When Eliana opened her eyes again, she thought Snape had accidentally strangled her to death. Had he really been that angry?
She looked around.
The room was empty, with rows of neatly made beds, cold bedrails, and sheets as white as snow. The oppressive silence made it feel even colder.
Was this... a morgue?
Eliana threw off her covers and started to climb out of bed. Oh God, she had to tell them she was still alive before they rushed to declare her dead! They hadn't snapped her wand, had they?
"Miss Richie, you're awake." Madam Pomfrey approached with breakfast. "You seem to have recovered nicely. Eat your breakfast, and you can leave."
It took Eliana a moment to remember that this was the matron of the Hospital Wing.
She distractedly obeyed and took a couple of spoonfuls of porridge, then set down her spoon. "Madam Pomfrey, my wand..."
"Severus has it. You shouldn't be using magic right now."
Eliana didn't understand. She looked at Madam Pomfrey with wide, innocent eyes.
Madam Pomfrey looked furious. "I can hardly believe there was a Troll at Hogwarts, let alone that a first-year child came face-to-face with it. Still, you were lucky. You weren't injured; you only exhausted your magic completely."
"Wizards your age are still developing their magic. Draining it so thoroughly could affect its future growth."
Eliana's face tightened with worry.
"You'll need to take a Magic Stabilizer for a full week. Until your magic stabilizes, you mustn't cast any spells. But Wizards your age—"
Madam Pomfrey pressed her lips together. She met Eliana's pleading eyes sternly, though her expression softened a little. "—still need an adult Wizard's supervision."
"And since you'll need Professor Snape to brew the rest of your week's supply of Magic Stabilizer, he'll keep your wand until he's satisfied you've fully recovered."
Eliana stood meekly in the dungeon, twisting her hands together and keeping her head down.
The dungeon was quiet. Pale blue flames licked the bottom of a cauldron, and the potion inside bubbled gently.
Snape flicked his wand without expression, reducing the flames to a fine thread. He took a bottle from the workbench and added a drop of blue liquid. The potion flashed brightly, then turned a pale citrus orange, rings of silver light rippling across its surface.
Snape's mouth was still set in its usual cold line, but Eliana somehow sensed a trace of smug delight. She couldn't help smiling too.
He paused in thought, then tossed in a few finely chopped leaves she didn't recognize. His long-fingered hand gripped a stirring rod and guided the potion through several slow turns.
Silvery steam rose from the potion like gauze, so thick in the dim dungeon that it seemed almost solid.
Eliana was nearly entranced. Whatever Snape's faults as a person, he was a master of Potions.
No one—not even Neville, who knew next to nothing about Potions—could have watched Snape work with such effortless precision, complete command, and unshakable confidence without marveling at him.
"Perhaps Miss Richie, having defeated a Troll, believes her achievements are so grand that she may treat her Potions Master as a House-elf performing for her amusement?"
The icy voice cut through Eliana's reverie. Snape was staring at her coldly. The cauldron was empty, and three bottles stood on the table.
Still not quite back to herself, Eliana turned her wide eyes toward him like a bewildered puppy.
Snape sneered. "What? Did brave Miss Richie lose her brilliant mind in battle? Does someone now have to bring the medicine to her lips? Shall I take on this noble task?"
That was what he said, but his expression suggested that if Eliana dared agree, he'd replace her Magic Stabilizer with poison and pour it down her throat.
"Ah, no, Professor."
Eliana hurried over. Her hand stopped short of the potion bottle, and she glanced back at Snape.
Snape sat down behind his desk with an impatient huff. "What are you waiting for? Are you afraid I've poisoned your potion?"
"No, Professor. I trust completely that you wouldn't hurt me." As if to prove it, she popped the cap and drank the potion in one go. "I wasn't frightened into a stupor. When you were brewing, you looked like a god who could control everything. I couldn't look away."
She gazed at Snape in admiration. Before she could see his reaction—BOOM!
It was as though rain had fallen from the sky and soaked into parched earth. Plants that had long thirsted for it thrust out their roots to claim it, sending fierce waves rolling through the soil.
BOOM!
An invisible but immense shockwave burst from Eliana and swept through the enclosed office like a tornado.
The enormous cabinets lining the wall all the way to the ceiling burst open. Snape sprang up from where he had been lounging in his chair. Sharp pain shot through the wound on his leg, but he had no attention to spare for it.
His treasured potion specimens and ingredients tumbled down like bowling pins. With a flick of his wand, he stopped them in midair. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the rampaging human-shaped Mandrake beside him shuddered again. The shockwave spun like blades of wind, shattering every one of his glass jars.
Glass shards, preservative fluid, and fragments of potion ingredients flew everywhere. In an instant, Snape was drenched from head to toe.
"Ritchie! Stop!"
Snape's furious shout rang out, the veins at his temples throbbing beneath his soaked black hair.
His! Entire! Collection!
Eliana had fallen into a strange, wondrous state. Magic surged through her like a spring bursting from the earth, filling every corner of her body without end. With the slightest movement of her fingers, she could feel tremendous power gathering at their tips.
Her mind seemed to become a golden vortex. Everything around her appeared edged in gold, rising and falling with her breath before slowly revolving around her. Her soul felt as though it were floating too.
That was her last thought before she lost consciousness.
Through the haze, she thought she saw the expression on Snape's eternally cold face change.
She knew Professor Snape cared about her.
She was the sort of student teachers liked, even a bad-tempered, sharp-tongued teacher like Professor Snape!
Eliana fainted feeling thoroughly pleased with herself.
Before you continue