight. However, that does not mean that it is forgotten," he added before leaving."
She sighed as she watched him go. If only you could find something that you were willing to fight for, she thought to herself.
(My thanks to Dart Vader (), Leta McGotor, excessivelyperky,and Miss eo-Wyn for reviewing :D)