December 1943
To Poppy's growing concern, Minerva was no better when she awoke early the next morning. Rolling out of her bed and pulling a cardigan over her nightdress, Poppy tiptoed over to Minerva's bedside and felt her forehead again, taken aback by the raging heat that was pulsing from her skin.
"Is she alright?" A voice in the gloom startled Poppy, and she turned to see a shadowy figure sitting up in Irma's bed.
"Her temperature is soaring, she's definitely got a fever." Poppy said, cursing the lack of light in the dormitory before an idea crossed her mind. She took her wand from her bedside table, looped it around in the air and whispered "Lumos." The tip glowed a brilliant white light, casting shadows all around the room which she instantly regretted when a quiet groan sounded from Septima's bed.
"Pops, what's going on?" Septima asked, sitting up and holding an arm over her face to shield her eyes from the light. "Is Minerva really ill?"
Poppy shrugged helplessly. "I don't know," she admitted, "fevers aren't uncommon, but it feels like she's on fire." She left Minerva's side and knelt down in front of the bookcase, searching until she found the book she'd had out last night. "It could be a variety of things," she said as she read, "fevers are a symptom of a lot of illnesses. Can someone wake her up for me please?"
She continued leafing through the book as Irma rose from her bed and walked over to Minerva, treading silently around Ro's bed as she was still asleep and snoring quietly. "Minerva? Minerva, you need to wake up for me." Irma said softly, shaking Minerva's shoulders gently until she opened her eyes.
As Poppy moved back towards Minerva's bed, she lifted her head slightly and asked "What time is it?" in a hoarse voice.
"A little after 7 o'clock," Septima called, "How are you feeling, Minerva?"
Minerva paused to consider, sitting up against the back of her bed where Irma had put a pillow. "My throat hurts." She said, prompting Poppy to reach over and check her glands.
"Could be tonsillitis." Poppy muttered, almost losing her footing in surprise when Minerva let out an enormous sneeze. They all looked instantly towards Ro's bed, but by some miracle she was still asleep.
"How in Merlin's name did she sleep through that!" Septima asked in amazement.
Poppy chuckled quietly. "I think it would take the whole of the Slytherin Quidditch team bursting through the window to wake Ro up when she doesn't want to be woken." She glanced out the window where the Sun was just beginning to rise, and said "I'm going down to the kitchen to ask the House Elves for some soup, and don't try and protest because I'll go anyway!" Minerva fell back against the pillow with an exasperated smile.
"Do you want me to go instead?" Irma offered, "So you can stay here with Minerva."
"Thanks, but I'd quite like to go myself. I'd appreciate the company though; can you be in control here Septima?"
Septima nodded, moving to sit cross-legged on the end of Minerva's bed. "Sure can, and I'll try to wake up our resident sloth too." She said, tilting her head in Ro's direction as they all laughed.
When Irma and Poppy left the kitchen with a steaming bowl of soup in Poppy's hands, they were met by a tired-looking Professor Merrythought heading the other way. She stopped short when she caught sight of them and the soup, groaning aloud as she asked "Don't tell me one of you is ill too?"
"Minerva's got a fever and a sore throat," Irma said, exchanging a confused look with Poppy, "why, are some of the Ravenclaws ill?"
Professor Merrythought nodded. "And Madame Quinine isn't here - she was called urgently to St Mungo's the day before yesterday to help with an outbreak of dragon pox in the Hospital."
"But I thought a cure had been developed for dragon pox?" Poppy asked, remembering reading about it in one of her books about wizard illnesses.
"There is a cure, but it's centuries old and not always entirely effective." Professor Merrythought explained. "Nicolas Flamel, a famous alchemist, is currently working with Professor Dumbledore and Professor Dippet to try and develop it further. Please excuse me girls, but I need to get back to Ravenclaw Tower." She smiled briefly at them before hurrying up the nearest staircase.
Poppy and Irma continued back to Gryffindor Tower, walking straight through the deserted Common Room up to the second-year girl's dormitory. Septima had clearly succeeded in her quest to wake up Ro, as the pair were playing catch with three happily humming puffskeins through Minerva's bed.
"Hey Pops!" Ro called in a greeting, catching the three puffskeins and setting them down on Minerva's lap. "We've figured out a name for the new puffskein. He's going to be called Gabriel- it had to be a G name to match Godric and Georg, and we all thought it should be something Christmassy."
Minerva sneezed violently, sending Godric, Georg and Gabriel bouncing away to the other end of the bed. "You don't suppose she's allergic to the puffskeins?" Ro asked, glancing at Poppy for an answer.
"I don't think so, and apparently some of the Ravenclaws are unwell too so there must be something going around." Poppy gently put the soup down on Minerva's lap, frowning when Minerva shook her head. "You need to eat it, or you're not going to get better." She insisted, glaring pointedly at Minerva until she picked up the spoon and slowly started eating.
The rest of the day seemed to dissolve into a blur of chatter and playing with the puffskeins, punctuated by checking Minerva's temperature and the state of her glands every hour or so. Poppy was fairly certain of her tonsillitis diagnosis until they woke up the next day to find that Minerva had turned a sickly shade of green overnight. Ro had commented that her skin colour now matched her green eyes, but when her laughter turned into a dry cough Poppy sent her straight back to her own bed too.
"You do realise we're all going to get this blasted illness now, don't you?" said Septima, as she pulled the bedcovers over an angrily protesting Ro.
Poppy nodded grimly. "Which is why I am determined to get these two better quickly, so that they're well enough to take control when I come down with it!"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Irma said, "Looking at Minerva it must be a wizarding illness, which means the recovery period is likely to be a lot longer than with normal illnesses."
They all looked up when a knock sounded on the door, which opened to reveal Professor Merrythought who was carrying a large bottle of purple liquid. "I come bearing bad news, I'm afraid." She said before any of the girls could say anything. "Do remember I said yesterday that there's been a dragon pox outbreak at St Mungo's hospital?" Poppy and Irma both nodded before she continued. "Well it seems as though the Nurse who came to collect Madame Quinine brought the disease with him, as we've got two confirmed cases of dragon pox in the Ravenclaw dormitories."
"Who is it?" Septima asked urgently, concern for her Housemates evident on her face.
"Brutus Scrimegeor and Bathsheda Babbling," Professor Merrythought said, before turning her gaze towards where Minerva was lying down in bed. "And by the looks of things, we have a third case in here."
"Minerva's got dragon pox?" Poppy gasped. When Professor Merrythought nodded, she asked "Will she have to go to St Mungos?"
"I shouldn't think so my dear." Professor Merrythought said kindly. "Dragon pox is rarely fatal apart from in the very young and very elderly, so Minerva will be fine to remain where she is. But it's extremely contagious, so the school is on lockdown and no human will be allowed in or out until the outbreak is over. The same applies to the House Common Rooms; none of you will be allowed to leave Gryffindor Tower until everyone in the House has recovered fully."
There was quiet for a moment before Septima asked "How long until we're all ill and all better then?"
"The disease can take anywhere between a day and five to set in, and recovery will probably take about two weeks though it'll be about a month before you're back to full strength. Unless you've previously had dragon pox- in that case you're perfectly safe."
Septima and Irma both shook their heads, as did Ro. "My brothers and sister all had it before I was born, typical eh?" She grinned before dry, raspy coughs racked her chest.
"I've had chickenpox." Poppy said, earning herself a confused look from everyone else in the dormitory. "I think it's the Muggle version of dragon pox. Do you think that would protect me against dragon pox?"
Professor Merrythought looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "I'm really not sure. You'd be better off asking Professor Aurelius- she trained as a Mediwitch before coming to work at Hogwarts. Both she and I have already had dragon pox, so you'll see us fairly regularly when we come and check on you. I'm afraid it'll be down to you to look after yourselves though, as there just aren't enough staff to have someone in each Common Room. Professor Kettleburn wasn't looking at all well this morning and Professor Beery has already been sent to his bed, Professor Dumbledore needs his health to be able to work on this cure, and with Professor Dippet's age we can't risk him coming into contact with anyone who's ill."
"What should we expect with Minerva?" Septima asked, before a harsh cough from Ro made them all look in her direction. "And probably Ro too."
The bed creaked loudly as Ro abruptly sat up, throwing back the covers and snapping "I'm not sick!"
If Professor Merrythought was surprised by Ro's outburst, she didn't show it. "From my own experience, you'll all be in for a rough ride. That goes for both the sick and the carers." She walked over to Minerva's bed and gave her a pitying smile, which Minerva returned weakly. "That's probably as green as she's going to get, but don't be surprised if she breaks out in purple spots by tomorrow morning. Don't let her fever get out of control, and make sure she keeps eating and drinking. The House Elves will bring food up to the Common Room every morning and evening."
Poppy nodded, making sure she remembered everything Professor Merrythought was saying. "So she's going to get worse." She thought aloud, her heart sinking at the thought.
"In short, yes. Dragon pox is a nasty illness and a hard one to fight off, hence why it can prove fatal so easily. Oh, give her a spoonful of this every morning too." She passed the bottle of purple liquid into Poppy's hands, who put it on Minerva's bedside table. "It's the original cure invented back in the middle ages- it'll prevent her from suffering too much but don't stake all your hopes on it. Now if you're really concerned you can run and fetch either me or Professor Aurelius, but we'd rather you all stayed in your Common Rooms to prevent this spreading too far."
Professor Merrythought's advice turned out to be very necessary. Poppy didn't know what was worse, the sight of Minerva lying limp and clammy in her bed with chills racking her body or having to hear Ro's painful and frequent coughing bouts. Septima, Irma and Poppy were forced to run back and forth from the bathroom to soak a handkerchief in cold water which they used to cool Minerva's forehead, working in shifts through the night so they all got at least a few hours of sleep each. When the dawn shone the first rays of sunlight through the dormitory window, they were shocked to find bright purple spots covering Ro from head to foot. Judging by the fact that she had scratched her hands to the point of bleeding, they were obviously itching her like mad.
"She won't stop scratching, Poppy." Septima said in desperation, looking over at Poppy who was propping up Minerva so she could drink her potion. After she'd laid Minerva back down, she joined Septima who was clinging onto Ro's wrists to stop her from clawing at her hands.
"I'll think of something in a minute. Can you sit her up for me please; I'll never get this down her throat single-handedly."
Septima let go of Ro's hands and they both groaned when she immediately resumed her scratching, before she gently took hold of Ro's shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position. Irma passed Poppy a tumbler of the potion, which Poppy wasted no time in pouring quickly into Ro's mouth. Her yellow eyes flew open as she tried to retch it up- Professor Merrythought had warned them it tasted absolutely disgusting- but after Poppy forced her to drink a glass of water she seemed to settle back down.
Sighing in relief knowing that the worst job was done for another day, Poppy's thoughts went back to the challenge of keeping Ro from rubbing her skin raw. "I've got it!" she said suddenly, rushing over to her trunk and pulling out a pair of thick woollen socks. She pulled a sock over each of Ro's hands, smiling triumphantly when she tried and failed to scratch them again.
"That's a fantastic idea-" Septima's grin was broken when she coughed harshly, a hand flying to her chest as she struggled to regain her breath.
Irma and Poppy exchanged a dark look. "Bed." Irma said bluntly, taking hold of Septima's wrist and leading her back to her bed. Septima shook her off with a wordless shake of her head, but a fierce glare from Poppy made her nod meekly and sit down.
"Don't think for a moment that I'll let you fuss over me when Ro and Minerva are so much worse." She wheezed, groaning as Irma poured another measure of the foul-tasting postion and passed it to her. She took it without complaint, but eagerly accepted the water that she was given and drank it quickly.
Irma leaned over and felt Septima's forehead. "You're not as bad as Minerva was, but its early days yet." She said, shoulders sagging when Septima started coughing again. "It seems that your comment about spending Christmas not hacking up a lung was spoken too soon." Poppy couldn't help but grin despite the graveness of the situation, and Septima looked as though she very much wanted to shove the Dragon Pox potion down Irma's throat too.
She got her opportunity just under a week later. Poppy was still mainly occupied by Minerva and Ro, who were both in an unchanging state of illness, and first noticed when Irma began leaving more and more of her meals each day claiming she'd just lost her appetite. She would grudgingly accept food when Poppy and Septima gave her no option to eat it, but if they weren't watching her carefully they she'd go hours at a time without eating anything. Neither Irma or Septima were as bad as Minerva or Ro, which Poppy assumed was due to early administration of the potion, which was a great relief as Poppy didn't think she'd be able to look after all four of them at once without running herself into exhaustion. So long as Septima drank plenty and Irma remembered to eat, they were both still able to help Poppy treat Minerva and Ro.
Professor Merrythought and Professor Aurelius visited once a day, noting down their condition and keeping them informed of any other outbreaks in the school. By the time that the new term would normally be starting, nearly everyone in the Hufflepuff dormitories including Alfred Diggory and Donald Moody had fallen ill and the Ravenclaws weren't faring much better. Robert Fawley remained disease-free as he'd had the illness as a young child and Peggy Gilbert was in the same situation as Poppy, having had chickenpox which seemed to give some immunity, but everyone else had been infected. Augusta Brown was also lucky enough to stay healthy, but her time was taken up entirely by Alastor Moody and Lester Longbottom who were both badly affected. As Tom Riddle and Alexia Yaxley were the only two Slytherins remaining in school besides Irma, they had both escaped the epidemic.
"Do you think this will ever get better?" Septima croaked as she sponged down Minerva's forehead with a damp handkerchief.
"It must do." Poppy insisted quietly. On Septima's orders she had taken to her own bed, putting her feet up for an hour or two while Septima kept an eye on things. Irma had fallen asleep, the disease taking its toll on her even though she wasn't faring too badly. Although Poppy didn't dare to say it out loud, Minerva and Ro were slowly beginning to look better. Minerva had paled back to a pasty while as opposed to sickly green, and Ro's spots were gradually receding and bothering her less although they wouldn't risk taking the socks off her hands yet.
They both jumped when the door burst open, and Irma sat up abruptly while blinking owlishly in confusion. The intruder was Professor Aurelius, who was brandishing a small jar of a dark blue potion with a bright smile on her face. Poppy refused to let her hopes get up too high until Professor Aurelius announced "Professor Dumbledore and Mr Flamel have finished their work; this is the new and improved cure for Dragon Pox."
"Has it been proven yet?" Poppy asked excitedly.
Professor Aurelius nodded. "Professor Kettleburn and Professor Beery are both a huge amount better than they were a few days ago, and they were given this yesterday evening. It doesn't work immediately, but Professor Dumbledore thinks that everyone affected should be back on their feet within a week or so.
After pouring out four glasses of the new potion, Professor Aurelius left to go and visit the other dormitories. Improvements were being made even by the end of the day; Irma's appetite had increased enough for her to eat a decent sized meal that evening and Septima's throat was troubling her a lot less. Minerva and Ro took longer to improve, which was no surprise as they had been so much worse, but within a few days Ro's spots had completely cleared up apart from several self-inflicted scars on her hands and Minerva was strong enough to sit up for more than a few minutes at a time. When the last week of January arrived and plans were being made for the rest of the students to return, they were all finally declared disease-free by a cheerful Professor Merrythought.
It was the evening of January 31st, and the Hogwarts Express was due to make the journey from Kings Cross Station the next day. "I know we all said this last year," Minerva said as they sat down the Great Hall for the first time since Christmas Day, "but here's to the Christmas of 1944, which will be spent not bedridden in either the Hospital Wing or the Dormitory but sat around the Christmas Tree enjoying our gifts as we should be."
"Here, here." Septima nodded approvingly, and they all raised their glasses with bright smiles on their faces.
Author's Note:
This was a fun chapter. I do like making them suffer, don't I!
The details about Dragon Pox were all taken from the HP wiki, as well as the symptoms chickenpox as it's not too detailed on the wiki. I had the idea of chickenpox providing an immunity as milkmaids in the Middle Ages were protected from developing smallpox because they caught cowpox from their cows, there's nothing canon about that.
As for the cure being improved by Dumbledore and Flamel, there were several canon things that gave me this idea. In the Sorting Quiz on Pottermore one of the questions talks about a dragon pox cure being developed by the Headmaster, and Dumbledore's chocolate frog card mentions his work on alchemy with Flamel. So I combined those facts and came up with this.
The next chapter will probably be posted next Monday, as I've got a couple of tests I need to focus on this week. There'll probably be a week's gap between that chapter and the one after that too due to the end of term rush, but updates will get more frequent during the Christmas break :)