A/N- Here you all go, I hope you enjoy! This one was a bit difficult to write, but I'm finally satisfied with it. Thank you for the reviews, and alerts!
Severus paced in front of his fireplace, willing the time to pass quicker. Glancing at his pocket watch, he scowled. Still an hour to when Granger was supposed to meet him. They were using the Floo network to get to St. Mungo's, and they only had a limited time to when it would be connected. They had arranged a meeting with the Healer in charge of the department caring for the people who were under the curse's effects. In order to be able to start searching for ingredients, they would need to find out exactly how the curse affects whomever it is cast upon.
Shit, he cursed silently to himself.
Where was she? He muttered angrily to himself, glancing at his watch again. They couldn't be late, and she knew that. Frustrated, he shoved his watch back into his pocket. Forty-five minutes. Sitting down on the couch, he started twirling wand between his a sigh, he summoned a book from his room, he figured he may as well read while he was waiting. Turning the book to where he left off, he continued to read, flipping pages at a quick speed. Eventually he found he couldn't concentrate any longer, and stood up. Striding to the door, he yanked it open and heard a shriek as a body fell into his arms. Stumbling backwards, he nearly choked on a mouthful of hair as he looked at the person he was holding up.
Hermione Granger looked up at him, breathing heavily. She picked herself off, and stepped back hastily. "Oh I'm so sorry, Severus!" she said quickly. "You told me to come at a quarter to six," she continued awkwardly, as she looked around. His quarters were nicely furnished, she thought to herself. For some reason Hermione had always thought he would be the sort of person to have the sparsest of decor. But his sitting room looked almost cosy, with the plush looking cough and the deep mahogany cabinet by the ornate fireplace. It looked quite comfortable, and Hermione found herself slightly surprised.
Severus stood and straightened his robes. "I did, but I must say I expected you to arrive with more coordination than that," he said dryly. "Come, we cannot be late." Handing her the small pot of floo powder, he told her what to say.
Nodding, Hermione grabbed a small handful of powder and threw it in the flames, stepped in, and shouted, "St. Mungo's, Healer Elfred's office!" spinning out of sight in a flash of green flames.
Severus stepped in after her, repeating her actions. After spinning in the green flames, he stepped out, brushing himself off, surveying the scene in front of him. A Healer in a white robe was helping a coughing Hermione off the floor. Severus smirked to himself as he watched her get up. "Really, Miss Granger, since when have you been so clumsy?" he asked, looking down his nose at her.
She straightened, muttering slightly as she turned to look at him. "I was off balance when I entered," Hermione said lightly, choosing not to let his comment get to her.
The Healer had been silent until now, but then he came forth, a friendly expression on his peaked looking face. "Hello, Mr. Snape," he said in a cheery voice. Turning to Hermione, he spoke in an amused tone. "Miss Granger and I have already had the pleasure of meeting," he said with a jovial wink.
Hermione gave him a small smile, and turned to stand by Severus.
"Hello, Healer Elfred," Severus said briskly. "Can you lead us to the ward where the patients are?"
The Healer nodded, and led them through the door and down the corridor. "My office isn't far from the ward, I have to be close in case something happens," he said as the walked briskly.
"Is there a great chance of that happening?" Hermione asked, concern in her voice. "I was told the victims are a danger to themselves and those around them."
Elfred nodded. "They are, and we have them heavily subdued with large doses of Dreamless Sleep."
Severus frowned. "Does that help them with the nightmares? I would think subconscious visions of a Dark magic descent wouldn't be affected by Dreamless Sleep."
"Right you are, Mr. Snape," the healer said as he opened on of the many doors in the corridor. "The potion subdues the part of their mind that isn't affected, making the ordeal much less traumatizing for them, as well as making them easier to restrain."
Hermione spoke up. "Restrained? They are able to move while under the influence of Dreamless Sleep?"
Elfred looked at her sadly. "Yes, I'm afraid so. It seems the longer the curse is in place, the stronger it becomes." He paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "The jinx acts more like a slow-moving poison than an enchantment."
Severus glanced at Hermione, and she met his gaze, her amber eyes reflecting his worry. That wasn't good at all, especially if the enchantment poison continued to become stronger as the days went by. Hermione began to steel herself to the idea that by the time they created a potion to counter the curse's effects, it may be too late for some people. Determinedly, she vowed inwardly to herself to double her efforts in research until something was found.
Entering another door, the healer paused. "I must warn you, the patients have been relentlessly attacked by their own minds, and they bear the signs," Elfred said solemnly. "It is not a pleasant sight, and I ask you to prepare yourselves."
Hermione nodded gravely, and threw her shoulders back, a determined expression on her face. Severus watched the little witch, and felt a prick of sympathy. Having seen much worse than a few patients on a bed, he knew he would be alright, but even though Hermione had seen death and worse things, she would need a certain level of detachment in order to handle seeing the mentally tortured patients.
They entered the room, and Hermione had to suppress a gasp. Looking around, the urge to lose her dinner grew in her belly as she took in the sight before her. There were over a dozen patients, each was tied down to a bed, their arms and legs securely in place. All bore many white bandages, and all thought they were under the influence of Dreamless Sleep, some were moaning and screaming in their forced sleep.
Severus looked around grimly, it was a terrible sight, worse than he had expected. Walking towards one of the beds, he looked closely at the man lying there. The mans face was gaunt, almost skeletal, and his arms were covered in deep, long scratches. He was whimpering, and Severus leaned down to catch what he was saying.
"No, n-no, not that, please, not snakes," the man said feverishly as he whipped his head back and forth. "No,n-no, p-please, get it off me, GET IT OFF ME!" he screamed the last words, jerking upwards, his back arching unnaturally. Severus stepped away quickly, and resisted the urge to vomit. They reminded him strongly of the adverse effects of the Crucio curse, how their bodies contorted gruesomely as the pain wracked their nervous systems. Shoving the memories down, he turned to look at Hermione to how she was dealing with the scene. Her face was deathly pale, and he saw the faint sheen of sweat on her forehead. Stepping close to her, he leaned down, his lips hovering close by her ear.
"Are you alright?" he said quietly. Staying perfectly still, he squeezed her shoulder encouragingly, he didn't want her to make any sudden movements that would upset the victims.
She nodded, and swallowed. Straightening up, her expression changed from one of nauseous worry to determination. Taking out a piece of parchment and a quill, she started to quickly write down everything she saw, walking between each victim's bed, jotting down the slightest of observations. Severus's brief show of compassion to her had given her the nudge she needed to get through seeing the victims. Still battling nausea, she approached a bed containing a little girl, who was crying for her mother as she trembled. Hermione felt tears prick her eyes as she looked at the girl, who could possibly have done this to a child? Grasping the little girls hand, she squeezed it gently. The girl thrashed about, unaware of Hermione's hand on hers. Hermione stood up and walked back towards the healer, she had written down every they needed. Symptoms, patient to patient differences, the exact effect on the bodies, and the placement of their self inflicted wounds. She also noted how, despite having copious amounts of Dreamless Sleep in their system, the victims eyes flitted back and forth under their eyelids as if they were in the throes of a dream. Hermione knew the victims were attacked with relentless nightmares, but the Dreamless Sleep should have alleviated some of the severity. It was doing nothing, though, and she was flummoxed.
Severus watched as Hermione wrote down what she saw, and he went back to studying the patients. Many of them bore the marks of severe self harm, one girl's hand was wrapped in layers of bandages. Severus wasn't sure if he wanted to know what she'd done to herself. A little boy on the bed closest to the door was crying pathetically, and Severus cringed. Walking back to the healer, he asked, "Have any of the patients uttered unknown phrases or words while they've been sedated?"
Elfred nodded. "All of them. Mostly its gibberish, but sometimes I catch bits of what sound like ancient curses in medieval Latin or Olde English."
Severus frowned, making a mental note. Apparently the Dreamless Sleep did nothing to stop the curses effects, only make the host easier to restrain. He looked around, and felt absolutely bewildered. What kind of curse did this? He had no idea it was even in the realm of enchantment's abilities to act like a slow poison. Swearing under his breath, he felt frustrated, as all he and Hermione could do was speculate until they found an ingredient that had the property they needed. Waiting until Hermione was done writing down everything, they left and thanked the Healer. They flooed back, Hermione managing to walk out of the fireplace without falling face first on the ground. Sighing heavily, Hermione handed Severus the notes she had taken and sat down on the couch, burying her head in her hands.
"Miss Granger," Severus began as he stiffly perched beside Hermione. Her shoulders were shaking, but Severus was sure she wasn't crying. "You can do this," he said lamely. Severus wasn't well versed in the ways of calming a witch, and consequently he didn't know quite what to say. "You're a strong witch, and intelligent. We can find a cure, especially with your voracious attitude towards researching," he said with a slight smirk as he placed his hand on Hermione's shoulder awkwardly.
Hermione nodded, sniffing, and stood up. "Thank you, Severus. I just...I just wasn't expecting something so pitiful," she said as she watched the man stand up along with her. "I'll be going now," she said as she gestured towards the door. "I'll be back tomorrow evening to go over what we have."
Severus nodded, and started forward, only to be stopped by Hermione rushing into his chest. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest, and squeezed tightly for a second before letting go. Without another word, she turned and left his rooms. Severus stared after her, still trying to register what had happened.