Hadrian Romanoff and the Beginning

Chapter-14

Severus watched as Madam Pomfrey carefully checked over his student's body to find the cause of the sudden and bloody injury. He knew that her much more extensive diagnostic of the boy showed the same thing his rudimentary one did.

That Hadrian wasn't injured.

Despite the plain to see wound in the small shoulder, the blood trickling out of the injury, the obvious pain that had been on the boy's face, every diagnostic spell cast showed that there was nothing physically wrong with him.

The results had sent Pomfrey into a tizzy as she did everything she could to figure what was wrong, constantly going between healing the stubborn the wound that would just open up when she turned her back and flipping through the books she kept in her office for some kind of answer.

Hadrian himself laid in the bed closest to her office so she wouldn't have to waste time going all the way to the other side of the infirmary as she flitted back and forth. After he had fallen unconscious from the pain while being moved from the library to the hospital wing, Pomfrey had spelled one of Severus' pain relief potions into his stomach to keep him from having a fretful sleep. His sweaty fringe had been swept back away from his face by an almost mothering Lisa before she and their friends were ushered out of the infirmary. With his face clear of his messy bangs and his thick rimmed glasses, Severus could see the beginnings of a strong jaw and an aristocratic nose.

Severus turned when he heard the infirmary doors slam open. He saw Dumbledore, Minerva, and Filius stalk into the room, curiosity, determination, and grimness on their respective faces.

"Ah, Severus, my boy," Severus resisted the urge to sneer at the headmaster at the address. "I came as soon as I was able. How is the boy?"

Pomfrey answered before the dour professor could say something cutting to his employer. "He's as best as he can be at the moment. With the oddity of the diagnostic spell results not being any help, I've had to consult my archive of injuries and was able to compare it to a familiar wound." The healer walked to the side of Hadrian's bed and felt his forehead with the back of her hand, a concerned look on her face. "It's a stab wound, made by a short, curved blade that was twisted while still inside the flesh before being pulled out roughly. I haven't found any sign of infection, though he does have a fever that has yet to be broken and I'm worried about the amount of blood he's lost. I was just about to give him a blood replenisher."

"Have you found any indication as to what's caused the diagnostic spells to fail?" Filius asked while the others digested the information.

"Not yet. And that worries me." Pomfrey admitted. "I've yet to find any mention of a dark spell that interferes with healing spells the way his wound seems to be doing, though I have found a small passage about a rare poison that feeds off the magic of healing spells to grow stronger and more persistent. The only way to overcome it is to either let it run its course and hope the victim is strong enough to make it or to overload it with as much magical energy has possible."

The healer pulled the thin sheet away from Hadrian's body and peeled away his unbuttoned shirt to show the painful injury in the boy's shoulder. The blood flow had slowed, allowing a look into the jagged tear in the flesh. Pomfrey gently touched the edges of the wound, earning a painful grimace from Hadrian, making her and Severus worry. The pain reliever was wearing off.

Pomfrey turned to the disgusted Minerva whose eyes were glittering dangerously. "If I can't find a magical solution to this soon, I'll have to employ muggle medical practices. His wound will need to be cleaned and stitches will need to be applied."

Minerva nodded in understanding. "He's muggleborn so he won't be too confused about it when he wakes up if it comes to that."

"Has anyone contacted his parents?" Filius piped up.