Doubts and Desires

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate them! I\'m always open for comments, suggestions, etc.


Chapter Four: The Potions Accident


Not even two weeks of the school year had come and Severus was already waking up with a migraine. He groaned and got out of bed and staggered straight to his potions cabinet and took out the headache potion. He drank it down and then took a shower. He had the feeling that today was going to be one of those days. After the shower, he dressed in his normal black robes and went to breakfast. Most of the students seemed way too cheerful for a Wednesday morning. Dumbledore was talking to him about something, although Severus really couldn’t remember what he was jabbering about this time after Severus went down to his potions class. Luckily, he had a group of seventh years, who were normally well-behaved since it was a NEWTs class. Today was not the case as he had to call them down three times to even listen and took a good fifty points total from all four houses.

His day did not go much better after his classes, especially since the headache came back. “Damn it.” he called out as he realized that he had taken the last of his personal headache potion. He slouched down in the chair and rubbed his temples. Why today of all days, he thought. Unfortunately, he knew that his headache was not going to go away without the potion. Begrudgingly, he got up and went up to the Hospital Wing, knowing that Hermione would have some on hand. He found her there, handing out a potion to one of the students and giving instructions.

Hermione’s day had gone fairly well. She had only two studenrop rop by, and she actually got some written work on her graduate studies finished. She looked up after she had handed the girl a pain-relieving potion when she saw Severus there. He looked in a positively foul mood, and the girl that was there gave a slight squeak and thanked Hermione before quickly leaving. “Scaring off my patients already, Severus?” she commented in a slight amused tone.

“Today is not the day to start with me, Miss Granger.” Severus stated coldly. “Do you have some of the headache potion on hand?”

“It’s Hermione, remember, and yes, I do.” Hermione stated as she went back to her stock room and got some. “Don’t you have any of your own?” she asked as she came back out, not handing him the vial yet.

“If I did, then I wouldn’t be coming here, now would I, Hermione?” Severus said, snapping at her slightly as he reached for the potion.

Hermione pulled it just out of his reach. “Do you have these headaches often? It could be a sign of something more serious.”

Severus glared at her and advanced, backing her up against one of the beds. “I suggest that you just give me the bloody potion. I’m in no mood for an analysis.”

“Fine, Severus, but if you are having a lot of headaches, then perhaps you should be exad. d. It’s not normal.” Hermione stated as she handed him the vial.

Severus took the vial and just turned around and left.

“You’re welcome,” Hermione called out sarcastically as he didn’t even thank her for the potion. She shook her head and went about her business while wondering who stuck the broomstick up his ass.

After dinner, she went down to the potions lab to continue ing.ing. “Nevermore,” she said. The door didn’t open. She took a deep breath and then knocked on Severus’ office door. She got no answer. He must have changed the password without telling her, she reasoned. She went off and began to search for him, finding him threatening a few students with a week of detentions if he caught them again. They ran off. “Severus? What’s the password to your lab now?” she asked.

He turned quickly toward her. “Don’t you remember?” he snapped.

“I tried the old password, but it didn’t work.” she stated as she crossed her arms. “YOU never told me the new one.”

Severus glared at her. “It’s ‘clockworks’.” He then turned again from her and left down the hall, obviously still in a horrible mood.

She rolled her eyes and walked back to the dungeons. “Clockworks,” she said this time and the door opened. She then began to work on the potions, including making the headache potion for Severus. She thought that it would be nice to make it for him since he was out and most likely hadn’t had time to make some himself. She had just finished with the potions when he came back in and slammed the door. She looked at him. “Bad night?” she asked.

He just glared at her. “What are you still doing here?” he spat out, wanting very much to be alone.

“I’m just finishing up. I also made you some more headache potion.” she stated.

“I’m quite capable of making it myself,” he stated, glaring at her for intruding on HIS space.

She was beginning to feel like a student again under his glare. “I know, Severus. I just thought that since you were out that I could make it for you. I know that you are busy.”

“How thoughtful of you, Hermione. Now, get out.” he stated, the tone of his voice quite harsh.

“Let me just finish up…”

“OUT!” he practically roared at her.

She jumped slightly and quickly gathered the rest of her things. She then left quickly, thinking that was the last time that she would do something nice for him.

Severus went into his room and drank a shot of Fire Whiskey. He had a horrible day. He knew he shouldn’t have yelled at Hermione, but she had gotten on his nerves. He didn’t need her to be nice to him. He didnesereserve her niceness.

* * * * *

The next morning, Sevestilstill woke up in a bad mood as well as with a slight hangover, since he did not realize that he had drank quite a bit. He took a hangover potion and got dressed, opting to skip out on breakfast since he had woken up later than he intended as well as he had the second years first thing. He was in his classroom, silently cursing at how loud they were being when they came down. Class was ready to begin, and he had to call down them to order three times, the third time being the worst.

“Now, if you can listen and shut your mouths for five minutes, we can continue. Today we will be working on a fairly simple Anti-poison potion.” If you dunderheads don’t mess it up, he thought to himself. He wrote the ingredients up on the board and began to watch the to to work. He kept an eye on them, having to silence a few of them for talking to someone other than their partner. He noticed one boy add the Daisy Roots and then move to add Adder’s Tongue. “Mr. Morgaead ead Line Six for me.”

The boy looked up at the list. “After you add the Daisy Roots, add the Knotweed.” “Go “Good, you have demonstrated that you can read.” Severus said rather sarcastically. “Is that the Knotweed in your hand?” The boy looked at it and slowly shook his head. “Where is the Knotweed?” he persisted. The boy gave him a confused look. “IF you were paying attention, Mr. Mn, an, any this year AND last year, you would know that this is the Knotweed.” He grabbed up the knotweed and without looking at the potion, he tossed it in.

There was no time to react. The explosion was immediate. The students that were not injured were scattering about, trying to get away from the classroom and outside. A few were crying because they were injured.

One girl who was uninjured had enough brains left and sprinted up all the stairs to the Hospital Wing. Sas qas quite out of breath when she saw Hermione. “Miss Granger…explosion….potions…classroom…injured.” she managed to get out.

Hermione paled and grabbed a bag that was ready just in case a major accident ever happened. “Go find Professor Dumbledore or another professor to go get him.” she instructed the girl and ran down to the dungeons. She jumped down the last couple of stairs, spotting some of the students out in the hall as a thick amount of smoke was rolling out of the classroom. “Listen, if you are not injured, stay in the hallway and be calm.” she told them before entering the classroom. She could barely see with the smoke and used her wand to clear it away. “Oh, gods,” she whispered in horror. It was horrible, absolutely horrible. The desks around the main part of the explosion were turned over as well as a few of the shelves. “Listen. If you are not injured, please exit out into the hall. If you can walk but are injured, pe coe come over to this side.” She began to make her way to where the explosion started, levitating a few of the desks out of the way. A few of the students were unconscious, but they appeared relatively all right. She got them on magical stretchers and out of the immediate way as she continued looking.

Dumbledore appeared along with McGonagall. “What can we do, Hermione?” he asked her.

She looked over to them. “I need the students that are on the stretchers to get up to the Hospital Wing. Any that are slightly injured and can walk need to get up there as . I. I also need to know a count of the students.” They nodded and went to work with the students. Hermione continued looking. She then found one student who was seriously injured. The boy was unconscious. His head was twisted oddly, and her first thought was that he was dead. After examining him, she realized that he wasn’t. She performed some healing spells and got him on a stretcher. as sas stable but just barely. She would have to check him out further in the Hospital Wing. She then continued to look, not finding Severus at all.

“All the students are now accounted for,” Albus stated to Hermione as he went to take the seriously injured boy to the Hospital Wing.

Hermione nodded and kept searching. She almost slipped on something wet and looked down, noticing that it was blood. She also saw the bit of black cloth. “Oh, my god!” she said, levitating the shelf off of the potions master. She knelt down beside of him. “Oh, Severus!” With a wave of her wand, she removed his upper clothing. He had some fairly deep cuts on him from the shattered glass. His head wound was worse. He was losing a lot of blood and his pulse was weak. “Hang in there, Severus,” she told him as she performed some blood clotting spells and bandaged up his head temporarily with his shirt. She got him on a stretcher and took him up herself.

When she reached the Hospital Wing, she glanced at all the students that were there. She sat Severus down and began to work with him first. She pulled the curtain around, so the students couldn’t see him like this and focused her energy on him. She had to get him stable. She noticed that his breathing was irregular and short. She cast a few more spells and bandaged his head as well as a few of the deeper cuts. He had lost a lot of blood, and she went to her stockrooo tho thankful that she had made the blood replenishing potion. Gently, she tilted his head up and gave him the potion. She checked his vital signs again. He was barely stable, but there was nothing else she could do at the moment. Hesitantly, she took his hand and gave it a very gentle squeeze. “Hang in there, Severus. Just hang in there.”

She then went to the other seriously injured student. She frowned after she checked him over. There was swelling around the spinal cord, which she performed a few spells with it, hoping that there was going to be no permanent damage. Otherwise, the child was stable.

After a few hours, she had finished treating everyone. A couple had minor burns from the potion that had splattered. They were healed and sent on. Three were to spend the night with concussions. The boy’s parents were notified about their son being seriously injured. He was probably going to have to be transferred to another hospital. Hermione just didn’t have the training to help him more, especially since she feared that he might now be paralyzed. His parents, which were Muggles, were not told how serious he was injured though. They were to arrive in the morning.

Hermione sank down into a chair beside of Severus. She couldn’t understand how this could happen. He was the best potions master out there. He never made mistakes, yet from what she had gathered, it was his fault. She checked his vital signs. He was doing better now, although he still hadn’t woken up. She sighed heavily as she looked at him. What could have happened she wondered as she gently pushed back a stray piece of hair from his face. He looked almost peaceful. She had overheard Dumbledore mention that this was the first major potions accident that had happened during Severus’ time as the Potions Master. She sat beside of him, watching him. She couldn’t even fathom Severus’ reaction when he learned what had happened. He was always so sure and certain of himself. She never expected him to make such a mistake. Staying at his bedside, she slowly fell asleep while the accident and Severus were still on her mind.


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