The Stirring

3 The Hospital Wing

Eóghan McCormack rushed panting into the hospital wing, carrying Feral's limp form. Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey looked up from the potions they were discussing. The matron was struck by how small Miss Feral appeared cradled against the boy's broad chest. He laid the girl gently onto a cot as she hurried towards them.

"Ah don't know what happened... one minute she was fine, the next she was hot and shaking and then she- she fainted," Eóghan stuttered.

"Where were you? Did she collapse?" Madam Pomfrey asked urgently.

Eóghan rubbed his face roughly with one large hand. "Uh... well no, cus she was lyin' down."

"Where?" the matron pressed.

"On my bed." Eóghan grimaced and looked away. He knew it sounded bad. There was silence as Madam Pomfrey appraised the flushed and sweaty girl lying unconscious in front of her.

"Mister McCormack, look at me." Madam Pomfrey's tone was low and serious. "I will have no reason to believe anything untoward occurred unless you refuse to tell me this instant exactly what happened."

"Em... well we were...kissin' in my room..."

The matron continued to listen while crouched over Róisín, whispering charms. The potions professor had his razor sharp gaze fixed on Eóghan, his features laced with suspicion. Eóghan started to sweat.

"Did anything about Miss Feral seem odd at this stage?" Snape's voice was smooth like a snake unwinding.

"Em... Ah suppose she was a wee bit warm, and em... panting a little, but I thought that was because she was... Ah thought it was natural, given the situation."

"So in your arrogance you chose to believe that her symptoms were simply... a manifestation of her desire?"

"No, Ah didn't choose tae believe anythin', Ah just didn't realise that-"

"Watch your tone McCormack," Snape spat.

Eóghan took in a sharp breath and ran his hands through his unruly hair.

"I've placed a cooling charm on her and slowed her heartbeat." The nurse's voice cut through the tension as she herded the two men away from the bed. "The most important thing now is that she rest. Mister McCormack, this is not the first time Miss Feral has ended up in my wing after liaising with you. It is of utmost importance that you tell us exactly what happened before she lost consciousness."

Eóghan sighed. "She was helping me with an arithmancy assignment, and then uh... we started kissing. I was on top of her... kissing her neck.. and she was uh... moanin' I suppose and grabbing my sides."

"Did you get her consent before engaging in such activities?" Snape's voice was icy.

"Of course I did," Eóghan replied indignantly.

"Her voiced consent?"

"She never said no."

"She shouldn't have to," Snape snarled.

"She climbed onto my bed."

"So this is her fault."

"What? No - I didn't say that."

Madam Pomfrey could smell the testosterone in the air. She didn't believe that this was McCormack's fault, or that he had taken liberties with Feral; however they needed answers if they were to find out what was wrong with the poor girl.

"When exactly did she lose consciousness?" she asked.

"Uh... I'm not sure," Eóghan muttered.

"What do you mean... you're not sure," Snape sneered.

"Well, at that point I wasn't focused on her face."

"You said you were kissing her."

"I was kissing her elsewhere," Eóghan snapped.

"Thirty points from Ravenclaw for blatant disregard for the wellbeing of your peer."

"How is giving a girl head, disregard for her wellbeing?" Eóghan shouted.

"Another ten for vulgar language," Snape retorted.

"What the f-"

"Enough!" Eóghan's curse was cut short by Madam Pomfrey. "Mister McCormack, please return to your dormitory. You may visit Miss Feral in the morning."

"But I should stay with her."

"Nonsense, she will be perfectly fine in my care."

Eóghan stormed from the hospital wing. After he had left the matron turned to the potions professor.

"Severus, was it entirely necessary to interrogate the boy like a criminal? They are both of age."

Snape ignored her question, his back rigid.

"You said this was not the first time she had been ill after being with McCormack?"

Pomfrey sighed and nodded. "Towards the end of September she came to me herself. She had similar symptoms although they were less severe; fever, panting etcetera, and obviously she was conscious. She told me she had been kissing McCormack on the quidditch pitch when she was hit with a bout of extreme nausea and rushed here."

Snape's brow furrowed in thought.

"Her effunde naturae potion was ruby," he stated.

"And that means?" Snape raised his eyebrows in response. "Severus, not all of us have the one hundred or so colours and traits at the top of our heads."

"One hundred and twenty-one is the number of possible traits, at least that we know of. Ruby signifies lust."

"Oh." Madam Pomfrey frowned in consideration. "Is a ruby effunde brew unusual?"

"I had never before encountered it in all my years of teaching. Although there are other possible colours I have never seen, such as salmon pink for obedience." His tone implied that that did not surprise him.

"Do you think it has some significance in regards to Miss Feral's condition?"

"I don't know. It appears that both times she has been ill it was the result of engaging in sexual behaviour," Snape mused. "Has she had any other issues this year?"

"Well she came to me at the beginning of October because she was suffering from menstrual cramping. I gave her some pain relieving potions. It's not a very unusual complaint, a couple of girls come to me with the issue every month."

Snape frowned and began to list the symptoms,

"A ruby effunde, painful menstrual periods, fever and nausea when engaging in sexual behaviour-"

"That's not necessarily the case; she could engage plenty and feel no effects, maybe it only occurs with McCormack."

Snape raised his eyebrows, he hadn't considered that.

"I'll take a sexual history from her tomorrow," Madam Pomfrey continued. "And then we can figure out what's wrong with the poor girl."