53
Field Trip
On Monday morning, Severus had his first years, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, line up before the classroom door. They shuffled into place looking puzzled and exchanging glances with each other. What was going on?
The Potions Master stood at the front of the entrance to the classroom and waited until the children had quit fidgeting and grew quiet before he began to speak. "Today, instead of your regular classroom lab I am going to take you on a little field trip."
"A field trip?" asked one Ravenclaw. "Where?"
"To the Forbidden Forest, sir?" inquired a Gryffindor.
"What are we going to do on this trip? Gather herbs and stuff, sir?" asked a blond haired girl.
"No. For this trip we shall be leaving Hogwarts and visiting St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies. Now, you will all follow me quickly and quietly to the Great Hall, where we shall all Floo into the main floor of the hospital."
"Why are we going there? Nobody here is sick."
"I don't like hospitals. There's too many sick people in there."
"I'm allergic to hospitals," complained Stephens.
"You will find out the purpose of the visit after we arrive. Now, let us be on our way. Come!"Severus told them, ignoring the complaints. He turned about and his long cloak swirled about his ankles.
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Warned in advance that a class from Hogwarts would be visiting the hospital, the staff was on hand to help the children from the Floo. Luckily, the hospital was not too busy at this hour of the morning. It was located in London, and used the façade of a closed down department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. to cause Muggles to look the other way. If they hadn't come by Floo, they would have encountered the department store dummy, which was dressed in an outdated style of men's fashion, and the dummy would have told the wizard or witch to proceed by walking through the department store window. However, they had bypassed that part and now stood in the waiting area, where a Welcome Witch frowned and rolled her eyes at the children. Most of the staff wore lime green Healer robes, though a few of the higher echelon wore white. All bore the St. Mungo's logo on their robes of a crossed wand and bone. The children looked about curiously as they emerged from the fire, and saw some wizards sitting in worn out chairs, some were coughing and green-faced, others had steam coming out of their eyes or hands sticking from their chests. One old man had a rooster head growing out of his arm which kept crowing.
Severus waited patiently until the last child, Zachary Zithers, was out before revealing the reason for this field trip. He held up a hand and said sternly, "Silence, all of you. Now then, some of you may remember that last week several of your classmates exploded cauldrons and fooled around in class. That will not be happening again. I believe that one reason why you think such behavior is acceptable or even amusing is because you do not yet grasp what a serious injury could result from such pranks and carelessness. You think tossing a wrong ingredient in your neighbor's cauldron is a joke, that misreading a potions recipe isn't all that big of a deal, that putting your ingredients in your cauldron backwards just to see what would happen is a successful experiment. I can tell you that I do not agree with anything of the sort in my classroom, but most of you expect me to disagree with you and so probably won't take my words to heart. Therefore I have arranged a little excursion to show you exactly what could happen to children who fool about and don't pay attention or pull pranks in potions."
"Sir?" a timid Ravenclaw with red hair and glasses raised her hand. "We already know what happens when you make a potion wrong—it explodes and could kill you."
"There are worse things than death, Miss Arundel. Now come along. Keep up with me, do not dawdle, and do not stray from the group or touch anything. Disobey me and you'll have detention gutting firecrabs and scrubbing the floor tonight. Understood?"
This time there were no more wise cracks.
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, Professor Snape."
Severus led them downstairs to the floor called Artifact Accidents, which was where people went who had had exploded cauldrons, crashed brooms, malfunctioning wands and so forth.
There he was met by two familiar faces. He had been expecting someone on staff to come and show them about, but was unprepared to see his sister-in-law Petunia and her best friend, Annie Lyons, a Muggleborn witch who had been caught in the crossfire of a Death Eater attack and now had a permanently scarred face. "Petunia? Annie? I hadn't expected to see you here."
"We heard through the grapevine that Hogwarts' new Potions Master was bringing his class here on a field trip and Annie suggested we ought to be the ones to show you about." Petunia said, smiling warmly at him. "So here we are, Severus."
"It's rather more like an object lesson," Severus elaborated. This was the first time he had seen Petunia since her wedding and he thought she looked well. "Married life would seem to agree with you, Tuney," he said in a very soft voice.
"It does. Very much. As much as I would say it agrees with you."
Severus nodded, his black eyes glittering. Then he turned back to his class and said, "Children, this is our guide, Lady Petunia Potter and her friend Annie Lyons. Listen closely to what they have to say."
"Are you Healers?" asked one child.
"No, we're volunteers," Petunia answered. "But Annie was once a patient here at St. Mungos."
Annie turned and faced them for the first time, showing her ruined visage to the students without flinching or looking awkward.
Several girls gasped in horror and covered their mouths.
Others stared avidly at her, like spectators at a freak show.
"Merlin! Did you see . . .?"
"How awful!"
"Blimey, but it's like having two faces."
"Bloody hell!"
"How'd that happen? Did you stick your face in the cauldron?"
Severus' eyes flashed. "Who said that? That remark was not only rude but insensitive! If I find out who said that, you're going to regret it. You are to treat Miss Lyons with the utmost respect, as you would a professor."
Annie cleared her throat and met the gazes of the children steadily. "That's all right, Severus. Often people stare at me or make comments like that because they are uncomfortable looking at me. However, I refuse to hide behind a mask or a Glamour. What happened to me was not because of an exploded cauldron. It was from a Death Eater attack. I was caught in the spell backlash and this was the result." She gestured at her ruined face. "I am lucky to be alive today, and even luckier to have found friends such as Petunia and Professor Snape, who know that it is not the outside that matters, but the inside."
Several of those who had been staring at her looked away, ashamed, and stared at the floor.
"All right then. I am going to lead you to the ward where exploded cauldron victims are treated. Some of these patients were victims of experiments gone horribly wrong, while others were victims of their own carelessness, and occasionally of others' as well. Some have been here awhile, others have just arrived. But all of them are willing to share their experiences with you in the hope that you will learn from it. Magic is not to be treated lightly. It can amuse, but it can also harm if used improperly."
"My husband used to be known as a prankster at school," Petunia added. "But he realized after he almost blew up his best friend playing about with a potion, that some things aren't to be tampered or fooled around with."
"Did his friend end up like Miss Lyons?" asked a Ravenclaw girl timidly.
"No, but it was a near thing." Petunia told them. Then she beckoned them down the corridor and into the first room along the row, knocking lightly on the door as she did so. "Iggy, may we come in?"
"Of course, Petunia darling," called out a deep male voice, with the hint of an Irish accent.
When the children and Snape had crowded into the room, they saw a skinny man in gray robes sitting at a table, reading the paper. One of his ears was missing and there was hair only on one side of his head. He looked at them and said cordially, "Good morning, children. My name is Ignacius O'Malley. I'm told you need to be given a bit of a wake up call when it comes to behaving in class for your Potions Master. Do you see this here? I got this when I went too far with an experiment, I didn't listen to my instructor and I added too many firestar roots then next thing I knew. . .Ka-Boom!"
Some of the girls cried out in horror and even Stephens looked suitably shocked.
"Couldn't you grow the ear back?" asked a boy.
"Or your hair?" queried a Gryffindor girl with blond hair.
Iggy shook his head. "No, for the potion burned away all the hair follicles and they can't be regenerated. Same thing with the ear. Not everything can be regrown with magic. Sometimes, you just have to live with the mistakes you made. There's no magic spell for stupidity."
"There is, however, something you can do to prevent you from making the same mistake Iggy did." Petunia said. "And that's to keep your mind on your work and listen to your professor. Otherwise you might end up like Iggy."
An involuntary shudder rippled through the student body.
They visited four more victims, each one had varying degrees of deformities, one was blind and could barely speak, acidic fumes had taken both her sight and her voice. Another was swathed in bandages from head to foot, almost like a leper, it wasn't certain if he would live yet, he had been burned so badly when his cauldron superheated due to a miscast fire spell. He was still school age, and the one who had cast the spell had been a student known for his love of jokes. That one was now in a different part of St. Mungos, undergoing treatment for guilt-ridden shattered minds.
It was that last one that really got to the students. Several of the girls started crying and one or two boys grew nauseous and rushed off to the bathroom. One of those was young Mr. Stephens. They returned pale and shaken. When Snape inquired if they were all right, Stephens said, "Fine. It's just that . . .he's so . . .I never thought . . .anything like that could happen . . .but now when I look at him . . .that could have been me. Or . . .or somebody else . . ." He swallowed hard, his eyes wide and scared. Tears glistened in them. "I . . .I'm sorry, Professor Snape. Really sorry. I thought you were just being strict for nothing . . ."
"Now you understand why I insist that you not fool around during class, and always read the instructions carefully. Potions are a very volatile substance—they can explode easily, even when you're being careful, and that is why I am so strict with you. I am trying to prevent accidents like these."
"There's a time and place to have fun, and potions class is not it," Petunia interjected.
"You just remember poor Grimsby here if you're tempted to pull another prank and think about it," added Annie sternly.
All of them nodded solemnly.
Several students asked if they could send chocolates or cards and things to the patients here, and Annie said that would be greatly appreciated. "A lot of these patients get infrequent visits from their family and they would enjoy knowing that others care about them and what's to become of them. It helps a great deal, to know that. Or even to visit for a little while, so they know that the world hasn't forgotten them. Poor Grimsby there, his mama stopped coming to see him, told us she couldn't bear it any more, thinking he might die or if he recovered, be some kind of ugly thing," Annie said in a very soft voice. "Terrible to not have the support of your family."
"What of his father?"
"He comes every now and again, but not regular." Annie shook her head in disapproval.
"Can the boy still hear and speak?" asked Snape softly.
"Yes, when he isn't under the influence of strong pain relieving potions and Sleeping Drafts like today." Annie answered. "The Healers are doing what they can to try and mend the damage gradually, it's a miracle the boy has lasted this long. He's a scrapper. Pity his parents ain't."
"How long has he been here?"
"A month, I believe. The accident occurred over the summer, him and his friend Marvin were fooling about in Marv's basement. He would have been a third year, I think." Annie replied.
Severus cast a look over at the figure in the bed, wrapped like a mummy ready for burial. "If I have time, I would like to visit a few days a week for an hour or so."
"Sir?" Stephens tugged on Snape's sleeve, then quickly removed his hand when his teacher frowned at him. "Can I come too, Professor?"
"You mean may I, and why would you wish to do so?"
"I figure maybe he might want to talk with another kid. I'll bet none of his friends ever come to see him now, right?"
"You are right, young man. Marty's out of his head with guilt and I don't know if Grimsby ever had any other friends."
"Maybe it'll help."
Severus looked hard at Stephens, and saw honest regret and remorse in the boy's eyes. "Very well. But these trips will not be an excuse to get out of homework, am I understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"I shall inform you when I am planning one." Severus said.
He gave the lesson a few more minutes to sink in, then satisfied that the class had learned their lesson, he said, "We shall be heading back to the school in a few moments. I want you to all think hard about what you saw here and be ready to write an essay of your experiences once you return to class."
Loud groans followed that statement.
Snape ignored them. "I want you to say thank you to Lady Petunia and Miss Lyons for taking time out of their busy schedule to guide us, and then go and line up at the door. Any pushing or shoving and you'll lose ten points."
The children obeyed, and that left Snape free to speak with Petunia, who immediately asked how her sister was, and how she was getting on living in Hogsmeade. Severus replied that they were both still adjusting to his schedule and it would be fine. He then asked how she was doing.
"Keeping busy, Sev. You know me, I can't stand to be idle. Except when James is home." Petunia laughed. "But he's been so busy with work lately I hardly see him except for a few minutes when he eats and then falls asleep. I worry about him, there have been more and more attacks and crimes committed, and he's going to be right in the middle of it, but all I can do is pray he comes home safe to me. Being an Auror is a dangerous job, but it's what he loves."
Severus nodded. "Tell him to be careful."
"I will." Then Petunia gave him a quick peck on the cheek and whispered, "Give Lily my love and tell her I'll write to her soon. Maybe stop by for a visit one day too."
"I will." He cast a glance over at his students and said, "I had best get going. Goodbye, Petunia, Miss Lyons."
He headed to the front of the line and a much more subdued and reflective class followed him back to the fireplace.
Arriving in the dungeons once more, Snape ordered them to start on their essays immediately, they still had an hour left of their double period. Soon the scratch of pens on parchment filled the lab and Severus pulled out some homework assignments from another class to grade. His field trip had gone well, thank Merlin, though it would remain to be seen if the students really had taken the lesson to heart until the next class. He had three more classes to take on the field trip, one more today and two tomorrow. Hopefully they would come away with a revised attitude towards pranks and potions and compassion for those who had suffered mishaps. He also hoped that Petunia would come and visit Lily soon, he knew how much she missed her sister.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took me so long to post, but I got sidetracked by a new plot bunny and have just gotten word last night that my second cousin died of melanoma. We knew he was sick and recieving treatments, but not that he was terminal until yesterday. It's really sad, he was only 60 and his mother and brother passed away just a few years ago as well.
Anyway, the next chapter will have some more James and Sirius and Orion in it, maybe some Reg too, as the war heats up in the wizarding world.