Chapter 4: The Draught of Living Death

The following Monday, Alex went to the Great Hall for breakfast at 8:00.  Severus had already left.  Alexandra stopped to talk to Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

"What's your first class today?" she asked.

"Double potions," groaned Ron and Harry together.

"I'm going to sit in, guys.  It should be fun."

"Don't count on it," said Ron.

"I think we'll be doing a very difficult potion today.  It should be interesting," said Hermione. 

At that moment Snape walked into the Great Hall and came to their table.  He looked at Alexandra and said in a cold tone of voice,  "Good morning, Miss Lennox.  Would you mind coming with me to my classroom?  I need your assistance since you will play a part in today's class, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, Professor Snape."  She turned to Harry and said, "See you in a while."

As they walked out of the Great Hall, Alex turned to Snape.  "So, I take it you want to poison me."

"What on earth gave you that idea?" he said in a sarcastic tone.

"Well, you haven't exactly been my best friend, and love potions aren't your style."

"I don't think you are an authority on my ‘style', as you put it," he said somewhat defensively.

"Okay.  That's fair.  So what are you going to do to me, make me sprout something awful or make me do something embarrassing?"  I've got his number all right.  He wants to put me through something hard just to make me look bad in front of Harry. 

They entered his classroom and he motioned for her to sit in a chair next to his desk.  She noticed a cot was placed at the front of the classroom. 

"Alexandra, do you know how to make the Draught of Living Death?"

"Yes, I think so.  That's a sleeping potion that has asphodel root and wormwood in it, right?"

"So you did learn something here besides how to sneak out after hours."

Jerk, she thought but said nothing.  Snape handed her a list of ingredients.  "At the top is the list of ingredients in the potion.  At the bottom is the list of ingredients in the antidote.  Are you allergic to any of these?"

She read over the two lists.  "Not that I know of."

"Very well.  If you are not afraid to take this potion, I'll have the class make the antidote and test it on you.  Of course, I understand if you don't want to take it."

"Sure, I'll do it," she said without hesitation, looking at him with a crooked smile.  "So you want to turn me into Sleeping Beauty, but you won't awaken me with a kiss?"

He was clearly surprised by her remark but blurted out, "The students do need to learn how to make the antidote, but I don't think they need to be taught . . . er. . . the other."

"Good point," she said.  But, what about you? she thought.

"I must ask you if you have any other sensitivities, like a weak heart or any other problem.  And because you are a woman, I must ask whether there is any possibility that you are . . . expecting?"

Alexandra laughed out loud.  "Excuse me?  Expecting what, a miracle?"

He made a face.  "You know what I mean."

"Well, thanks for noticing that I'm a woman, Severus." She laughed again.  "As far as I know, I'm healthy and definitely not pregnant."

"All right," he began.  "You may sit wherever you like and listen to the lecture.  The students will start making their antidote and then I'll call you forward to drink the potion I have made.  You will have to sit on the cot because it works rather quickly and the Headmaster would not want you to fall and hit your head.  I will choose one person to give you the antidote.  If it doesn't work, I have some ready in reserve and I have a special potion ready in case you do have a reaction."

"Sounds like you have it under control," she said.  He went to a lot of trouble just to get back at me for coming to his class.  He must really hate me, she thought.  I don't get it-but I'm not backing down.

* * *

The bell rang and the students came in.  Alexandra sat at the back of the room with a quill and parchment in front of her.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione waived at her as they came in.  The Slytherins looked at her with curiosity.  She smiled at Malfoy, who stared blankly at her. 

Snape began his lecture in a quiet tone of voice, "Now that you have studied the art of potion-making for four years, it is time to test your ability to perform under pressure.  Miss Lennox has volunteered to take the Draught of Living Death.  You will be making the antidote.  I will choose one of you to revive her.  Keep in mind that you have only one hour to revive her or she will never wake again."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other and then back at Alex.  The rest of the class was murmuring and casting glances back in her direction as well.  "Surely he won't let anything happen to her," said Hermione.  "It would cause a diplomatic incident."

"Quiet down, everyone.  Listen carefully or your potion will not work.  There may come a time when a life depends on your ability to concentrate."  Snape held their attention with ease as he explained the ingredients in both potions and how they work.  After he was done, the students got their cauldrons out and started preparing the antidote.  He walked among them, correcting any errors, but this time he was not sarcastic or rude.

While they were in the last stages of preparation, he walked over to Alexandra and said, "Are you ready?"

"You mean now that you've properly scared me?  Yes."

He took her elbow and led her to the front of the room.  She sat on the cot, and he gave her a glass containing a thick green liquid.  She drank it and said, "You know, this doesn't taste bad."  She had a bit more and put her hand to her forehead.  "I don't feel very well, Severus."  Alex slumped over.  Snape caught her and laid her down.  He checked to see if she was breathing, and so far everything was all right.

He looked up at the clock.  "Five more minutes and I will choose one of you to give her the antidote.  Remember, you must give the right amount.  Have you made the calculation?"

They all nodded.  Four more minutes passed slowly by, and he said, "Mr. Malfoy, come forward with your vial and administer the antidote."  Harry was angry.  Why should Malfoy get to do it? She's my godmother and he probably knows that!

Draco seemed nervous as he approached the front of the room.  Snape opened Alexandra's mouth with a dropper and handed the dropper to Draco, who counted out five drops.  "That's correct.  The antidote should take effect in about ten minutes," said Snape.  Snape then walked over to his desk and picked up two vials, sweeping back to look at her.  

They waited and all at once everyone realized that something was very wrong.  She started gasping and her lips were beginning to turn blue.  Snape said in a surprised tone of voice, "She must be having a reaction to the antidote.  Potter, get up here and hold these!" he yelled at Harry, handing him the two vials he was holding in his hands.  Snape tilted her head back to open her airway and bent over her to see if she was breathing at all.  He felt for a pulse.  Snape pinched her nose and blew air into Alexandra's mouth.  He looked up at the students, panic creeping into his dark eyes.

"Finnegan, go and get Madame Pomfrey right away.  Use the fireplace in my office.  The Floo powder is on the mantle."  Then he turned to Hermione and said, "Granger, come here.  Do you know what CPR is?"

"Yes, Professor.  I know what to do."  It's a good thing Hermione knows so much, thought Harry.

"When I signal you, start massaging her heart.  Potter, hand me the vial with the clear liquid."  Harry gave it to him.  Snape ripped the stopper off and poured some down her throat.  "Now, Granger."

While Hermione started pumping Alexandra's chest, Snape tilted her head back again.  Under his breath, Harry heard him say, "Alexandra, please don't drift away."  He continued blowing air into her mouth.

"Keep going, Granger."  Snape opened her mouth again and blew into her mouth trying to get her to breathe.  After what seemed like a long time, she took a sputtering breath.  She was still unconscious.  Madame Pomfrey came over to them with a horrified look on her face and said, "Bring her up to the hospital wing right away."

Rather than bother with a stretcher, Snape picked her up and carried her.  The students stood in stunned silence.  As they left the room, he said, "Potter, go and get Professor Dumbledore quickly.  Weasley, bring that list on my desk, those two vials Potter is holding, and some of Malfoy's antidote."

By the time Harry arrived with Professor Dumbledore, Ron and Draco Malfoy were waiting.  For once, they were not hostile to one another.  They were too shocked. Ron held them at the door.  "They're still working on her.  Madame Pomfrey is furious and Snape won't leave."  Professor Dumbledore swept past them.

"Poppy, how is she?" he said with a worried look.

"She's breathing and her heart is beating regularly, but I can't wake her," she said, giving Snape a very angry look.

Dumbledore turned to Snape and said, "I take it you tried to find out if she was sensitive to any of the ingredients in the potions?"

"Yes, of course," Snape said impatiently.  "I want to try an alternate antidote, but I'm not sure what caused the reaction."

"Poppy, as I recall, you received an extensive medical report on her from her agency."

"Yes, I just pulled it out to look at it.  So far, I haven't seen anything that would cause this problem."

"Very well.  Let me contact her brother and see if he has any ideas."  Dumbledore left and Harry and Ron watched as Snape poured over her medical records.  "I think I have it.  Don't we call wild hyoscyamus by a different name?"

"I'm not sure, Professor," said Madame Pomfrey.

"Let me take this to Dumbledore while he's speaking to her brother.  It might be the key.  We can make the antidote without it and it will still work."  Snape grabbed some Floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.  When he came out in Dumbledore's office, he saw that Dumbledore was speaking into the bewitched telephone that Alexandra had given him.   

"Of course, Michael, she read the ingredients herself and told Severus that she had no problem with any of them."

Snape motioned to Dumbledore who said, "Severus thinks he's found something."

Snape took the device, not really knowing what to do, but imitating Dumbledore, he said, "Michael, there is a plant we use in this antidote called henbane.  Is it wild hyoscyamus in the U.S.?"

Dumbledore watched as Snape listened to Michael talk. "That's it!" Snape said excitedly.  "She didn't know what that was, I'm sure.  I can make the potion without it in about five minutes."  Snape left Dumbledore's office and ran down to his dungeon, his hair falling over his face and his robes billowing behind him.  Snape was frantic as he entered the classroom.  Hermione Granger had stayed behind, but the other students were gone.  "May I help, Professor?"

"Yes.  Get a fresh cauldron from the shelf, then go and tell Madame Pomfrey that I'll be there in a few minutes with the potion.  I have the answer."

He worked feverishly over a big fire.  In about two minutes the ingredients were simmering away.  Five minutes later, he was pouring the liquid into a container and stepping back into the fireplace.  Dumbledore was waiting for him with Madame Pomfrey.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco Malfoy watched as Snape administered five drops of the antidote.  More than an hour had passed, but it seemed that Madame Pomfrey was not concerned.  "You gave it to her in time, Severus.  It's all right," she said. 

The next ten minutes were torturous.  Harry sat next to his godmother.  Snape didn't try to stop him, nor did he say anything.  He just sat on the other side of her, watching her breathe.  Alex began to stir.  Hermione and Madame Pomfrey gasped.  Malfoy and Ron looked at each other as she opened her eyes and looked at Snape.  "Severus, what's wrong?  You look like you've been through a tornado."  She reached up and pushed the hair out of his eyes.  She looked at Harry and smiled.  "Harry, what happened?  Why am I here?" she said in a dreamy voice.

Madame Pomfrey spoke up.  "It's not enough to have the students doing foolish things, but you two should have known better.  You had an allergic reaction to the antidote."

Malfoy said,  "It was my antidote, but I don't think I did anything wrong."

"No, Mr. Malfoy, it is simply a matter of language difference, although in theory, we speak the same language.  She did not know that that she was allergic to henbane," Professor Dumbledore told them.

"And I was too stubborn to ask what it was," she said somewhat sheepishly.  "Draco, this was not your fault.  I thought I knew what I was getting into," said Alex.  She turned to the students and said, "Why don't you go back to your classes.  I'm fine now."

"Are you sure, Alex?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape in private," she said.  After they left, Madame Pomfrey gave them a disapproving look and left as well.  Dumbledore took her hand and said, "Alexandra, you gave us quite a scare."

"It's my own fault.  I never thought to look at my medical information before showing off that I wasn't afraid of anything that Severus could throw at me."

"I think, my dear, that you and Severus have nothing more to prove to one another.  I hope you will both remember that.  I'll leave you now and go tell your brother that you are fine."  Dumbledore left Alexandra alone with a very pale and tired Snape.

"Severus, sit down.  You're a wreck."

"Alexandra," he said taking her hand.  "You know I never would have allowed . . . I mean I wouldn't do anything . . ."

"Yes, I know.  It's all right, Severus," she said gently and squeezed his hand.  She tried to sit up.

"Let me help you," he said, putting his arm around her.  "Do you want something?" 

"Just help me sit up, Severus."  He grabbed a pillow with one hand, gently pulled her up, and placed her back on the pillow.  She looked up at him with a smile on her face and said, "So, there is a sweet side to you."

"Alexandra, be serious."  Then he looked away and said, "I'm so sorry."

"Wow!  You apologized.  Are you trying to shock me to death now?" she said with a wry smile.  Then she noticed that he looked distressed and said, "Severus, I know you didn't intend for this to happen.  Don't worry about it.  I think you need to get back to your classroom and fix up for your afternoon session.  Come back and see me later.  I have a feeling I'll be here for a few hours." 

"I'll be back as soon as my classes are over," he said.  Alex tugged at his sleeve and motioned for him to bend over.  She kissed him on the cheek as Madame Pomfrey walked back in and cleared her throat.  He was quite shocked and pulled away quickly.

"You need to sleep now, Miss Lennox, if Professor Snape will allow it."  He left and Alex changed into a hospital nightdress.  She went to sleep quickly.  As Severus walked down to the dungeon, he allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief, touching his hand over the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him. 

*  *  *

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco Malfoy walked back to the Great Hall for lunch in silence.  When the three friends arrived at the Gryffindor table, they were hit with a barrage of questions. 

"Is she all right, then?" asked Seamus.

"Yes," said Harry, "Professor Snape figured out what she had reacted to and made a different potion.  She woke up just a few minutes ago."

"You mean that slime Malfoy didn't poison her?" asked Dean.

"No, can't blame him this time," said Ron. 

"That's a class I'll never forget," said Neville.

The three friends sat in a corner and ate quickly.  Hermione finally spoke up.  "I've never seen Professor Snape act like that before.  He was frantic with worry."

"I have to admit," said Harry, "I usually hate him and he hates me, but today something else was going on."

"You don't think they  . . ." Ron was interrupted by Harry.

"No!" he exclaimed.  "She likes Sirius.  She has to."

"Harry," said Hermione in a soft but firm tone, "You can't choose for her.  Maybe she's meant to bring out something good in Snape.  She certainly did today."

"But they're so different," said Ron.  "She's always laughing and having fun and he's so. . . so vile."

"Ron, don't you see that perhaps they complement each other?" asked Hermione.

"Since when have you become the resident expert on relationships?" asked Ron.

"I happen to think that opposite personalities can work well together," she said, giving Ron a funny look and going a little pink.  "It's like my parents.  I have had a long time to watch them after all."

Harry looked at his two friends and thought he could see Hermione's point.  "Well, we'd better head to class.  I can't stand to think about the two of them together anymore."