Pride & Polyjuice (Professor Snape Story)

Chapter 24

Inside sparkled a small ring that was gold with two small accent Aquamarine stones on either side of the center stone. I stared agape at the ring and snapped the box shut. Quickly sticking my head down in the textbook. A pit in my stomach growing larger the longer I waited. Class seemed like it would never end, partially due to the windows snapped shut and no way to figure out the time. I was at least sixty percent sure that it was psychological warfare.

Time crawled like blood under a bruise as I waited and waited, flipping pages to preoccupy myself, distracting my hands from reaching into my pockets again to fiddle with the gorgeous ring. Within five minutes I caved and opened the box beneath the desk, slipping my finger through the space and sliding it onto my hand, it seemed to sparkle on my right ring finger almost sparkling despite the dreadful lighting. And then almost as soon as the satisfaction entered my brain...

Pain.

It felt as though someone had grabbed ahold of my hand and twisted, pain shooting into my arm and up it, feeling as though it was venom that had been on the ring. I wasn't sure if it was the room vibrating or if it was just me. To my left, Astoria instantly turned and opened her mouth, I think she was saying something but I couldn't hear anything outside of the ringing in my ears. The pain had reached up my shoulder spanning both up into my neck and down my ribcage. I vaguely remember a sweeping black cloak rushing around feet before falling into nothingness.

When I awoke I had felt like I had consumed enough fire whiskey to down a giant. My body was stiff and I tasted something resembling metal in the back of my throat. I regret the moment I opened my eyes, as I found out that the usually dulled lighting of the hospital wing felt like fluorescent lights, harsh and loud. I cringed my eyes shut again. Though I felt someone lift my left hand.

"Ally." Draco.

I tried to speak but what came out was a croak. I frowned. That's not what I meant. I lifted my unoccupied hand to touch my neck, and noticed pain shooting through my body again. I cringed hard.

"Here." A cold glass was pressed into my hand, low enough that I didn't have to sit up very much to drink without spilling. Though my throat still felt sore I started feeling almost human.

"If you keep this up, Mother is going to insist you be homeschooled." He joked, though I didn't find his humor appealing at the moment.

"What...happened?" I stuttered opening my eyes again and swallowing the discomfort.

"You scared Professor Snape into a heart attack from what I hear. Cursed ring." He clarified, sounding incredibly angry.

"Who-"

"We don't know." he said frustrated, though I'm sure Father would be on it insanely fast, at least moving to take someone to court. As his usual process. "Get some rest. Ally. Don't worry you've only been asleep about five hours." I nodded once as his gave my hand a squeeze and placed a kiss on my forehead before withdrawing and disappearing beyond the grand wooden doors.

Almost as soon as I found a comfortable position to go back to sleep the doors opening again startled me awake. I almost felt like groaning until I saw that it was the headmaster who had come in. Quickly noticing that I was the only one in the infirmary I felt a sinking feeling.

"Ah, Miss Malfoy, it seems we should almost reserve a bed for you." He smiled, and though the words coming from anyone else would have sounded rude the twinkling in his eyes made me feel at peace.

"What is it, sir?" I asked curiously, though mostly knowing what he was going to ask.

"About earlier," he peered over his half moon glasses,

"I'm sorry, I don't know where it came from, or who." I preemptively answered. He nodded in a way which made me feel like he was humoring some script. Silence rested comfortably between us, as my eyes still worked to adjust to the light, every breath felt like residual shards of glass were inching through my veins.

"Ah, that is a shame." He stopped to half smile. "Perhaps you should try to keep yourself out of trouble, I'm sure your head of house is quite worried." I felt like laughing. "It seems as though you're trying to get his attention." he stated almost like a thought that had slipped out without his knowing.

"Well, Sir, in all honesty I'm just trying to see if he's physically capable of anything aside from a scowl." I replied offhandedly. The tall white haired man chuckled.

"Oh, I don't doubt that you are capable making him change." He almost whispered. So softly I wasn't sure he said anything at all.

"Sir?" I asked, but without answering he turned to make his away out of the hospital wing and to Merlin knows where. He was quite an odd old man, but I couldn't say I wasn't fond of him and his random conversations.

That night Madame Pomfrey allowed me to leave under the condition that I went straight to my bed and stayed there. To which of course I agreed, nestling up into the warm comforter with the mysterious book, I had almost finished it, and although I was almost positive I had never read it before, I felt a sense of nostalgia as I held the worn book in my hands.