Hard to Come By

Chapter 16

It feels like they've walked aimlessly in circles since leaving the great hall. Quirrell has now come to, fully, and is walking behind them with a cower.

And poor Y/N, she still looks as on edge as she did when they left the hall in the first place. Suddenly, they hear a crash and children screaming from the girls bathroom down the corridor.

The group looks at each other quickly and start sprinting to the bathrooms. Or at least everyone but Severus tries to sprint. Theres a grunt, then suddenly, a thunderous bang. Minerva and Quirrell are the first to arrive followed by Y/N and finally Severus.

Severus steps further into the girls room so he can get a clear look at the situation. Of course the Potter boy is involved, and on the anniversary of Lily's death. The one subject he never wanted to cross his mind. It's been ten years tonight since she was slain in the war.

When Minerva asked what happened, it looked as if Potter and the Weasley boy were going to admit to their wrong doing, but then Miss Granger takes the blame.

Out the corner of Severus' eye he can see Potter staring at him with a strange look on his face. He trails his gaze to his ripped and bloody pant leg. Severus jerks his arm so his cloak covers him fully, sending the boy a glare.

Minerva punished the children, and in the same breath rewarded them, and sent them off to their dormitories. They all walked out into the hall after summoning Dumbledore to the girls bathroom.

Severus' body is exhausted and his mind is hazy from this evenings events. Dumbledore informs them that he'll handle removing the troll and that everyone should go back to their chambers for the night.

Y/N quickly walks to Severus' side and he offers to walk her to her rooms. At this point after all the walking and running around he feels his leg begin to throb again. He does his best to disguise the limp, but as they approach Y/N's door she notices something is off.

"Are you ok," she asks gently, "you're walking kinda funny." Her eyes fill with concern as she looks to him. And this blasted woman, before he notices, flings his cloak open and reveals his leg. She gasps out, quickly unlocking her door and pulling them both into her living room.

"What the fuck is that? Oh my god!," she whisper yells at Severus, panic overtaking her voice. He hobbled over to the couch and plops down, taking the weight off his leg. She runs to her bathroom and he can hear frantic clinking and shuffling. She comes breezing out the bathroom with her arms full of potions and medical supplies.

"Will you calm yourself," he asks her exhaustedly. He lifts his leg and places it on the coffee table to elevate it. "No I will not. How long have you been walking around with that? How did you even get a wound like this Severus," she kneels on the floor next to his leg and places the bottles and gauze wraps on the table next to her. "I'm fine, it's just a small wound, nothing to be worried about," he tells her, "I had already stopped the bleeding."

He feels her small hands gingerly roll up the leg of his pants so that everything below the knee is exposed. "What the fuck," she whispers to herself as she examines the wound, and he lets her. Frankly, he's too tired to deal with it himself.

Out the corner of his eye he see her face pale, "this looks like a bite. What bit you? Do we have another beast in Hogwarts? Holy shit, it's deep."

She grabs a bottle off the table and a towel. She cups her toweled hand under his calf and raises the bottle, "this is going to sting, darling, ok?"

"What are you-," he's cut off by a cold stinging sensation that spreads throughout the extent of the wound. He clenches his teeth and hiss, not being fully ready for the pain.