An American Professor

A week after her jaunt to the Muggle town, Erin went to the library after breakfast and skipped lunch. Her coffee had allowed her to stay awake long into the previous night, nevertheless, it apparently wasn't working for her on this day. At some point, she fell asleep because she awoke with Harry tapping her shoulder. "Hmm? What?" she asked rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Come on, you need to get out of here."

"Am I in some kind of trouble?" she asked groggily.

"Yes, the type of trouble that comes from studying too much. You're coming with me," he insisted.

Erin began to protest, but she could tell by his face that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. She also had the feeling that if she didn't go with him willingly he'd recruit some of his friends to carry her along. So, she gathered up her things and stood.

She followed Harry outside to the Quidditch Pitch. "Harry, what are we doing? You're an excellent Quidditch player I'm sure, but I really have no interested in learning to play the game myself. Besides, I'm too old to make house team."

"We don't need any players anyway," he laughed. "We aren't here for you to play Quidditch, we're here for you to learn to fly."

"Harry, I don't even like flying in airplanes, what in heaven's name makes you think I want to ride a broom?"

"Come on, Erin, every witch or wizard needs to know how to fly a broom."

She looked at Harry skeptically. "Why are you trying to keep me from studying? It's not my birthday."

"You're right, it's not, but have you looked at yourself lately? You need a break."

Erin looked down at her rumpled t-shirt and ripped jeans. "I'll have you know that not too long ago this was very much in fashion." She sighed when she saw him roll his eyes. "Well, thanks a lot for pointing out how awful I look, Potter."

"That's what friends are for, Worhli," he said smirking.

Erin threw up her hands in defeat. "Ok, ok, you win. How does this work?" Erin held out the broom that Harry had borrowed from the school's collection for her to learn to fly on.

"Well, you have to mount it like this."

"Ok." Erin mimicked his movements.

"Then kick off like this," he hovered a few feet in the air. She again copied his movements and was hovering as well. "When you want to go forward, lean forward. When you want to stop, lean back. Pulling up, you fly up, pushing down is down, right is right, left is left. Want to try?"

"I guess," Erin said hesitantly. She leaned forward and felt the broom move forward. Before long she had gotten the hang of it and was soaring with Harry around the field. "This is wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"Told you so!" he yelled back. She did a few loopty loops and tried a few rolls. "Whoa! I think you're a natural!"

"You're just saying that so I won't go back inside!" She started diving and pulling back up. "This is so much fun!" She leveled off her broom a few feet from the ground and tried to pull back up. The broom refused to respond. She tried to stop it, and it failed to comply. It seemed to be on a track set straight towards a dark figure standing on the pitch.

Erin hadn't seen him standing there before. "Severus, move!" she yelled shrilly. Harry was yelling for her to pull up. "I can't!" she shrieked, "Severus, move! I can't stop the broom!" He just stood in her path unmoving. Erin tried in vain to sway the broom from its collision course.

By this time, Erin began cursing very loudly and couldn't understand why Snape wouldn't move. "Snape get the hell out of the way! I'm headed right for you!" He continued to stand there and she was absolutely desperate to move the broom.

Harry was streaking towards her no doubt to try to catch her before the broom crashed. He had been too high, he'd didn't get there in time.

Snape jumped to the side reached out and grabbed Erin from the broom just as it rammed itself into the wall. Erin and Snape fell into a heap of arms and legs.

Harry landed and came running to them. "Erin, Erin, are you ok?"

"Ow," was her reply as she extracted herself from under Snape. She tried to sit up and felt a stabbing pain in her ribs. Erin moaned again and lay back down. She reached for the afflicted area and cried out in pain again. Her wrist was definitely broken.

"Potter, get the nurse," Snape said through gritted teeth. Harry turned and began to run to the castle.

Erin turned her head to Snape who was sitting beside her actually looking concerned. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"I think my ankle's broken," he replied flatly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"You've got no reason to be sorry, you didn't make the broom malfunction, but you could have jumped off," he said with a sneer.

"I didn't think of that. I just kept trying to make it change directions so that it wouldn't hit you."

"Oh, I see," he said quietly. She tried to turn her body to see him better, but cried out in pain. "You'd better hold still till Poppy gets here."

"You're probably right," she conceded. They were quiet for a few moments when they heard a stampede approaching. "What's all that noise?"

"It seems young Mr. Potter not only found the nurse, but alerted the entire school as well."

"Oh," Erin groaned and closed her eyes.

She heard Flitwick's voice. "Oh my! Severus, has she passed out?"

Erin opened her eyes slowly as Snape said, "No, but I think she's wishing she did." No one seemed to hear him but Erin who tried to giggle, but gasped in pain instead, causing the onlookers to cry out to her.

"I'm fine, really," Erin lied.

Madam Pomfrey broke in, "I'll be the judge of that, thank-you. Now, if everyone will please step back." She conjured two stretchers and levitated Erin and Snape onto them. "Now, Professor Flitwick, if you'll please help me guide these to the hospital wing."

"Certainly," he squeaked and took charge of Erin's stretcher. Erin was surprised at how smooth the trip was. Flitwick kept trying to talk to her, but Erin just grunted answers back. She definitely wasn't in the mood to be friendly, and she was afraid she'd say something really nasty without thinking, and he might drop the stretcher.

As they reached the hospital wing Madame Pomfrey turned to the onlookers who'd now become followers and said, "No visitors, please," and she shut the door with a click. Erin heard quite a few muffled protests.

Madam Pomfrey transferred her two patients to beds and began to examine their injuries. She clucked her tongue at Erin. "Two broken ribs, a broken wrist, and a sprained ankle," moving away she continued, "need to be more careful with themselves…"

Erin didn't hear the rest as Flitwick broke in and demanded, "What were you two doing?"

"Huh? Oh, we weren't doing anything. Harry was teaching me to fly. Unfortunately, just as I was getting the hang of it my broom went batty. It tried to kill me, and take Severus along, too. Luckily, he grabbed me off of it or I'd have a lot worse injuries and so would he."

Flitwick raised an eyebrow and turned to the man in the other bed. "Severus? And just what were you doing at the Quidditch Pitch?"

"I was, uh, well, um, collecting Potions Ingredients. I heard the commotion, so I ran over."

"Oh really? What ingredients? Where were you collecting them? How did you manage to get to Erin so quickly?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Filius, " Erin broke in, "what is this the Spanish Inquisition?" The men raised their eyebrows at this, "What I mean is, why does it matter why he was there, the point is he was, and I for one am entirely grateful for that. So, let's drop it. Ow." She'd exerted herself too much in the argument.

"Oh, Erin, is there anything I can do, or get, for you?" Flitwick turned back to her bed and was grasping her hand. Snape raised his eyebrows at Erin, caught her eye, and then looked away.

"Uh, no, I don't think so, but thanks. Oh, wait, actually, could you ask Ginny Weasley to watch Violet until I can get out of here? Dobby can get her things." Flitwick looked crestfallen, apparently tending to her pet was not what he'd had in mind. Before he could say anything, Pomfrey was shooing him out of the hospital wing and thrust a goblet into Erin's hands.

Erin looked at the goblet in her hands critically. She raised her eyebrows at Snape and he said simply, "Pain potion."

"Oh," she said and examined the bubbling blue liquid again.

"Drink it!" Pomfrey commanded.

Erin continued to look at it skeptically until Snape said softly, "It's ok." For a reason she couldn't pinpoint, she believed him and drank it in one gulp. Pomfrey had bent to examine Snape muttering about being trustworthy.

Erin began to giggle and Snape told her to hush. She realized that giggling had caused her pain before, but now she wasn't feeling anything. Ah, it must be quick acting pain potion, she realized.

Pomfrey retrieved another goblet of the brew for Snape and moved to Erin with her wand outstretched. "The reason I give people pain potion is so that when I mend their injuries they don't feel the excruciating pain it normally causes people."

"That's very humane of you," Erin said still feeling a little giddy. Pomfrey didn't respond, but seemed satisfied that Erin was sufficiently grateful and set to work on Erin's wrist.

Erin felt a slight tingle and a burning sensation, and then it was over. The same thing occurred as Pomfrey fixed her ribs and to a lesser degree her ankle. She finished up with Severus and turned to her two patients saying, "Your little exploits have won you an overnight in the hospital. I can't very well have you wandering the castle sticking your hands in fires, now can I?" She turned and left the room.

Erin opened her mouth in protest, but Snape silenced her with a wave of his hand, "It's no use arguing with her once she's made up her mind."

"But she's treating us like children," Erin protested.

"She sees anyone foolish enough to land themselves in the hospital wing worthy of being treated like a child."

Erin grumbled for a few more moments, and then lay back in her bed. "I'm not even going to be able to get any work done. And she had the audacity to treat this as if we were on a freaking game show. 'You've won an overnight in the hospital! What are you going to do now?'" In a mock falsetto she answered her own question. "'I'm going to Disney World, Alex!' Of all the nerve," she spat.

"Lord, woman, you need the break. You're having conversations with yourself. Besides, Filch says you've been in the library until the wee hours. Then you're up again at the crack of dawn."

"How do you know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Everyone knows."

"How does 'everyone know'?" she asked tersely.

"People watch you. You're new, you're interesting, so they watch."

"Oh." Erin found this comment very unsettling, but before she could comment, the fluttering of hundreds of wings broke the silence.

They heard Pomfrey shriek, "What the hell?"

"Oh, shit," Erin muttered as she and Severus made their way to Pomfrey's office door. Pomfrey turned and fled from her office knocking Erin down in her haste. Snape slammed the door and helped Erin back to her feet. "What's going on?" she gasped.

Pomfrey howled, "Owls, hundreds, every one from the school owlery, dropping cards and gifts!"

"Ugh!" Erin groaned. "Word sure does get around doesn't it?"

"Perhaps you should notify Dumbledore," Snape suggested to Pomfrey.

"That won't be necessary, Severus," Dumbledore said strolling into the room. Erin went back to her bed and put her head in her hands. "What's going on?" he directed his question to Snape.

Snape answered, "Erin and I had an accident, the whole school apparently knows now, and they've all sent cards to Erin, which are now piled in Poppy's office, and it sounds as if more are coming," he explained as they heard a renewed flutter of wings approaching.

"I'm so sorry, Professor," Erin mumbled into her hands.

Dumbledore crossed the room and sat next to Erin and said, "Erin, look at me." She shook her head. "Please?" he asked. She raised her head and wiped her eyes quickly with the back of her hand before meeting Dumbledore's gaze. "Why are you crying, child?"

"B-b-because, all I seem to do is cause problems around here. It's not worth it," she wailed and buried her head in her hands again. Dumbledore pulled her into his arms and hugged her soundly. He patted her on the head as she wept and motioned for Snape to come over.

"I'm going to take care of this," he told her soothingly, "but I want you to remember that in no way is this your fault. Those students are just showing how happy they are that you're here, they're just a little over zealous about it." He gestured for Snape to take his place.

Without hesitation Snape took Dumbledore's place and had wrapped his arms around Erin and began rocking her gently back and forth as her body shook with sobs. After a few minutes Erin looked up and was surprised to see Snape holding on to her. He handed her a handkerchief. "I got your robes wet," she said flatly.

"Ah, no big deal, I'm into the 'wet look,'" he joked.

She snickered and looked away. "I thought you were into to the bedraggled look," she quipped, before murmuring, "Thanks."

"No problem," he said softly.

Pomfrey cleared her throat and they both jumped. "Back to bed with you both. You need your rest."

Snape returned to his bed and Erin laid down in hers. Pomfrey walked out the door, shutting it firmly behind her.

Erin lay on her back thinking for a few moments. She decided she really didn't have anything to lose, so she asked the question that had been praying on her mind since the incident occurred. She rolled onto her side to regard Severus and asked, "Severus, why were you really on the Quidditch Pitch today?"