Eye of the Beholder
Failed Potions
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
A/N.
Carmen – who conceived of the idea, contributed to this
chapter. I hope it is similar to what
you originally were thinking of…. And
if not – feel free to flame me!!! J Thanks for your ideas
and support!
Once again – White Lilac – so many thanks for your excellent
reviews. I only hope other authors are
as lucky to receive such excellent feedback and support!
Chapter 36. Failed Potions
Sasha cradled her bandaged face in her hands, and leaned
back against the wooden headboard of her dorm bed. Her face below the bandages was screaming; a steady, burning
throb that she could not ignore. She closed her eyes and concentrated on
anything to try to avoid it, but it was next to impossible. She hoped Snape was
right, and that the potion worked. It
would be awful if only part of it did – just the part that dissolved her scar
tissue, and not the healing aspect.
With a shudder, she knew the resulting wound would be far worse than her
current disfiguration.
She carefully wrapped her robes about her on the bed, and
tried to relax. Breathing deeply, she forced her mind away from the pain, until
she was drifting, floating, away from Hogwarts, and away from the pain.
Vaguely, she heard the rain pounding randomly, incessantly,
in sheets against the windowpane. It was loud enough to shake her from her
reverie, and bring her back to the present. It was late, and the room was too
dark from when she first lay down. For
some reason, her arms and legs were tangled up in the sheets, and not able to
move.
&n]>
She way lying on her side, and to her horror, she realized
she had fallen asleep, the left hand side of her face pressed deeply into the
pillow. Lifting her head she was
paralyzed by the sudden sensations of pain and burning heat that shot through
her like a bolt of lightening. The
potion was still working, but from the weight of her head, id spd spread out
from just where her scar was, and she could feel it eating away at the flesh
along her nose and lips. Fighting the waves of panic and pain, she tried to
life her head, but was restrained by a gentle hand across her shoulder.
She heard a soft, silky voice close to her ear.
the familiarity of the voice and touch, and she relaxed somewhat.
“Severus?” she asked.
“Severus – is that you?
Something is terribly wrong. I
fell asleep – the potion has been on for too long and it is still burning me!”
she said, the panic in her voice rising.
“I can’t move – I am caught up in the bed sheets or something.”
Once again, she felt the familiar touch along her arm, as he
slowly, almost seductively, caressed her good cheek and neck. She felt him
reach over her, and then the bandage was very methodically untied from the top
of her head.
“Hurry, please,” she begged, fighting off the urge to bolt
from the bed. With infinite patience and carefulness, the bandages were removed
and discarded, and the gauze lifted from her burning skin.
circulating in her room as it brushed across her weeping cheek, and it felt
like her nerves were being exposed to acid.
Very gently, the remainder of the potion was wiped away from
her face with a clean cloth, but the pain did not fade. A small hand mirror,
very similar in detail to the one hanging in Snape’s lab, was held out to her,
and she reached for it with a mixture of dread and excitement.
She was momentarily confused when her hands could grasp the
mirror, but they would not raise much further.
She tugged, and realized she was not tangled up in her sheets; she was
restrained to the bed. Her eyes went
wide with shock and fear as she recognized them – they were the same restraints
that were attached to the stone slab in Malfoy’s basement. Letting go of the
mirror, Sasha thrashed in the bed, trying to free herself.
if]>
To her fascination and horror, a pale hand reached out and
grasped the mirror, holding it out in front of her face. Sasha could not help
herself. The first was of her own face –
severely disfigured beyond recognition, the seared flesh charred a revolting
black, and most of the tissues along her lips and nose were missing.
the mirror to her – Lucius Malfoy.
He grinned down at her as she opened her mouth to
scream. No sound came out, but she
could hear Lucius laughing, as he rocked back and forth in glee at the fact
that the tables were now turned on her. She was the one silenced and
restrained, and she was the one with the gaping wound. And, most importantly,
Snape was nowhere to be seen. Once again she renewed her efforts against the
leather restraints, but to no avai/p>
/p>
A glint of light caught her attention, and looking up at
Lucius in fear, she realized he held something in his hands.
almost perfect mime of Avery’s actions previously, he moved the scalpel back
and forth, allowing the light to shine into Sasha’s eyes. The fear she felt at
this was overwhelming, such that she was too frightened to move.
sight, all the while smiling and making soothing, relaxing sounds that were
anything but reassuring.
Her worst fears were confirmed. Lucius knew all about their deception, and had come to her for
retribution. She only wondered if Snape
was aware of what has happenior ior if he sim similarly restrained elsewhere.
Sasha felt a faint pressure against her side, and knew
Lucius was playing tricks with the scalpel. She closed her eyes, refusing to
let him see her fear.
“Open them,” she heard him say, and she disobeyed him. “Open
your eyes, Sasha!” nsisnsisted, the tone in his voice ugly.
tightly closed.
“Suit yourself,” she heard him say nonchalantly, and she
felt a sudden sharp stabbing in her side. She knew he had stabbed her, and she
never thought that this is how it would end.
Oh Merlin – she would never see Snape again. Somehow, she knew she had failed him somehow, and she was filled
with a deep sense of regret and remorse.
The sound and the rain hitting the window lessened, and her
sight dimmed, as the room darkened around her…