The Half-Blood Princess

A Prank Gone Wrong

Professor Sprout was a brilliant witch, despite being a bit too bubbly for Harley's liking. However, she did enjoy Herbology class, and this year's was shaping up to be great. They were learning about poisonous plants, and then, in connection, would be making antidotes for them in Potions class with Snape.

They were working with a deadly plant called conium maculatum, a form of hemlock so deadly that accidentally ingesting one bit of sap or piece of leaf could stop a person's heart and cause seizures, often nervous system paralysis, ending in death.

"In this lesson, we will be learning how to collect the sap from the base of the plant, the poison of which Professor Snape will teach you how to use to make an antidote for," Professor Sprout said. "Now, I have done this class every year with the sixth year students for eighteen years, and never once have we had an accident, which is a record," she said, before passing out gloves and goggles to keep poison out of the student's systems.

Harley studied the directions and began milking the plant with her wand, concentrating particularly hard on the thinner ends. She was concentrating so hard that when she heard her name being called from the righthand side of her, she looked up automatically, opening her mouth to say, "What." She saw Alicia's grinning face and tasted something bitter before she felt her body start to seize up, and then she felt and saw nothing at all.

"Professor Snape! Professor Snape, help!"

Severus had been walking down the main hall, getting ready to gather the products of Sprout's sixth year Herbology lesson when he heard two voices screaming his name in unison. He turned, seeing the Weasley twins running as fast as they could, holding an unconscious form between them. His heart stuttered when he saw Harley, foam at her lips and completely limp.

"What happened?" He asked, trying to keep the panic from his voice.

"Hemlock. Alicia...please, you have to help her!" Fred cried, breathing hard.

Snape took his limp daughter in his arms, giving orders. "George, you go get Dumbledore, immediately. His password is 'Fizzing Whizbees'. Fred, take this," he handed him a small key, "and get the antidote from my stores. It is clearly marked. Bring it to Madam Pomfrey's. Hurry!"

Both boys ran off and Severus dashed as fast as he could to the infirmary, cursing the charm that kept people from Apparating and Disapparating inside of Hogwarts. He burst into the hospital wing, where Pomfrey was attending to a small student who had apparently wandered into the Forbidden Forest.

"What on Earth happened?" Poppy asked, shocked at the sight if Harley, who was now turning an alarming shade of white so pale, she was nearly blue. He deposited her on a bed, loosening her tie more than the twins had and removing her robe so she could breathe easier...not that she was breathing well, in any case.

Fred arrived with a bottle of the antidote a moment before George came with Dumbledore. Severus barely noticed any of them as he dripped out a tablespoon of the antidote and gave it to Harley. He leaned against the hospital cot, watching intently. If he had gotten to her in time, she should start to breathe normally in moments. If he had been too late...he could not think of it.

Harley's breathing hitched, and she coughed up green foam. Severus turned her over so she would not choke and sighed. This was a good sign...for now. Not noticing the quizzical looks the twins were giving him, he gently cleaned her mouth and shirt of the poisonous residue.

He whirled around, facing Albus and the twins. "What happened to her?" He demanded.

Fred cleared his throat, looking shell-shocked, and said, "We were all just doing our work. Harley was in between Alicia and I, like she normally is. All of a sudden Alicia called her name. I looked up, too, because she and Alicia don't like each other and it was odd for her to be calling for Harley. Alicia used her wand to send some of the sap right into Harley's mouth. There might have been a leaf, too.