Chapter 6
Hermione slowly opened the mysterious door. As soon as she walked over the threshold, she felt a massive pressure in her head, as if someone was physically trying to dig through her brain and pull it out of her skull.
“Miss Granger!”
Hermione heard Professor Snape as if she were underwater. Respect toward teachers and other authority figures demanded she turn and pay attention to him, but the pounding in her head forbade her from focusing on anything other than the pain she was currently in.
“Miss Granger!” Professor Snape yelled again.
She could barely hear him over the screaming. It took her a moment to realize it was her that was screaming.
The last thing she saw before she passed out was the potion master’s dark eyes looking at her with concern and confusion.
*******
As his new Slytherin student’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she crumpled to the floor, Severus automatically caught her before she could hit her head on the concrete of the dungeon. He was baffled as to what could possibly be going on. Severus had heard of myths of secret rooms only certain people could access; he was starting to think the myths had some truth to them. After all, the Chamber of Secrets was proven to be real just a couple years prior. What’s to say it was the only myth that truly existed in the thousand-year-old castle?
Severus awkwardly lifted Miss Granger up into his arms. His gaze flicked across the room, taking it in quickly. He saw a bed and walked over to it and deposited his student on it. Waving his wand, he ran a couple diagnostic spells over her. Physically she was fine. Mentally was another issue.
He couldn’t see exactly what she was experiencing, but the brain activity readings were concerning; they were all over the place and fluctuating at weird intervals.
“Wrinkly!” Severus barked.
A second later, a house elf in a pillowcase with the Hogwarts crest appeared.
“How cans Wrinkly be serving Master Snape?” the old elf asked in a croak.
“I need you to watch Miss Granger,” he ordered. “I need to run some tests. I will be back shortly. Alert me if her condition changes.”
The house elf nodded and turned his attention to the girl.
With a wave of his hand, Severus summoned a small phial. Pulling the bandage on her hand back, he siphoned a couple drops of Miss Granger’s blood and guided it into the jar. With a twirl of his black cloak, he spun around and hastily stalked to his personal potions lab.