A moment later, she leaned in close to Lucas's ear.

"Ahem!" A cough sounded from behind them both.

Alice spun around in fright. Lucas turned with a show of surprise.

It was Walter, appearing out of nowhere. Lucas was fairly certain he hadn't walked over at a normal pace. He'd probably used his vampire speed to close the distance without warning.

"Professor Walter!" Alice stepped back half a pace.

Walter gave the young witch a gentle, reassuring smile. "It's all right, Alice. I just happened to be passing through — you two can carry on whispering."

To be fair, with Walter's looks and manner, the remark didn't come across as particularly leering.

But this professor apparently had a taste for mischief, because the whole point had been to interrupt them. Having said the piece, Walter didn't linger, walking swiftly between the two of them and leaving the Great Hall.

Lucas was at a loss for words.

He turned to Alice. "What were you about to say?"

"N-nothing." The urge to confide seemed to have been startled right back out of her.

Her companions were calling for her just then, and they looked every bit as scattered as she did, each caught up in their own small chaos.

Alice ran off toward them.

Lucas called after her. "Whatever's going on, keep your wand on you." He had his suspicions that Alice was running some kind of private experiment on the side.

At least whatever a second-year could manage with their magic shouldn't be too dangerous.

He said no more. He left the dormitory and headed for the library.

-----

That evening, Snape was called away by a student while guiding Lucas through a potion in his office.

Lucas heard the messenger's voice, no attempt at discretion. Hospital Wing. Student unconscious. Life force depleted. The Headmaster.

Snape went straight to the potions cabinet for the appropriate remedies. He glanced at Lucas's cauldron. The state of it was not encouraging.

So before leaving, Snape emptied the cauldron and told Lucas to start a fresh batch.

Felix Felicis at this stage of brewing was nothing short of grueling.

Lucas stared at the empty cauldron. After a moment, he went back to the cabinet and pulled out another set of ingredients.

He couldn't help thumping the workbench once.

When he'd arrived at the office today, Snape had done something unusual, instead of sending him to the storeroom to collect ingredients himself, Snape had simply told Lucas to take what he needed from the cabinet directly.

Even as he was gathering the materials, Lucas had wondered: this set seemed suited only for brewing Felix Felicis. What reason was there to prepare three batches at once?

Now he knew.

Lucas laid the ingredients out.

Snape had simply known it would take him three attempts to get it right.

Hah.

He was about to start cutting when the fireplace flared. Snape's voice came through it, rattling off a long list of potion ingredients and ordering Lucas to bring them to the Hospital Wing immediately.

Lucas set down the small knife he'd just picked up.

Even as Snape was still giving the order, Lucas was already sweeping through the office for what was stored there. By the time the list was finished, Lucas was at the door, moving toward the ingredients storeroom.

The Hospital Wing was in chaos.

Lucas arrived with a full bundle of ingredients and spotted Snape at once, casting spells alongside Madam Pomfrey.

Dumbledore arrived at almost the same moment. Dumbledore quickly stepped in to take Snape's place, and Snape came to collect the materials Lucas had brought.

Through the gaps between the adults crowded around the bed, Lucas caught a glimpse of a hand hanging over the side.

Going by that hand alone, he would have said the person was already at death's door.

But as Dumbledore began the incantation, a steady, surging magic filled the space around the bed. The concentration of power was so intense it produced a faint glow, barely visible, but there.

The white curtain partitioning the ward stirred. Slowly, with each pulse of magic being channeled in, some color returned to those hands.

Snape's expression was grave. Snape sorted through what Lucas had brought, prioritized the finished potions, and quickly poured them into the student's mouth using a corner cup.

The patient convulsed violently. Madam Pomfrey was forced to secure the student with restraining bands.

A moment later, the movement subsided.

Dumbledore's tone was heavy. Part of the view was blocked. "Severus — what do you make of this?"

Snape frowned. "He must have come into contact with something extremely dangerous. Whatever it is, it's been feeding on his life force — it doesn't matter how much we replenish, it won't hold. We need to find that object as quickly as possible."

"We need to buy this child time." Madam Pomfrey's face was tight with worry. "The moment we stop, the student will deteriorate rapidly."

Lucas was standing a little further back. Scanning the room, Lucas noticed a heap of black robes on the floor, two shoes sitting beside the pile, separated.

By the look of things, those belonged to the patient.

Lucas crouched down for a closer look. Pausing over the robes for a moment, Lucas drew a wand and levitated them.

The fabric was solid and well-made, but covered in dust and scuff marks. One corner had caught a Dark curse, torn open, barely missing the main body of the garment.

"What are you doing!" Snape crossed the room in a single stride.

Snape yanked Lucas back with force, enough that Lucas stumbled into the bed frame behind him.

The sharp commotion drew the attention of the other two adults. The levitated robes dropped back to the floor.

Lucas rubbed the spot where the collision had landed.

"There might be clues on the robes." Lucas had known the clothing was among the likeliest surfaces to carry traces of Dark magic, which was why a spell had been used rather than direct contact.

"It's all right, Severus. Lucas didn't make direct contact." Dumbledore placed a hand on Snape's arm. "Concern clouds judgment, but I believe Lucas may have something useful to offer."

Lucas noted that this was the second time Dumbledore had asked for input.

A deliberate pause before answering. "The robes are intact. There are marks from a spell attack, but nothing landed. Is the patient someone who duels well? If not, I'd wonder whether the student may have attacked someone else as well."

Lucas was deliberately muddying the trail. It was already established that this person was the wizard who had traded blows in the Room of Requirement.

It was clear now that the student had been under some form of control.

Whatever had controlled the student had made its exit once the job was done, but it had left behind the obvious dust trail with calculated malice. Anyone paying attention could follow that dust straight to the Room of Requirement, and from there to every trace of their chase.

So Lucas needed to blur the focus.

There was also a second problem: this student happened to be a Slytherin. It was one thing for something to happen to the student. Dying mid-term was not acceptable.

"I think the more pressing matter is keeping this student alive." Lucas continued. "I came across something in the library, there's a powerful Petrificus variant that can hold the body's functions fixed at a single moment. That might buy us the time we need."

Dumbledore gave an approving smile. "Yes, I think both your observation and your suggestion are well-founded."

Madam Pomfrey nodded in agreement. "Petrificus combined with periodic magical infusions can prolong the student's life. Albus, you'll need to cast the Body-Bind on the child. After that, every five hours, I will need an adult wizard with me to perform the healing incantations. That should hold things off for several days."

➤ Next: Two Chicken Feathers

Chapter 211 - Two Chicken Feathers

Snape said nothing.

Anyone else standing there might have assumed he simply couldn't bear watching a student receive the headmaster's praise.

Lucas didn't think so.

Lucas seized the moment, noted that he had already delivered the materials, and that there was no reason to linger. He turned to leave, and froze halfway through the motion, pressing a hand against the spot he'd walked into, hissing sharply through his teeth.

Madam Pomfrey let out a startled cry, only then remembering the loud crash from moments before.

Madam Pomfrey shot Snape a disapproving look.

"Let me see that — if you go back like this, your back will be black and blue by tomorrow!" Madam Pomfrey didn't reproach Snape in front of Lucas, but when the shirt was pulled back, a large angry bruise was already spreading across pale skin.

Lucas squirmed and pulled against the fussing.

"Just write me a potion, I can go back and apply it myself..." He was clearly trying to escape.

Then Madam Pomfrey grabbed him by the collar.

Lucas looked desperately toward Snape for help. Snape had cast his gaze downward and seemed to be thinking about something else entirely.

"Madam, I can handle this myself." Lucas had one hand gripping the foot of the hospital bed and the other clutching the hem of his shirt.

Dumbledore watched the opening exchange, then retreated behind the curtain to check on the unconscious students.

It was then that Snape spoke. "Poppy. Just give me the salve."

Madam Pomfrey studied Snape for a moment, then handed over the small application bottle. "Of course. That does seem the most appropriate arrangement."

Then Madam Pomfrey walked away too.

Lucas was caught between staying and retreating.

Snape appeared to be in a poor mood. He unhurriedly unscrewed the cap of the ointment bottle and walked toward Lucas.

Lucas swallowed.

"Lift your shirt." Snape's instruction was brief.

Lucas couldn't quite read him. He detected no trace of Occlumency at work, yet he couldn't decipher Snape's current state.

Lucas exposed the bruised area. The ointment stung; the hem of his shirt kept sliding back down, so he simply bit down on the small corner of fabric to hold it in place.

"Mm!" The moment the salve touched his skin, Lucas stepped back involuntarily.

Snape's touch was actually quite light. The pressure had already been reduced as much as possible.

The scenario Lucas had half-braced for, using the application as a chance to teach him a lesson, never came.

Belatedly, the understanding settled. This was some form of self-reproach from Snape. Perhaps he felt he had let his concern show in front of the headmaster. Perhaps he was simply unwilling to accept that concern could unsettle him at all.

But the ointment was warming across his skin now, and Lucas went quiet.

He couldn't remember the last time someone had applied medicine for him like this.

Had it ever happened at all?

The remaining half-bottle was set down on an empty bed.

Snape had composed himself. He offered no excessive criticism of Lucas's earlier remarks.

He only said, "Curfew is nearly here. I'll walk you back to the dormitory."

Lucas shook his head. "Professor, I can get back on my own. Are you staying to brew the potions? The round trip would waste too much of your time."

He added one reassurance: "I won't wander off."

Snape assessed his expression, and concluded that more time was indeed needed to brew the specialized potions.

Lucas was released from the Hospital Wing.

He spotted Alice near the ground floor of the castle. She was carrying a basket, by the look of it, she'd just made a run to the kitchens.

Alice greeted him first.

Thinking back to the topic left unfinished that morning, Lucas walked over to her.

He checked her magical condition first. He was relieved to confirm that both her magical reserves and her vitality looked normal.

The honey-and-milk stain on Alice's cuff from earlier in the day, though, that still hadn't been dealt with. By now it had dried and turned sour.

It was hardly a stubborn stain. For a wizard, it was the work of one spell.

Lucas drew his wand and vanished the small mark cleanly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I hadn't even noticed — thank you!" Alice's face flushed red at once. She tugged self-consciously at her sleeve.

As she moved, the bottles and jars inside her basket knocked together with a soft clinking sound.

Lucas guessed it still held honey and milk. Alice was probably using them to feed some small creature.

He waited, watching to see if she had something she wanted to say.

An irritating voice reached them at precisely that moment.

The vampire professor Walter rounded a pillar, two brightly colored feathers tucked into his pocket.

Both students greeted him.

Walter turned to Alice. "Curfew is nearly upon us — is there something important the two of you need to discuss here?"

Alice shook her head quickly. "We just happened to run into each other, Professor." She hurriedly said goodbye to Lucas and disappeared with her basket around the far end of the corridor.

Lucas moved to go around Walter as well, but was stopped.

"You're only in second year, Lucas. How wonderful it is to be young, by the time you reach my age, you find there is nothing new under the sun. We all knew what was about to happen just now. I was simply sparing a girl a broken heart."

Lucas was nearly goaded into laughing. This vampire thought Alice had been about to confess to him, and that he would have turned her down on the spot.

The little wizard who smiled warmly at everyone stopped smiling. He looked at Walter and said coolly: "I believe Alice simply wanted to share something that was weighing on her. And you have interrupted her twice today already."

"If anything happens to her because of that, the responsibility will fall entirely on you."

Walter dismissed the warning without a second thought. A hand waved it off, confident in a vampire's keen observation. The girl showed no physical distress whatsoever, she hadn't been harmed; she was merely nervous.

"Professor, are you looking for someone?" Lucas had no patience to correct an old fossil's thinking. There were still other things to attend to.

"Looking for someone?" Walter feigned puzzlement and chided him lightly. "Little wizards shouldn't carry such a suspicious mind. I simply wanted to have a chat with you."

Lucas didn't want to waste any more time on him.

"I've been unable to find a student registry in the library. Madam Pince told me you had asked her about it as well. I've been waiting for the previous borrower to return it, perhaps you can offer some guidance."

Walter didn't answer directly.

Walter looked at Lucas with a searching, wary expression, and seemed about to reach out and touch his hair, but Lucas stepped aside.

"Yes, that book is in my possession. Do you have a family member listed in it?"

Lucas gave a noncommittal answer. "On that point, I can only tell you after I've seen the book for myself. It's already quite late, and I have no wish to be caught out after curfew and lose points for Slytherin. Goodbye, Professor."

After curfew, Lucas returned to that room in the Room of Requirement.

He needed to find the labyrinth of wardrobes and erase the traces of magical activity left on them.

But the space where the wardrobes had stood was now filled with mouldy blankets in every color.

Someone had returned here before him and already cleared away all evidence of the struggle.

➤ Next: Two Cauldrons of Potion