Journey to Passion

"All right there, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, standing several feet before Snape with his hands folded together in front of him. "Minerva told me you were able to find the mountain troll."

Snape nodded and remembered to keep his wounded leg well covered. "Argus and Hagrid had the troll removed from the grounds immediately, I do not anticipate there will be any more trouble this evening."

"Nor I," the Headmaster agreed. "Are you going to rejoin us this evening?"

"No," he answered and tried his best to stand tall. "The excitement has left me quite exhausted. I would like to spend the rest of the evening alone in my quarters."

"As you wish," Dumbledore said and curved his lips up into a bit of a smile. "Perhaps you should first allow me to have Madam Pomfrey check in on you before the evening ends. You look like you may be ill."

"That will not be necessary," Snape assured. "I am quite all right."

Dumbledore respectfully nodded and began to pace back towards the door. "Very well, my friend," he said and turned around. "Good night, Severus." The door hissed as he closed it behind him, leaving Snape alone again to cope with the intense pain of the slash in his leg.

After sitting back down on his leather wingchair, Snape pushed his cloak back and looked once more at what that crazed dog had done to him.

"Fluffy," Snape muttered to himself in a tone engulfed with sarcasm and disapproval. "How ridiculous!" Snape was certain that a beast capable of causing such ferocious rage wasn't deserving of such an undignified and puerile name as 'Fluffy.'

He knew that the wound the beast had caused was too deep to leave unassisted. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to go see the nurse. Since he'd become a teacher at Hogwarts, Snape had never willingly gone up to the Hospital Wing for the assessment of his injuries. Until now he'd always been able to concoct his own cures for such matters.

"Blast!" he whispered to himself in anger and stood up. He tried his best not to hobble as he walked and made his way out the door, deciding that he didn't have a choice but to go to the school nurse.

With pain soaring through his entire body after every single step, the walk up to the Hospital Wing seemed excruciatingly long. He passed a couple of students on the way, each wearing costumes and running around like maniacs. Whether it was out of his misery or just because of the way he was, Snape made a point of yelling at each of them to be quiet and go back to their dormitories.

Things were much quieter after his intimidating voice cleared the path. To his luck, the corridor leading to the Hospital Wing was already completely empty. Snape grunted and forced himself to walk the rest of the way over to the partially opened door. He could see a sliver of light coming from a tiny crack between the doors that shone onto the floor in front of the entrance.

Snape reached his hand out to push the door open and quietly stepped inside. The room was very well lit and kept very warm with the number of candles and torches lining the walls. To his immediate right, there was a bed completely surrounded by ivory curtains. He glanced over towards the other side of the room and saw a single nurse carrying a pile of folded blankets over to the cupboard.

She was clearly too young to be Madam Pomfrey, but when he failed to see another adult in the Hospital Wing, Snape figured she must have been the nurse on duty. On that assumption, Snape quietly neared the nurse and leaned his body against the wall once he was within a few feet of her.

Before opening his mouth to speak, Snape's gaze fell upon the tiny white flowers she had delicately weaved into her hair. She had long dark tresses that came to the small of her back. It was mostly straight except for a few soft, curly ringlettes coming down from the crown of her head.

"Excuse me," Snape whispered after clearing his throat.

The young nurse put the last of the blankets up into the cupboard and twisted around to look at her new visitor. The heels of her shoes clicked softly when she turned her body around to face him. Her lips spread into a smile and she gave him a welcoming nod. "Good evening, Professor," she greeted. Her voice was so smooth and so enchanting, Snape wondered if he had ever heard such a sweet melody before.

Snape looked at the flowing gown she wore and noticed that its creamy ivory color nearly matched the shade of her skin. The hem went straight to the floor and her décolletage was rather low, exposing the round shape of her breasts. It wasn't a tight fitting dress by any means, but at the same time had a peculiar way of flattering her curves beneath. For the first time in several years, the attractive appearance of a woman had captivated Snape's full attention. He found the exposure of her rounded shoulders especially alluring. Several seconds had passed before he could finally snap out of his fix and divert his attention back to her eyes.

"Good evening," he returned unnervingly.

She took a couple more steps towards him, her heels quietly clicking against the floor with every step. "How may I help you?" she asked in her soft, angelic voice.

Snape wiped some of his hair away from his face and eyed her as she did him. She had green eyes - remarkable green eyes! He had never seen eyes of such a unique, emerald color before. They were absolutely beautiful and gave her already enchanting appearance an elegant touch. He had to take a step closer to her just to make sure his fatigue wasn't playing tricks on his perception. But sure enough, her eyes were as beautiful and as real as they first seemed.

"Um," Snape muttered and shook his head before his imagination took off without him. "Are you a nurse?" he asked casually.

Her head nodded once and she smiled at him. "I am," she assured. "What can I help you with?" she asked again.

Snape took one step back and hesitated as he tried to give an answer to her question. "I can't seem to find a way to clear this up," he said and pulled his cloak away from his wounded leg for a second or two. "Have you got anything for a job like this?"

The nurse's gaze fell upon the wound behind his tattered trousers and her eyes popped wide open. "Goodness me!" she cried softly. "Please have a seat right here," she said pointing her hand to the bed nearest them. "I'll get something right away."

She turned around and walked quickly into Madam Pomfrey's supply closet. Snape remained standing, keeping all of his weight on his good leg. The nurse returned quickly wheeling a small trolley behind her. She saw that he was still standing and pointed her hand to the bed once again.

"Please lay down Professor, this won't take long," she instructed and took a cloth from the trolley.

Snape crossed his arms over his chest and remained standing. "I am not here to be pampered. If you would just give me something now, I will be on my way."

"The cut looks too deep," she observed. "I'm going to have to take a closer look before I can treat it. Now please, sit down and let me make sure you haven't lost too much blood."

"I have managed to stop most of the bleeding," Snape told her firmly. "I just want something for the pain. Is that too much to ask?"

The twinkle in her eye slowly faded and all of a sudden Snape began to get the distinct impression that he was not going to get his way with this particular nurse. Perhaps he'd been just a bit too stubborn.

"I take responsibility for everyone who walks through that door," she said and pointed at the entrance to the Hospital Wing. "I can tell you right now Professor, that isn't just a scratch there on your leg. It'll probably get infected if I don't treat it. Now, sit down on the bed." Her tone had changed. She no longer sounded pleasant and sweet. She was just as stubborn and relentless as the fashioned Madam Pomfrey.

Snape moved a couple of steps over and reluctantly sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving his leg in front of the nurse.

She pulled a small cushioned stool up to the bed and sat down next to the trolley. "Put your leg up here," she instructed and pressed her hand into the mattress where she wanted him to put his foot.

Snape lifted his leg as she had requested and pressed his back against the head of the bed and crossed his arms over his chest again. He watched the nurse closely as she began to move the shreds of his pants out of the way. She took each side of the tear in her hands and ripped it open even wider.

"Hey!" Snape hollered. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"Shh!" she hushed. "Relax Professor, you're not going to need these anymore," the nurse observed and continued to rip his trousers.

"You could have bloody well asked me first," Snape growled and settled back against the bedpost.

"My apologies, Professor," she said half-heartedly. "Would you have preferred to take your pants off?" Her words forced a short, erotic image to flash across his mind momentarily, but that fantasy was very quickly overridden by the infallible sense of right and duty.

She looked over at him and raised her eyebrows as she waited to hear his answer. When it didn't appear that he was going to give her one, she turned back to his leg and began soaking the blood up with her cloth. "That's what I thought," she said with the sure tone of satisfaction. "So what sort of silly Halloween tommyrot got you into this mess?" she asked as she began to soak another plain while cloth in a clear solution.

"It was just an accident," Snape replied dryly. "It wasn't 'tommyrot' as you so eloquently put it."

"There's no need to get so defensive Professor, it was just a question," she assured him. "If it's none of my business you just have to say so. It would just make my job a little bit easier if I knew what type of wound I'm dealing with."

"It is a deep wound and it hurts!" Snape described as bluntly as he could.

"Why thank you for pointing out the bloody obvious," she muttered sarcastically just before grudgingly slapping a cloth soaked in alcohol over the cut.

Snape jumped at the sudden sting and ground his teeth at her. "Ah! Watch it, lass!"

The young nurse pressed the cloth tight against his leg and let him suffer the unavoidable searing pain. "Hush, Professor," she lectured again. "The alcohol stings because it's doing its job. Now will you please hold still and let me do mine?"

"Well take it easy! I'm not a bloody vegetable you know."

"I am not trying to hurt you," she said in a stern tone. "I am very good at what I do. Now will you let me help you Professor Snape, or would you just like to keep on bleeding?"

He halted into utter stillness when he heard her speak his name and turned his head to look her in the face. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't help but feel slightly delighted to hear his name float from her mouth. Obviously she already knew he wasn't just a vegetable, but he didn't have the slightest idea how she knew who he was. He was sure he had never seen her before. If he had, Snape was certain he'd remember such a lovely woman.

"How do you know who I am?" he finally asked in a calm, civilized voice.

The nurse took the cloth from his skin and began to bandage the wound. She looked him in the eye for a moment and gave him an almost intimidating look. "It's from your classroom that we receive most of our patients," she told him. "I've heard plenty about the infamous Potions Master all cloaked in black. Your name comes up quite often when I ask the children how they've manage to burn their skin with nameless concoctions or sprout abnormal features from various parts of their body."

"Really? How charming," Snape said sarcastically. "I will be sure to express my appreciation for being the one to blame for their own stupidity and carelessness."

"They're not careless and they certainly aren't stupid," she justified. "They're only children and they don't have the experience you have. Part of your job is taking responsibility for their safety."

"Who the hell are you to tell me what my responsibilities are?" Snape asked uncouthly as he watched her cover the rest of his wound with the bandage.

The nurse didn't answer him. Instead she tied the knot around the end of his bandage especially tight and watched Snape turn his head away and mutter a bit of blaspheme from the corner of his mouth at the sudden pain.

"Damn it all, girl!" Snape muttered and ground his teeth at the pain. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes. You're going to need stitches," she told him. "I just hope it's not too late. This bandage will hold long enough for me to get prepared."

"Stitches?" Snape repeated as if he had never heard of the concept before. "You have got to be bloody joking! What kind of nurse are you?" he asked.

She turned her head away from him for a moment and sighed out of frustration. "I'm not like you," she said quietly. "My ways are a lot different from yours."

"You're not a Muggle," Snape assumed. "You can't be."

"I'm a nurse, and that's all that matters," she confirmed. "I don't use any magical treatments, so if you want it done that way you're going to have to wait until morning when the Madam is available."

Snape nodded slowly a couple of times and then spoke calmly to her. "You're a Muggle," he said, changing his mind. "So what are you doing here?"

Again, she turned her head away from him and sighed quietly. "It's complicated, and I don't feel like explaining my life story to you."

"Fair enough," Snape agreed. "I will have the Madam see me first thing in the morning."

"Very well," the nurse said with a nod. "I'll help you to the door."

Snape pressed the heels of his hands into the mattress behind him and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. The nurse slipped her hand under his arm and helped him get up into a stand. Normally he would have refused any type of help, but it was either the succulent smell of her hair or the warmth of her hands on his body that possessed him to keep his mouth shut. In turn, Snape put an arm around the nurse and hobbled a couple of steps. He groaned and then spread his balance evenly on each leg and stood up straight.

"You're going to have to take it easy for the rest of the evening," the nurse told him. "I suggest you get as much sleep as you can tonight. By morning your leg will feel like a stick of wood. If Madam Pomfrey can't see you, I would advise you to stay by your bedside and do as little walking as possible."

"We shall just see about that," Snape muttered. "I have plenty of responsibilities to carry out tomorrow," he said in an ironic tone.

"The choice is yours," she decided. "Just be forewarned that running a marathon won't do the healing any good. You'll be much better off if you just take the day off and relax."

"As I have already told you, there are things I must do tomorrow," Snape said coldly.

"I'm sure you can pass your responsibilities on to someone else for a day. It won't make you any less of a man to admit you need to some time to make good," she struck back.

Snape stopped walking and looked at her. His head tilted slightly to the side and he glowered at her through the narrow slits of his eyes. "You've got quite the cheek on you," he told her. "Are you like this with all of your patients?"

The young nurse began nodding her head. "No," she said calmly. "Only the ones who are disdainful themselves." She looked up at Snape and saw an array of emotions flash through his eyes.

Looking straight ahead of him, Snape took a couple more steps but then stopped again once they reached the doors leading into the corridor. He looked curiously at her and let out a breath of air before he spoke. "What is your name, young lady?" he asked slowly.

She kept her hand tucked firmly under his arm and looked up at him once more, feeling a little bit more appreciated than she did back at the bed. She had actually managed to put a smile back on her face when he asked for her name.

"It's Jessica," she answered courteously.

Snape nodded his head once and Jessica thought she saw the side of his mouth curve up into a bit of a grin. "Well Jessica," he began and managed to curve the other side of his mouth up as well. "You're all right. I may call on you the next time I feel the need to have my trousers torn to shreds."