XI: About to Lose Another Friend

Author's note: Thanks to JKR for some wonderful characters. Thanks to Trickie Woo for beta reading.

Chapter XI: About to Lose Another Friend

Severus was casually leaning against a bookshelf in his private study, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was observing Morgaine, who was working on the other side of the room. Her movements were smooth and thought-through, and she handled her potion ingredients with the same care and concentration as he did. Severus allowed himself a faint smile. He had taught her well, he was proud of her.

'Do you have to stare at me like that?' Morgaine asked without taking her eyes off her cauldron. There was an amused tone in her voice.

Severus grinned. Yes, he had to. For a matter of fact, he found it hard to take his eyes off Morgaine nowadays.

Ever since his birthday, she had come to see him several nights every week. They brewed potions, played Wizard Chess or just spent hours talking in front of the fireplace. Severus was glad that they had found their way back to each other. He had missed having her around.

Their relationship had changed. Only a couple of weeks ago, Morgaine had just been his student, one for whom he cared deeply but still a student nonetheless. And then came the night when he had bared his soul, the night when she had held his hand in the dark. That night they had become friends.

There were days when Severus found himself wondering how it would be in a year's time, when Morgaine would take her exams and leave Hogwarts. He dreaded that day. Morgaine was the first person in years he could call a friend. He didn't want to lose her.

Little did he know how close he would come to losing her this year.

~ ~ ~

It was in the middle of March, and the whole school seemed to be infected by some kind of spring fever: all the students were giggly, chatty and, in Severus' opinion, simply insufferable. He had dished out so many detentions that he would have to look for a bigger classroom in order to have enough space for everyone.

The last lesson of the week, sixth year Potions, wasn't any better. The whole class was bubbly and distracted, and there was the smell of a burning potion in the air. Severus was slowly but surely losing his patience. How hard could it be to remove the cauldrons from the heat after the right amount of time? He was just about to tell off a pair of Gryffindors when their potion burst into flames.

Just typical for these nincompoops, Severus thought as he pointed his wand at the flames in order to extinguish them. He took his time since he was secretly enjoying the panicky look on the students' faces. He liked to let them sweat a little longer.

And then all hell broke loose.

He heard the cauldron crack, saw the students run for cover and felt someone push him away from the table. The force of the explosion knocked him off his feet, and he felt pieces of pewter rain on his back. If he had been standing in front of the cauldron, it would have exploded right into his face.

It was over in a heartbeat. Severus got up, brushing the dust off his robes. The students were slowly emerging from under their desks. They were all rather pale, and nobody was talking.

Severus was just about to reprimand the two Gryffindors for their carelessness when he noticed that everybody was staring at something behind him. He spun around and caught sight of Morgaine. She was standing with her back against a shelf, her face white as chalk, clutching the right side of her stomach with both hands.

Severus felt a chill run down his back. 'Miss duLac, are you alright?' he inquired.

Morgaine shook her head. There was blood seeping out from between her fingers.

Severus reached her with four swift strides. 'Weasley, get the nurse,' he bellowed. 'McKenzie, find the headmaster. The rest of you, get out of here! Now!'

With fumbling fingers, Severus pulled apart Morgaine's hands and found a big pewter splinter protruding from her stomach. The wound was bleeding heavily. He swallowed dryly.

'You should have taken cover, you silly girl.' He tried to keep his voice calm, but he heard it tremble. It was obvious that it had been Morgaine who had pushed him out of harm's way.

Slowly he lowered her onto the floor and knelt down beside her. What should he do? Should he remove the splinter and try to close the wound? Or would removing the splinter just make everything worse? He felt panic rise inside him. Where was this damned nurse?

Finally, the door flew open and both Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore came running in.

'Dulcamara, that is what was in the cauldron.' Severus couldn't hide the panic in his voice. He didn't attempt to either.

The nurse quickly assessed the situation. 'Albus, we will need help from St. Mungo's. Call the Healers.' Then she turned to Severus. 'I will attempt to remove the splinter. Make sure the girl holds still.'

Severus turned towards Morgaine's face. If possible, she was even paler than before.

'Listen carefully, Morgaine,' he said, taking her right hand into his. It was cold and clammy. 'I want you to look at me and concentrate on my eyes.'

She bit her lip and nodded. Her blue eyes locked onto his dark. Severus could sense her pain, her fear, and he knew that she could hear his thoughts.

It is going to be alright. Everything will be fine.

Morgaine's face contorted as Madam Pomfrey removed the splinter.

'See, it was not that bad,' Severus said in a comforting voice, tenderly wiping away a tear from her cheek.

For a moment, Morgaine relaxed, but then her eyes widened in fear, and she started gasping for air. Severus looked over his shoulder at Madam Pomfrey.

'The wound is closed,' the nurse whispered. 'I reckon there was enough potion on the splinter to affect her breathing.'

She started murmuring incantations under her breath, and Severus felt a knot in his stomach. He knew that there was no point in having Morgaine take an antidote now, not if the potion had contaminated her blood. He turned back to face her again. He needn't be a Legilimens to sense her fear. He had to calm her down. If she panicked now and started hyperventilating, this would only make matters worse.

He placed his free hand on her cheek. 'Morgaine, look at me and concentrate.'

He heard Dumbledore and at least two more persons enter the classroom, but he didn't take his eyes off Morgaine. 'Come on, Morgaine, you are doing well. Small breaths, steady.'

A spasm went through Morgaine's body, and he could feel her nails digging into his forearm.

'Breathe with me, Morgaine, small breaths. Do you hear me, Morgaine? Morgaine?'

But she didn't hear him, and she had let go of his arm. She had lost consciousness.

Severus found himself being pushed out of the way and saw the two Healers levitate Morgaine out of the dungeon. He wanted to follow but Dumbledore held him back.

'There is nothing you can do now, Severus. Let them do their job.'

At first, Severus tried to break free from the headmaster's grip, but then he gave in. Dumbledore was right of course. There was nothing he could do.

Robotically, he started to dry up the blood on the floor. He was working in a kind of trance. He didn't even hear Dumbledore leaving. It was first when he had restored the classroom to its usual order that he realized that he was alone. He sank onto a chair.

Morgaine had been hurt in his classroom, while she was in his care. She had been hurt because she had tried to protect him. Severus bit his lip. This should not have happened.

He went through the events of the afternoon in his head over and over again, wondering what he could have done to prevent them.

I should have noticed earlier that the cauldron was overheating. I should have put the flames out at once. Why did I think that it would be fun to see the Gryffindors tremble? He closed his eyes, shaking his head. He felt that all of it had been his fault.

After what seemed like hours, he got up and went to change his singed and blood-stained robes. He would have to show himself in the Great Hall.

The mood there was subdued. The whole school knew by now what had happened in the dungeon. Severus walked by the Slytherin table, trying to avoid the curious looks. A small part of him was hoping that everything had just been a bad dream and that he would see Morgaine sitting among her classmates, but he knew she wouldn't be there. When he reached the staff table, he noticed that Dumbledore wasn't there either.

'They have taken Morgaine to St. Mungo's,' McGonagall informed him. 'Dumbledore went along.'

Severus didn't even sit down. He turned on his heels and made his way back to his office. He would Floo to St. Mungo's at once. He needed to see Morgaine. He needed to see her now.

Outside the Great Hall he bumped into Dumbledore. The headmaster looked tired. 'They haven't woken her up yet. So far, she isn't able to breathe on her own.'

For a moment, Severus just stared at the older man, not really taking in his words. Then he turned wordlessly and left for the dungeon. He couldn't face the old man right now, he needed to be alone.

He hurried down the stairs and locked himself in his study. For a while, he was just pacing the room. When he caught sight of the empty armchair in front of the fireplace, he stopped dead in his tracks. Just last evening, Morgaine had been sitting there. She had defeated him miserably at Wizard Chess and hadn't been able to wipe her smug grin off her face the whole evening. And as bad a loser as he was, he hadn't minded because it had been her.

He sank into the armchair opposite the one she used to sit in, his mind strangely empty. And all he did was stare at the empty cushions opposite him.

When morning dawned, he was still sitting there. He had not bothered going to bed, as he wouldn't have found any rest anyway. He showered, changed his robes and went up to the Great Hall. He realised at once that Dumbledore wasn't there. This couldn't mean anything good.

He emptied his mind of all emotions, and his face became an inscrutable mask. But under his robes, he was clenching his fists. He didn't know how he would be able to cope with losing yet another friend.

A/N: Dulcamara is a potion brewed of the leaves of bittersweet (solanum dulcamara, hence the name of the potion). The Dulcamara Potion is a medical potion used to clean the body, as it has a sudorific effect.

If overdosed, solanum dulcamara will cause numbness, cramps and fever and eventually paralyse the respiratory system.