A Means of Survival – Chapter 07 – Snape is Amused

Go and read Disclaimer/Warnings if you have not done so already.

Chapter 7 – Snape is Amused

Following Ms. Granger’s exit from his classroom, Severus Snape slumped in relief, quickly warding the door once more, before turning and walking towards the blank wall behind his desk.

He quickly touched three seemingly arbitrary spots on the wall and drew a triangle between them, delicately using the tip of his wand.

“Neva Sophia,” he whispered, pressing his palm against the cold stone before him. Abruptly a doorway appeared, and shortly thereafter, a hallway. He quickly strode down the hallway to his quarters, throwing a glance over his shoulder to assure himself that the doorway really had closed behind him.

Just like it does every night, he thought, slightly annoyed at himself for his need to constantly recheck everything around him.

Quickly he dropped his robes on the couch, and went to his bed.

…

By the time Hagrid found Ron, the boy was catatonic with fear from the perceived images his mind had been shoving at him relentlessly since falling that last time.

Hagrid had been warned by Professor McGonagall that the youngest Weasley boy was out there somewhere and that they needed to find him before something more dangerous did. Hagrid took his duties very seriously and therefore was very relieved to find Ron still physically intact, albeit a little nonresponsive.

“Ach, poor lad,” he said quietly to Fang on their way to the castle.

“He’s done gon’ and wet hi’ self. Musta b’n scared b’sumtin out here on his own. Poor lad.” He said, shaking his head woefully at the boy who was dwarfed by Hagrid’s mighty arms.

Inside, Ron was accompanied to the infirmary by Professor McGonagall herself, with the help of Hagrid. She did not feel the need to inform the headmaster, knowing that it was likely enough that he already knew. The old man and his foolish ways had been responsible for more than one mess in her time there.

Harry Potter for one, came to her mind unbidden. She pushed the thought away grimly, as she prepared herself for dealing with the problem at hand. She was, therefore, somewhat surprised to see Harry already in the infirmary waiting on them.

No, wait, her brain corrected itself.

The boy wasn’t waiting on them—he was simply a patient there that day as well.

Again?

After all, his eyes were closed, weren’t they? She narrowed her eyes, peering closely at him from across the room, trying to appear as though she were simply trying to see the calendar on the far wall when Poppy bustled into the room.

“Oh you know you can’t get anything past me, Minerva!” Poppy said, instantly seeing through her ruse.

“I was about to come and look for you,” she said sternly, trying to cover up her dislike of having two of her Gryffindors in the infirmary at one time.

“Hagrid found the youngest Weasley boy in the darkness outside the castle, curled into a ball and wide-eyed with terror, just as he is still.” She said, indicating the boy with her hands to the stern head of the infirmary.

“Oh my,” Poppy said; gasping a sharp breath inwards at the sight of the prone figure. “Hagrid, put him on this bed, would you dear?” She waved him onto the nearest bed and then turned back to McGonagall.

“Minerva, would you be so kind as to fetch Severus for me?” Poppy asked her, mid-bustle.

McGonagall watched on silently for a moment as Poppy removed Ron’s clothes with a flick of her wand and started running diagnostics, before snapping herself out of her lethargic state and acquiescing to the woman’s request.

She left the infirmary, striding quickly towards the dungeons, while Poppy shot Hagrid a pointed glance.

“W’ll, I’ll jus’ be on me wa’,” Hagrid said, nodding vigorously as he slowly got the hint, whistling to Fang to join him as he left the infirmary.

Poppy sighed as she watched the large head leave. With adults and professors like these, it was no wonder she constantly had students filling her beds.

…

Shortly after, Severus found himself stepping out of the floo into Poppy’s domain for the third consecutive time that day. Minerva had sent him on to the infirmary while muttering something about a “hard drink,” when he had asked her if she was coming through as well.

One reason he enjoyed Poppy’s company was her common sense. This was apparent when she noticed Minerva’s absence, and simply took it in stride.

He walked straight over to the Weasley boy’s bed, noting the pale flesh that was peeking out around the hospital issue pajamas he was now wearing. He swallowed his fury towards the Malfoys before crouching down to look at the boy directly in the eyes.

“What do you think Severus?” Poppy said quietly from behind him.

He stood up, feeling his joints creak a bit with weariness. After all, his day had been inordinately long.

“Well, he is not petrified,” Snape answered knowledgably.

“I thought as much.” She said, moving next to his side somberly.

“I had him in class earlier.” Snape admitted.

“And?” She turned and peered up at him.

“He was a bit quiet, but otherwise seemed perfectly—,” he paused, looking for the right word, “himself.” He said.

“Do you have any of your double-strength calming potion on hand, Severus?” She asked him, her face looking down at the boy once more.

He rummaged in his pockets for a moment before catching a hold of the vial he was looking for. He pulled it free and looked at the silvery concoction in its individual glass vial triumphantly.

“I had better just spell it into his stomach,” Poppy said with a sigh. “I want you to be on hand, of course, Severus dear.” She said, patting his arm absentmindedly.

Dear? He thought; his reaction caught somewhere between amused and exasperated. She hadn’t called him that since he was a student under her care.

Then again, today has probably been an inexplicably odd day for her as well, given the three cases that I alone have had a hand in.

“I think I’ll just stand back a bit, out of the way,” he suggested evenly to her as she was preparing to supply the boy with the proper dosage.

“I suppose your image is not the most calming,” Poppy said, sniffing back a sound that sounded to Severus’s sharp ears more akin to a laugh than anything dealing with the nasal cavities.

“It must be catching,” he said with a rare level of wryness.

“What?” She asked absent-mindedly.

“Sounding like the headmaster.” He said cheekily, smirking a bit at her back. He dropped the smirk when she turned to look at him coolly, but even grinned a bit after she walked past him and inadvertently shoved an elbow into his gut.

“Oops,” he said, giving her a faux-serious look.

“Oh shut it you.” She huffed at him and then nodded to the back of her domain. “I’ve got two sleeping students back there, one of which is yours,” she said, getting back to business completely.

“Why don’t you drop in on him while waiting to see if this works?” She said, making it an order, rather than a suggestion.

He grimaced a bit and then nodded his agreement to her, all traces of amusement gone from his countenance. When he was almost all of the way back to where Draco Malfoy lay, he heard her mutter something under her breath.

“Oops indeed, Mr. Snape.”

A Means of Survival – Chapter 08 – Harry’s Waking Nightmare Gets Invaded