Potion seizure

Waking up

A low snoring founds its way through the darkness, a grounding sound even with a splitting headache. Y/N tried to move her arm in order to hold her head as an intense jolt of pain rushed through one side of her skull. She was unsuccessful as her entire body felt like it was made of lead. Slowly, she attempted to open her eyes, but was yet again met with a heavy feeling. A low grunt in annoyance slipped through her lips.

The snoring next to her abruptly stopped and the sound of someone moving followed.

"Miss Y/N?" a voice called. A man, she thought. It sounded familiar, but she could not place it as her head was still swimming in a world of colours.

"Y/N? Can you hear me?" the same voice asked. Something was different. The voice sounded concerned, but something made her think of the voice as cold. A sudden warmth emerged from something touching her arm, a hand. Once again, she tried to open her eyes to see who was there. All she could do was let another sound slip through her clenched teeth.

"No talking, alright. I understand," said the voice, removing the hand. She shook her head in an attempt to tell whoever was there to not leave her. The hand returned, rubbing up and down her arm in a soothing motion.

"It's alright. I am not leaving, just relax," the man said reassuringly. Y/N calmed down and was once again dragged into the darkness.

Severus let out a breath he had no idea he was holding. His student had been semi-conscious for a few minutes. That's an improvement, he thought. Once he was sure she was asleep, he stood up, stretched his aching body and went to get Madam Pomfrey. Upon finding her writing notes in the adjoined room, he informed her of the condition of the student. Poppy nodded and wrote down the information provided.

Professor Snape went back to the uncomfortable chair to continue reading his book from before he fell asleep.

An hour later Y/N started to move on the bed. Severus dropped the book immediately, moving closer to her. He placed a warm hand on her shoulder, an anchor to bring her back.

"Miss Y/N, open your eyes," he coached. His own eyes were clued to her face, watching every little movement in hope of her waking up. She did, her eyes opened slowly and looked sluggish. The world was blurred, and everything smelled clean. Seeing the girl attempt to sit up, Severus quickly helped. He placed a pillow behind her upper body so she could lean back comfortably.

Just as Severus was about to ask her a few questions, Poppy came running from her office. The alarms had set off the second Y/N woke up, informing the healer of the improvement in condition. Madam Pomfrey ran a diagnostic charm again and gave her the appropriate potions to help her recover.

"Drink these and we should have you out and about before you know it. I'll be back in a minute," Poppy told Y/N, smiling sweetly at her. She did as she was told and downed all three phials. The last one left an awful taste in her mouth, leaving her face scrunched up as if having bitten into a sour lemon. Severus let out a small chuckle at the look. It had been him brewing the potion, so he very well knew how awful it was.

"Are you able to talk now?" Professor Snape asked as he conjured a class of water, letting it slip into her hands. Y/N stared at the water for a minute before taking small, slow sips. Her entire body felt off in a way she could not explain.

"Miss Y/N?" Snape called her name trying to catch her attention. She looked up at him seeing nothing but another human. Something seemed familiar though, but she had trouble telling what. Her head was still floating on a cloud elsewhere.

"Yes?" she croaked out, staring into his black eyes. Those she knew. Snape, her potion teacher and the Head of Slytherin.

"Good to hear you talking. Do you remember what happened?" he asked in his usual cold tone. It was easier for him to keep up his hard appearance rather than show his true emotions. He was used to it, only a handful of people knew the real him. Minerva and Poppy being two of them.

Y/N thought back to before breakfast. She had felt unusual tired and hardly remembered attending lessons that morning, but she guessed she must had as she had gone to Potion classes, which was located after lunch. Lunch, her stomach growled at the thought of food. She had felt queasy and thereby had skipped eating that day.

The last thing she remembered was staring at the essay in Potion class and then nothing.

"No, Sir. I cannot remember much," Y/N said barely louder than a whisper. Severus shifted uncomfortable on his chair. He was not known for being the bearer of good news, but he preferred not to talk about what he saw. Being him, he had seen countless of awful things during his life, but that scene was amongst the worst.

"Uhm... You had a seizure and banged your head. I believe Poppy would be much better at explaining it than me," he told her, already getting up to find the mediwitch. He scolded himself in his mind over using non important fillers when talking. He needed to gather himself enough to keep up his facade of the 'evil dungeon bat' as others called him.

Y/N was left alone for a while, leaving her to think things over. She had a seizure in class, in front of Snape. That thought of him having seen her in such a vulnerable position sent shivers down her spine. Merlin, could she ever look at him again?

Poppy came back to her bedside with Severus walking a few feet behind. He eyed her carefully before looking away. He took his book in his hands and walked towards the door. Just as he was about to open it, he turned around saying, "you still have detention, but it can wait until tomorrow."

Madam Pomfrey gave him a stern look that made him hurry out of the door. Y/N just sat there with a small smile on her face. She had no recollection of getting a detention, but she expected nothing less from Snape.

"Severus told me that you do not remember much. So, I'll fill you in on the forgotten," Poppy said in her usual tone. "Tea?" she asked. Y/N nodded and thanked her for the offer.

Once the tea was filled into a mug, the healer informed her of everything she had been told by the Professor and the results of her examinations of her.

"... and he stayed here until you woke up," Poppy said, smiling to herself at the thought.

Y/N nearly choked on the tea as she realized he had been the one to hold her arm earlier. An almost crimson red colour covered her cheeks as her eyes went wide.

"Oh yes, Severus is not as cold as he wants everyone to believe," Madam Pomfrey said, noticing the blush on the students face. She gently patted her arm and walked off.