Love at detours // Severus Snape

Chapter 15

It was the last Wednesday before break started and Elena was obviously incredibly nervous about having her first Occlumency lesson with Snape. But first, she had to get through Potions, DADA, and Herbology class.

Elena was pulled out of her thoughts by Snape's typical, imposing entrance. She couldn't suppress a slight smile forming on her lips while she watched her professor. The words he spoke caused her smile to fade, though. "The Draught of Living Death is written in our curriculum and important for your N.E.W.T.," he said and every single student looked like they wanted to get up and leave.

"This time, you will work with a partner, so you dunderheads can at least help each other," Snape continued and Elena rolled her eyes. He undoubtedly had no trust in his students, even though he should believe in his teaching abilities. If no single student manages to brew this potion correctly, it is most probably his fault. Despite that, she turned to Lisa and both of them smiled. They already knew that they wanted to work with each other without a word.

"I will choose the partners", said Snape next and everyone's hope was destroyed by that little sentence. He continued by explaining that this was a measure to make sure that no one will be distracted by talking with their friends. It made sense, but Elena still wanted to work with Lisa or Draco. Secretly she had a bit of hope that Snape would actually allow her to pair up with one of them.

Well, it was obvious that Snape wouldn't do anyone such a favor. She got paired up with Neville Longbottom. He seemed like a nice guy, but she honestly couldn't figure out, how he made it into Snape's Potion class. The Gryffindor boy was terrible in that class. Neville actually seemed like that class felt like torture to him. The only reason why he took that class was, that he would need to take his N.E.W.T.s in Potions for his future career path. Elena did not look forward to brewing with him.

With a sigh she sat down next to the boy and realized that he seemed intimidated by her – at least that was that his gaze told her. She did not know why, though. Maybe because their grades in Potions were the exact opposite? Right then she actually wished to work with Hermione. Still, she managed to make the first step.

She offered to get the ingredients if he got the cauldron – he accepted. So, she made her way to the shelf to get four things: The infusion of Wormwood, a Root of Asphodel, a sloth brain, and last but not least a Sopophorous bean. When she got back, Neville already prepared the cauldron.

Elena smiled at him and added the Infusion of Wormwood. "Would you mind preparing the bean? I can powder the Root of Asphodel," she offered sympathetically, and he nodded. She gave him the tip that the bean should be crushed with a silver dagger instead of being cut. This practice released the juices more efficiently.

After a while, the Slytherin added the powdered Root of Asphodel and stirred the potion twice clockwise. In the meanwhile, Neville finished preparing the juice. Elena added the sloth brain. "Only one ingredient left. Then we have to stir seven times anti-clockwise and one time clockwise," Elena explained and Neville nodded.

She probably should have said that the last ingredient was the juice of the bean, not the bean itself. The Gryffindor added the bean and then started stirring – in the wrong direction. He was so nervous about working with a Slytherin, that he just didn't manage to concentrate. "Neville!", Elena called out, but the mistake was already done... And the cauldron exploded.

Elena felt the potion on her skin, face, and uniform and cursed under her breath. "Mister Longbottom!", Snape sneered. He did not even mention Elena's name, even though she was his partner and had the same responsibility of the potion as Neville.

She wanted to protest but felt too tired to do so. She leaned against the table and sighed – this was the moment Snape saw, how much of the Potion actually hit her.
A panicked expression formed on Severus Snape's face for a fraction of a second. "Class dismissed! Miss Smith, come with me!", he said and the students looked confused. 

Only a few ones who were quite decent at Potions knew what was going on. They recalled Snape's words from the beginning of the term:

The Draught of Living Death brings upon its drinker a very powerful sleep that can last indefinitely. This draught is very dangerous if not used with caution ... This is an extremely dangerous potion. Execute with maximum caution.

Especially because the potion was brewed wrongly, no one was capable of estimating what would happen with their classmate. Elena got up and strolled slowly to the infirmary, together with Snape. In the meantime, the other students got out of the classroom and the incident spread through Hogwarts like wildfire.

After halfway through the way, Elena asked if they could take a break and leaned against a wall. She only wanted to rest her eyes for a second, but she fell asleep. This was the moment Snape knew, that he had to hurry to the infirmary.

When Elena opened her eyes again, she laid in a bed in the hospital wing – again. She vaguely remembered passing out in the halls and sighed. Well, of course working on a potion with Neville wouldn't end well.

On the bedside table next to her were some chocolates and a letter. Surprised she took the letter in her hands and eyed the chocolates with a confused look on her face. She just got a few drops of a potion on her skin, why would someone get her a present?

Carefully, she got the letter out of the envelope. She did not exactly recognize the handwriting of that person, but as soon as she started reading, she knew who it was. As it seemed, Neville got those for her as an apology. She couldn't be mad at him; she actually felt sorry for him. He for sure would get in trouble for this accident.

Poppy got to her, asked how she felt, and did a few checks. The healer explained what happened in case Elena didn't remember everything, but luckily, she did. Of course, she knew that she had been in a dangerous situation. This draught was a serious matter.

A little while later, Poppy left to check on other patients. "Severus, what in Merlin's name are you doing behind the curtains, acting like a worried husband?", Elena heard Poppy said right after she left her alone. A loud, annoyed groan escaped Snape's mouth and Elena couldn't hold back a small chuckle.

Snape entered and asked how Elena felt. She told him that everything was fine; the Potion's effects had already mostly faded. She just was a bit tired. The black-haired professor nodded and couldn't stop himself from glancing at the chocolates and the letter on her bed. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to put those away", she said as she put them back on the bedside table. She did not want to leave a bad impression by not being tidy in the infirmary.

Her teacher handed her the assignments she got in DADA and Herbology, he also told her that they could postpone their lessons if she did not feel fit enough that day. Honestly, she felt like she could fall asleep any second, but she did not want to postpone their lessons. Maybe this was actually a perfect situation. The incident in the Potions' classroom was the only thing present in her mind and that meant, that it wasn't very likely for her Professor to see any other memories she did not want him to see. So, she told him that it would be fine and that she would show up at his office in the evening.

"Also, thank you for saving me back there, Professor," she said as she remembered how she fell asleep in the halls, leaning against the wall.

"Half-blood prince, always at your service," he answered with a little smile on his face – it was barely noticeable for anyone but Elena.