Chapter 3: The Assessment
Turning his attention from the classroom door to the prone body on the floor, Severus Snape could hear the short, labored quiet breaths of his student. Kneeling, he casted a spell to turn her over gently so that he could properly check her vitals.
"Oh, do get up Miss Granger. I tire of your attempts of attention grabbing. There is no one here but me and I certainly don't care about you." Snape whispered as the spell spun her and placed her on the ground where her head faced closest to Snape's position.
Looking down, he could see that Longbottom, for once in his life, was right. Miss Granger did not look well. Other than her pasty white complexion that rivals even his own, her face was hollowed and tired while her damp mass of bushy hair clamped to her skull. Lips pale and almost blue, beads of sweat seemed to have accumulated around her body. All in all, this didn't look good. Knowing she was striking a very high fever, even feeling like she was heating the cold, damp florr, Snape summoned Madame Pomfrey via a sonorous charm.
"Pomfrey-Dungeons-Potions-Granger.
Deciding the most prudent course of action would be to get her off the floor, Snape levitated her onto the desks and took off her school robe, using it was a sheet underneath.
She couldn't believe what he saw. He was angered at her for neglecting to take care of herself but also ashamed that her peers or even the staff has not been observant enough to see she was not well for a long while. She looks like she lost at least a stone and a half. Nothing fit properly, including her socks, which hung rather loosely around her tiny calves.
Trailing his hands to make sure that she didn't break any bones, he came across some cracked ribs (with the help of his wand to access) and rested his hands on her head. Other than a large lump, there were no external injuries, however her head felt like it was on fire.
Muttering a cooling charm, Snape heard an audible groan escape the petite witch as she tried to open her eyes with little success.
"What were you thinking, you stupid witch!" exclaimed Severus, not realizing his anger was showing through his previously calm exterior. With trembling hands, Hermione tried to push him away from her close proximity but only pressing lightly against the arm of his teaching robes.
Sobs escaped from her sickly form as tears pooled around closed eyes as she tried desperately to escape her predicament. Barely conscious, she rolled and slipped to the floor in an attempt to flee the heartless professor, knowing her kitten-like state only failed in reaching a few crawls towards the door before shaking with exhaustion.
Staring at her feeble attempt at escape, he heard only quietly words escaping from her mouth. "Why must he always treat me this way?"
Just as he was about to try and interpret her statement, Madame Pomfrey came bustling in and in a stern tone, she stated "Severus Snape, I would have thought better of you to take care of this poor child crawling on the floor like a newborn baby in such a state of distress. Shame on you. This young woman looks near her deathbed. What in Merlin's name happened to her?"
"Maybe you should ask that miserable chit. She came into my classroom 40 minutes late in this state of physical upheaval and continues to make a scene on the floor just I was attempting to analyze her condition," countered Snape as he turned to sit at his desk. "Oh, you will do no such thing, Severus!" exclaimed Madame Pomfrew as she casted her wand to drag the potions master towards herself and the curled form of the student. "You will help and carry her to the infirmary since she is in no condition to be flooed."
Mumbling under his breath "controlling hag", Snape lifter Hermione will more ease that should have been necessary, he followed the mediwitch upstairs towards the infirmary. All of a sudden, Hermione grasped the front of his robe and buried his face into his chest, still shaking and murmured "I wish my parents were still alive to be here," and with a sob, she slipped into a deep sleep.