Author's note: Thank you all for your patience. There have been changes in my life and I am struggling to carve out time slots in which I can write. But finally, here is an update.

A word of caution. This is potentially the most traumatic chapter so far, and it was hard to write. This is why this fiction is rated M.

A Most Dreadful Loss

"How is she?" Severus asked anxiously.

"She's stable, still asleep. I gave her some Calming Draught", said Poppy. "You said she turned into a giant spider after being bitten by an Acromantula? I have never heard of such a thing."

"She did. I changed her back using the Homorphus spell. However, it only works temporarily on werewolves," Severus said. "She may revert to spider form at some point; the only question is when. I would not think the full moon would affect her like it does werewolves."

"I wouldn't think so either. We will discuss it with Minerva in the morning. Right now, this young lady needs to rest, Severus. You're welcome to stay, of course, but I'm more than happy to watch over her."

"I'll stay." The wizard held Morag's delicate hand in his, his mind wracked with uncertainty and fear. A slight frown floated on the healer's tawny face, but apart from that, nothing seemed to indicate she had been through such an ordeal hours before. Severus ran his fingers across her brow and through her hair. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Severus," she groaned.

Poppy discreetly slipped into an adjacent room.

"I thought you'd been killed," he breathed. "I've never felt such despair – not since Lily..."

"Och, Severus." She brought his hand to her lips. "I'm all right, I think. I'm just hazy on the details. I remember pain … my body changing… it was terrifying. What happened?"

"You were bitten by an Acromantula and turned into a spider," he said flatly. "I had to transform you back. We don't understand it. Has anything like that ever happened to you?"

"Nae, Severus," she replied, frowning. "I ken some witches and wizards can turn into animals at will, but that's nae skill my Mam ever taught me."

"At least you're here, and alive," Severus murmured, gazing into her eyes. He pushed the Culligram storm to the back of his mind – all that mattered was that Morag was safe and sound. Slipping into bed beside her, he held her close and stroked her hair. Exhausted, they both fell into a fitful sleep.

Severus woke as the first sunrays filtered through the curtains. Morag was still asleep, and he watched her for a while. Suddenly, she startled, sat up, and bent forward, grimacing in pain. "Nae, nae, nae…" she moaned. "It's too early!"

"What is it? What's too early?" Severus inquired urgently, expecting her to transform again.

"The babby… call Poppy, quick, noo!" she wailed.

The matron, alerted by her cries, was already rushing by her side. Severus got up and let her lean over her patient.

"The babby… it's coming, Poppy! Help me!"

Poppy ran her hands over the young woman's belly and muttered a spell. Her face grew pale, and she straightened up again.

"Morag, you can't hold back, girl. You've got to push it out."

"But it's too early!" Morag wailed again. Severus stared at Poppy, unsure. The matron pulled him a few steps back and whispered in his ear. "The spell I used should have let me sense the baby's life energy and pulse. I couldn't sense anything at all," she whispered to him. "It's dead. She has to deliver it, or she'll die of sepsis." Severus stared helplessly at Morag – he was utterly out of his depth.

"Help her, Poppy," he pleaded.

The matron turned back to the young woman writhing on the bed and held her hand. "Here, girl. Breathe with me, and I'll help with the delivery." She chanted a spell quietly as Morag cried and whimpered. Severus extended his hands, ready to take away the pain, but the healer pushed him away. Her face was clammy and distorted, and cries kept escaping her lips as her body tensed up again and again. A lump rose in Severus' throat and he choked back tears. He wished he could spare her the agony, even if it meant taking it into himself. He reached for her fingers and she crushed them in hers.

After what seemed to him like hours, Morag let out a great cry. A skinny, miniature human form emerged, and Poppy caught it in her hands – it was so tiny it fit snugly in her palm.

"Give her tae me," Morag begged. Poppy handed the limp little creature to her, her own face filled with sorrow. The young healer cradled it and hummed her tune softly.

"Ye can save her, can't ye, Severus?" she whispered. "Ye ken spells… potions… ye'll save her, aye?"

Tears were streaming down his face as he looked at the lifeless form in Morag's arms. He shook his head; his constricted throat would not form words.

"Morag, child," Poppy said softly, laying a hand on her patient's shoulder. "That baby was already gone before labour started. Magic cannot bring it back."

"Severus can. He can," she replied stubbornly. "Ye will, Severus, won't ye?" Her voice crackled like old parchment, like dead leaves crumbling underfoot.

"I can't," he finally managed, and he slumped on his knees, burying his face in the blankets. Morag started wailing, and her cries turned to a high-pitched shriek, then to a hiss –

"Severus!" Poppy's terrified voice rang out, and her hands pulled him back on his feet.

Crouched on the bed, still cradling the lifeless child, was the russet spider, hissing desperately. Its black eyes gleamed with tears. Severus stumbled back.

"Great Merlin! What is happening here?" Alerted by the commotion, Minerva strode into the room and gasped upon seeing the spider. She raised her wand defensively, but Severus grabbed her arm.

"Minerva, that's Morag." In a raspy voice, he explained the night's events, starting with Hermione Granger's Patronus message until the dreadful loss he and Morag had just suffered. Minerva kept glancing nervously at the russet spider on the bed, whose hissing was reduced to a mournful wheeze.

Once Severus had finished his tale, Minerva crossed her arms and inhaled deeply. "The Homorphus spell worked once", she said. "Would you mind trying again?" The wizard nodded, took out his wand and performed the spell. As before, the spider slowly morphed back into a human form. Morag curled on the bed, whimpering, her face drained. She still held the child.

"This clearly can't work long term," Minerva assessed. "Look at her. It's taking too much toll on her."

"I'll floo St Mungo's for a Mediwizard" Poppy said. "This is far beyond my abilities as a nurse."

"Young Karam Saddik was with us," Severus recalled. "He said a similar occurrence happened to his grandmother. Minerva, do you think you could bring him in? We need all the information we can gather."

"I agree," she replied. "We must try and understand this."

Minerva left Severus and Poppy to watch over Morag, who was now shivering and weeping. Severus was overwhelmed both by the perspective of losing her to such a horrific body-altering curse and by the crushing grief he felt at the loss of their child. Sitting on the side of the bed, he ran his hand across her back. She jolted like a cornered animal and he could feel her pulse racing.

"Excuse me," a deep voice grumbled from the fireplace. "Harald Thistlewood, Mediwizard at St Mungo's. I was told you needed assistance with a complicated case of human transfiguration. Could you please let me in? Your school's protective enchantments do not allow me to travel to you."

Severus raised his wand to lift the enchantment. Instants later, a lean wizard with sagging jaws and sparse hair stepped through the fireplace, and Severus restored the protective ward. He proceeded to recount the night's events – again. His words felt like heavy stones he had to drag out of a dark place.

"I see," Thistlewood eventually said, stroking his thin goatee thoughtfully. "My professional theory is that the body developed this transformation as a protection against the venom. Call it magical immune system, if you like. What confounds me is how you managed to turn her back into her human form. As far as I know, there are very few documented cases, and all of them are irreversible; so I'm quite puzzled that the Homorphus spell worked at all."

At that moment, the headmistress walked in with Karam Saddik and Hermione Granger.

"Miss Granger," Severus said somewhat cooly. "I do not recall requesting your presence."

"As a prefect, I thought I would come with Karam. He's in my house, after all. And I wanted to know how Morag is doing."

"Very well," Severus shrugged. "Mister Saddik, would you please tell us more about your grandmother?"

"Well, hum," the boy started nervously. "There's a species of magical desert spiders in Egypt. They're red and spiky…"

"Thornbacks!" Hermione exclaimed. According to Hogwarts: A History, there was a colony of them in the Dark Forest in the late 19th century. Her voice trailed off as she caught Severus' icy glare. "I'm sorry, Karam. Carry on."

"Yes. Thornbacks. Although we call them Eankabut Almukhlab, Claw Spiders. Anyway, my grandmother went out one day, looking for desert herbs. She didn't return, but we saw a Claw Spider crawling towards our garden at nightfall. They don't normally come close, so that was odd." He paused. "We don't kill them if we can help it, you see. For one thing, we use their eggs in potions and collect their silk to make clothing with magical properties. Anyway, the spider stopped by the gate and started weaving –"

"– spiders are known for weaving webs, Mister Saddik. Can you get to the point?" Severus snarked.

"I was getting to it, Professor, with all due respect. My grandmother was a weaver; she created beautiful tapestries. The spider replicated the exact patterns my grandmother used. That's how we knew it was her."

"What did you do?"

"Well, from then on, she lived in our garden. Every night, I sat with her and told her about my day. She was never aggressive, but… we did have to feed her with live animals. Chickens and goats, mostly. And she kept weaving. Her talent, coupled with the finest Claw Spider silk, enabled her to make enchanting tapestries that brought my family good fortune."

"And then?"

"She just died, Professor," the boy sighed, melancholy. "I still miss her, even as a giant spider."

"She never changed back into a human?"

"Never. I would have loved to find a way to help her," he replied miserably.

"Right," Severus said, rubbing his temples. "Mandrake has powerful curse-breaking and protective properties and is known to function extremely well in Animagus transformation. I could use it as a base for a cure."

"With all due respect," Thistlewood said gravely, "I think this calls for a thorough study at St Mungo's. We are working on experimental spells for human Transfigurations that have gone wrong and, in my expert opinion…"

"Have you considered asking Morag what course of action she wishes to take?" Hermione interrupted sternly. "Or are you going to treat her like some test subject instead of a person?"

"In case you failed to notice, Miss Granger, Morag is in no fit state to answer our questions," Severus replied.

"In that case, you should let her rest. She's been through enough for now, hasn't she?"

"What an astounding idea," Severus snarled. "Let us simply wait until the curse transforms her again, shall we?"

The young witch rolled her eyes. "From what I understand, shock and trauma triggered the second transformation. She needs our empathy above anything else." She sat on the side of the bed. "Morag," she asked quietly. "Can you hear me?"

The healer raised her face and met Hermione's gaze.

"We know you've just been through a horrendous ordeal. We want to help you. Would you like to go to Saint Mungo's with Doctor Thistlewood so Mediwizards can try and cure you?"

Morag shook her head as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Would you prefer to remain here, at Hogwarts?"

"Aye, I would," she croaked.

"Morag," Severus asked, "I want to attempt a potion to cure you of this… condition. Would you be willing to try?"

She shook her head vigorously.

"Why not?" he asked in a frustrated tone. Hermione shot him a warning glance, then squeezed Morag's hand reassuringly.

"Are you afraid of trying untested remedies?" she asked.

The healer nodded. "I just want tae sleep. Please."

"I'll make you more Calming Draught, child," Poppy said softly. "And… do you feel ready to say goodbye to your little one? Or shall I put it in stasis for a while?"

At this, a shuddering wail escaped the young woman's lips, and for a moment, Severus feared she would turn again. To his relief, she simply slumped back on the pillow. "I'm being punished fer what I did, that's what it is," she whispered.

Hermione squeezed the other woman's hand. "No, you're not, Morag. The Acromantula venom, while not lethal for human adults, is highly dangerous to smaller creatures. Bellatrix Lestrange led you to the Dark Forest; she is the one responsible for your loss. Nothing you did in the past deserves this. Please, do not blame yourself."

Severus looked at her, startled. "What are you talking about, Miss Granger?"

"I think you and Morag need some time alone, Professor," the young witch replied gently. "Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, Doctor Thistlewood… and you, Karam. Let's give Miss Duncan and Professor Snape some privacy, shall we?"

She pushed them authoritatively out of the room, followed them and closed the door behind her.