To Protect

110

She looked over to see Harry, Hermione, Ginny and surprisingly enough Fred and George standing over a bed which layed out Ron who was slumbering peacefully with a wet cloth over his head.

"Look who it is, If it isn't my favourite professor and everyone's least favourite professor." Fred spoke boldly now that he knew he couldn't get a detention for saying it.

Severus shot the young man a glare, pointing almost threateningly at Fred, "Knock it off."

The grin that was once worn on Fred's face had dropped completely, but George however, found it very amusing.

Eleanor ignored the bickering and asked Severus's question again, "What happened?"

"Well," Hermione began to answer seeing that Harry wasn't going to respond as he was too busy glaring at Snape. "Slughorn gave him mead and... he didn't know it had been poisoned."

Severus's eyes fell to the floor as he clenched his jaw. He placed his hands on both sides of his waist, he had an idea of what might have happened.

Eleanor stared at him.

"Harry saved his life." Ginny announces mostly to Eleanor, "He shoved a bezoar down his throat. It was very heroic..."

While Eleanor glanced happily to her blush faced nephew, Severus's eyes met Harry's own.

He almost wanted to ask where he learned to do that since he definitely knew the boy didn't learn it from him, but the smile on Eleanor's face brought him to a halt.

"Excuse me?! Only six visitors allowed per patient!" Madam Pomfrey walked in seeing more people standing at Ron's bedside. "There's a sign-"

Severus silenced her as he simply gave her a hand gesture telling her to stop. "Just- give me a moment."

Madam Pomfrey stood there with her arms crossed over another. "Very well then. " She mutters out before she turned on her heal to leave.

The room went quiet.

"I need to go take care of some things anyway." Severus mentions as he began to walk out without another word, but Eleanor followed behind.

They made it just outside the hospital wing before she asked in a hushed tone, "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" His head turned back to her as he kept walking further away from the door so nobody can hear them.

"I saw that look on your face! You have an idea of what's happening at least—"

Suddenly she felt his large hands hold her shoulders, guiding her around to face him so his back was turned towards the entrance of the hospital wing, "Listen, all I know there's some sort of connection with the necklace that poisoned Katie Bell and the mead. I'm going to try to figure out where all of this is coming from."

"How will you do that?"

He released his soft grip on her shoulders, "I figured I'd start with Slughorn, ask him how he got the mead and work my way up."

Although, Severus already knew who he was needing to talk to.

"I'll come with."

Severus hesitantly opened his mouth before he managed to speak, "It's alright. Just look after the kid and I'll let you know what's going on. Besides, I'm sure they need you more than ever right now."

He hated lying to her.

The excuse that escaped his mouth tasted bitter.

Eleanor was doubtful that the kids needed her around, but nodded in response.