A/N: I want to thank everyone for all the reviews. It keeps these stories going, seriously. Sorry it took so long to update … shit happens :/ I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter, but I like it. Things aren't going to be moving super fast, but they're at least moving forward.
Severus hated the first days of school. It was when students were at their worst. They were loudest. They were dumbest. And they were the most careless. The preparations for the first day were always the worst. At least he had Miss King to do the hard labor. Édith was perched perilously on a ladder in the student stores, making sure every ingredient was fresh and labeled correctly. Every time she would shift on the ladder, Snape couldn't help but cringe. The girl would surely come tumbling down at any minute, bringing half of the stores with her.
He stole a glance down at his schedule. Why, oh why did he have to have double potions with the first years … on the first damn day? Was Dumbledore trying to punish him? First the King girl, now this? Though, Severus did have to give the girl some credit, his office had remained thankfully in one piece so far.
A loud crash on the other side of the room gave way to his fears. He turned around to see Édith on the floor, several jars, broken and in tact, on the floor surrounding her.
"What did you do?"
"What did you do?" Eddy was hearing that a lot these days. Translation: How did you fail this time?
"My – my foot … it – it slipped …" With a wave of Snape's wand the in tact jars were back on the shelf, the broken ones were already ruined. Eddy curled herself in the corner, as far away from Snape's accusatory glare. Because she meant to fall on her ass. Her hands curled, but then instantly retracted at the pain.
"How in the world …" the question died down in his throat. Eddy examined the injury on her palm. A large piece of glass stuck out from it. It didn't even hurt, only when she attempted to bend her hand. "You imbecilic twit." Small tears stung at her cheeks. You imbecilic twit … failure …
The piece of glass in her palm was had a greenish hue and dull lavender goo covered one side of it. Eddy made an attempt to pull it out. "Stop it," she jumped at Snape's growl, another burst of pain went through her palm.
"Stop what?" Eddy poked at the glass again. It still didn't hurt.
"Stop fucking with that thing!" He waved his wand and Eddy felt a pressure on her lower back, pushing her into a standing position. It definitely wasn't graceful, but it paled in comparison to her fall.
"And y-you tell at me for my language," Eddy started to laugh, but bit her tongue. What the hell was she thinking? Severus opened his mouth, most likely to take points from Slytherin for cheek. But, as if realizing it was useless, he shut it again.
"Sit on the desk," several potions and first aide supplies flew across the room, "What the hell happened?" Eddy scooted a little bit into a more secure spot on the desk.
"I-I told you," he was close. Really close. Whatever endorphins and adrenaline the fall had given her left. She began shaking. 100, 99 … "I slipped … I don't – don't know what happened."
"This is going to hurt," in one swift motion of his wand he yanked the piece of glass from her hand.
"FUCK!" Eddy yanked her hand away from Snape. "Shit …"
"Language, Miss King," there was a small smirk on his face.
"What the hell?" Blood poured freely from the wound now, not the bright red color that she was so used to, but a dark purplish color … sickly …
"I'm not done yet, Édith." He always spoke her name like some foul word. Not a dirty word, but more like "mudblood" or "halfbreed". 70, 69 … Snape seized her wrist firmly and grabbed another potion. "Do you know what Leech Juice is used in?"
"Um," Eddy did a double take, "Shrinking solution?"
"Do you know what happens to the human body if ingested as is?" His voice was soft, gentle. It sent shudders down Eddy's spine – shudders that Eddy liked even less than those of fear.
"It – it causes severe dehydration, and – and sickness…" he dabbed a potion soaked cotton ball along the wound.
"Yes, if left untreated, the consequences would be … undesirable ..." Once satisfied that the wound was clean, he began siphoning the blood. Not into, but out of the wound.
"Was that what was on the glass?" Slowly the blood began to flow out of the wound in the normal bright red color she was used to.
"Exactly." Eddy bit her lip. The sensation of blood flowing through her veins quickly was … odd. It felt like a string was being pulled from the inside of her palm. The waves of nausea combined with the shudders of attraction and her normal nervousness … it was almost too much. "Lay down, if you must." She gratefully complied. Snape continued siphoning the blood from her wound long after it had returned to red. Eddy closed her eyes; waves of nausea were determined to make her lose something. Whether it be consciousness or her lunch, she doubted the nausea cared. The unnatural sensation stopped and was replaced by a pulling and stinging one. "Drink this," a small vial was shoved into her good hand when the stinging sensation stopped.
"What is it?" Eddy tried to stand up, but was met by Severus's hand.
"Something to help with the nausea." Eddy smiled and downed the potion in one gulp. It was faintly minty, but not in a good way. She closed her eyes. The potion was working quite quickly.
Severus looked at the girl as she drifted into sleep. It really wasn't that surprising, but it wasn't exactly convenient. They had work to do.
There wasn't much he could do about it now. But where the hell to put her? She couldn't stay passed out on the desk … could she?
Shaking his head, he levitated her to his quarters. He placed her down as gently as possible onto the small arm chair (no way in hell was the twit going to be on his bed). Édith stirred a bit before curling into a ball onto the chair. Leaving her to her not-so-well-earned nap, Severus went back to the stores to clean up the mess.
A/N: Leech Juice is an ingredient I got from Harry Potter Wiki, I was looking for a common ingredient that didn't have to much information on it, all for the sake of fun. Reviews are always appreciated :3