There is not a moment to waste. Professor Snape snarls, "Clear the immediate vicinity! There is no need here for impertinent onlookers." The hall crowd is quickly broken up, as the suddenly bashful students turn away and go in their separate directions. But just in case any other students decide to come down the hall in the next few minutes, the potions master casts a disillusionment charm over Miss Daybrook and himself. Quickly getting down on his knees beside his unconscious student, he wastes no time with checking her vitals; knowing there is a good chance that the toxins have already taken her, he mutters, "Anapneo," and gives a flick of his wand to open up her esophagus. Dropping his wand beside him on the ground, the professor pries Clementine's mouth open with his left hand and gives his wand another flick; the bezoar comes flying out of the right pocket of his robes, and plunges down his student's throat.
Chapter 4
Clementine jerks to consciousness, her eyes flying open and her heart leaping as she jolts upright in the bed. For a few moments she has no idea where she is. Where are my friends? What happened to the Hufflepuff Common Room? What time is it? Did I sleep in? Oh no, am I late for class? But as Madame Pomfrey approaches her bed with a concerned expression, it suddenly all comes torrenting back to her memory: taking a bite of that potion, bashfully asking Snape for Pepto Bismol...she had left the classroom, but for some reason she couldn't quite remember what happened after that. Had she fainted?
"Madame Pomfrey!" She feels lost and disoriented. From the pale light filtering into the room, it appears to be later in the afternoon, maybe evening, and Clementine wonders how long she has been asleep.
"Relax, Miss Clementine. You've been unconscious for over 24 hours now. You just need to rest, so you can recover." Her eyes are soft as she leans over Clementine's bed, gently pushing the student back into a horizontal position. But Clementine exclaims, "Oh my gosh!Twenty-four hours? What - what happened?"
The kind medicine witch lets out a small sigh, and sits down at the edge of Clementine's bed. "When Severus brought you here yesterday afternoon, you were unconscious. He told me that you had sampled a highly poisonous potion during class." Madame Pomfrey pauses for a moment to give Clementine a dismayed look. "You certainly should have known better, Miss Daybrook."
Clementine blushes and mutters, "Yes, I know." But then she looks up to gaze hopefully into Pomfrey's stern eyes, wishing for her to continue explaining what happened yesterday. The medicine witch looks away, and lets out another sigh. "He told me that you had left without telling him, and he was forced to let the entire class out early so that he could go and look for you." Clementine's eyes widen. She feels terrible that she caused so much trouble. That certainly had not been her intention when she had hurried from class the day before.
"Professor Snape saved your life, Clementine. If he had not found you as quickly as he did, you would have died. In fact, when he found you on the floor in the corridor, you were not very far from death. But he used a bezoar to cleanse your body of the poison, just barely in time." She looks down at the young witch with knowing eyes. "Now, please, relax." Madame Pomfrey gets up from Clementine's bed and walks away, but only to return a short time later with a small goblet of warm, steaming potion. "Drink up! It will help you sleep."
Clementine sits up, and takes the warm goblet from Madame Pomfrey's hand. She cautiously brings it to her lips, and takes a small sip. It is warm, sticky and sweet, and it reminds her of honey. She takes a deep breath, suddenly very sleepy.