40. Chapter 40

A big thank you to all the lovely people who sent a review. As always, they put a smile on my face. Thanks for waiting so patiently for this next chapter. Here it is!

Chapter 40

Throughout the next couple of weeks, Harry dutifully got up at five-thirty, got showered, ate breakfast and left for St Mungo's. Sometimes he would see Snape in the last five minutes before he took his leave but most of the time, he didn't.

Nine times out of ten, Luna would meet Harry for lunch, lifting his spirits and bringing him some of his favourites to eat. Treacle tart was often a part of it and almost every time, Harry ended up eating her piece of tart as well.

Harry would always get an impossible amount of potions to brew and he managed every day to complete his task while John never was. Though Harry had to admit that the potions he did finish were of very respectable quality.

He would never be home in time for dinner nor even before nightfall. More often than not, Snape would have already gone to bed by the time Harry got in and if not, Harry was too exhausted to engage in any conversation that went beyond 'Good night' anyways.

Right now, Harry was focusing on brewing a batch of fever reducer. He had raised the number of cauldrons he was working with from eight to twelve, bustling about as the concoctions required new ingredients to be added, and putting a stasis on those that needed his immediate attention but that he couldn't get to just yet. He was so very much into the brewing zone that he didn't even notice it when a few people entered the lab.

"Harry Potter!" said a harsh voice. Harry glanced up from what he was doing for a moment to see chief Lovegood standing there next to healer Johnson and a few other healers that Harry didn't recognise. Harry flushed when he realized who had come down to what he now considered to be his lab but knew that he couldn't get too distracted lest his potion would fail. So he went back to adding sudarshan leaves to the potion while addressing Chief Lovegood.

"How might I be of assistance, sir?" Harry asked, immediately walking over to another cauldron as to not waste any time.

"What in the blazes are you doing, boy?" healer Johnson exclaimed. Harry glanced at him, somewhat confused, but wasted no time to get back to yet another cauldron to give it the much needed stirring it required. "You asked for fever-reducing potions, did you not, sir?" he asked. "That's what I'm brewing."

"And is there any reason why you're using twelve cauldrons instead of one, Mr Potter?" Lovegood now asked. "Do you realize the dangers of dividing your attention as such?"

Harry put a stasis on all of the cauldrons with a single flick of his wand to now give the healers his full attention. He noticed that John had also stopped brewing and was following the conversation closely.

"Harry 'as been brewin' like this fer weeks," John said. "And he's not made a single mistake yet."

"I did not ask your opinion, Mr Scofield," Lovegood said without taking his eyes off of Harry. "Kindly go back to brewing your potion. You are behind as it is, as I understand."

"Aye sir," John said dejectedly as he went back to his stirring.

"I don't understand the problem, sir," Harry said honestly. "This is how I've been taught to brew. This is how I've always done it."

"You're an apprentice," Lovegood said coldly. "A Master such as Severus Snape will have no problem with controlling multiple cauldrons at once, I'm sure, but a boy such as yourself – who has no experience worth speaking of – will not be brewing quite so dangerously!"

Harry frowned and opened his mouth to argue but Lovegood wasn't done yet.

"We were wondering how you always managed to brew as much as you did, and now we have our answer. But no more."

"But sir!" Harry finally spoke up. "If it gets you the necessary potions when you need it, and I don't have any problem brewing like this, what is the problem? I can do this!"

"Mind your place," healer Johnson then said. "You're speaking to the Chief and you would best mind your tone."

Harry glanced at his direct supervisor and saw a flash of pity in his eyes.

"People need these potions," Harry said, trying his best to keep his voice steady. "And you're severely understaffed. I know for a fact that most of the interns you accepted have already quit again. I can make you these potions in record time and have proved to you that I can do this. Why would you sabotage me like this?"

"Because you are not brewing safely," Lovegood snarled, seemingly losing his temper. "I will not have an apprentice blowing up the hospital simply because he's too arrogant to see that he's bitten off more than he can chew"

"But I'm not –"

"Enough," Lovegood said dangerously. "Others may accept your rebellious attitude because of your name and the stories attached to it, but I will not. You will follow the rules just like anyone else and you will not endanger anyone with your folly. If you cant do as I say, you will be kicked out of the internship program."

Harry doubted that he could be missed at this point but thought it better not to test this theory. So he remained calm and didn't say another word even though he was fuming on the inside.

"You will finish the potions in these cauldrons one by one," Lovegood then said. "And once those are done, you will resort to using one cauldron at a time. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Chief," Harry said evenly, trying to not show any emotion in his voice.

Lovegood nodded sharply and left again, followed on his heel by the other healers, some of which threw incredulous glances in Harry's direction.

Once a few seconds had passed, John spoke up. "Awa' an bile yer heid," he grumbled. "Tha' auld dobber cannae even see a good thing when it bites 'im in the arse."

Harry sighed in response. "I can't brew the number of potions he needs when I use only one cauldron at a time," he said as he stirred the first one. "I just don't understand what the big deal is."

"Well, 'tis quite rare to see anyone brewin' multiple brews at once," John said. "I dinnae ken anyone ter do tha'."

Harry shrugged. "That doesn't mean it's dangerous," he said. "And he'll run out of potions much sooner than he'd like this way."

John shrugged and winked at Harry. "He'll ken 'is mistake soon enough," he said.

"I suppose you're right," Harry sighed though it still didn't sit right with him. But John went back to his own brewing and left Harry to lightly simmer in peace, much like the fever reducer.

Snape sat in his chair by the fire, sipping a glass of pumpkin juice as he thought about his current situation.

While he was happy that Harry was taking his internship so seriously, he was beginning to wonder if Harry was not working himself too hard. He seemed to be exhibiting a combination of the hard-working mentality the Dursleys had knocked into him and the hero complex that had guided most of his rash actions at Hogwarts. Young as he was, if Harry went on like this much longer, he might just get sick himself. And knowing Harry, the boy would not let on anything was wrong until it was too late.

Snape had regularly been sending Harry messages through the cuff they shared and always received a reply back after, though it was always short and to the points.

'Has your partner blown up any cauldrons yet?' Snape sent to Harry in an attempt to start some light-hearted banter. In the brief moments they had been able to talk to one another, Harry had told Snape about the older gentleman that had decided to turn his life around while he was well in his fifties. Apparently, he had potential but was nowhere near as skilled as one needed to be while working on a schedule.

'No.' Harry replied shortly.

Snape looked at the word and sighed, not knowing what he could reply to that anymore. Harry was undoubtedly busy and so he just let him be.

Snape hissed when he felt a sharp pain in his thumb and glanced down to see that his glass had bitten him.

"Maya," he called out with mild annoyance.

"What?" Maya called back rather groggily from within the bedroom.

"Is there any reason in particular why you found it necessary to charm my glass so it would bite me?"

There was a momentary silence, followed by a few thuds and thumps as Maya was undoubtedly getting up and getting herself dressed. She emerged moments later with a delighted smirk on her face.

"Payback," she said easily. "For charming the mirror to show a stain on my face that wasn't there."

"I see," Snape replied dryly. He tapped his wand against the glass to get it to behave again before setting it down. "Have you heard anything from your sister lately?" he asked as Maya waltzed into the kitchen to help herself to a danish.

"No," Maya replied. "I haven't but she rarely keeps in touch anyway. Why?"

When Snape didn't reply, Maya chuckled. "You miss Alex, don't you?"

"That's preposterous," Snape scoffed. "It's just out of the ordinary that Alexander hasn't bothered me yet."

"If you're worried, why don't you just go over there?" Maya suggested. She walked back into the sitting room and flung herself sideways on Snape's lap, draping one arm, around his neck for balance. Snape smiled at the intrusive woman who seemed to have no respect for personal boundaries.

"It's not becoming to visit people without notice," Snape said evenly.

"Now you're just making up excuses," Maya chided, lightly tugging on Snape's hair for punishment. "Why do you have such issues with admitting that Alex is your friend and that you miss having him around?"

"He's not my –"

"Would you stop?" Maya said. "Don't you lie to me, Severus Snape. Now repeat after me. Alex is my friend."

"Maya, I hardly think that –"

"That does not even sound remotely like what I wanted you to say," Maya said. "Try again."

Snape narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

"No?" Maya asked innocently? She gently cupped Snape's face and teased him with a light kiss that she quickly withdrew from when he tried to reciprocate. She grinned evilly. "Well?"

"You're such a tease," Snape said but then he sighed in resignation. "As you wish. Alexander is my friend and I'm worried about him."

"Good man," Maya praised before hungrily drawing Snape into another kiss. "Why don't we go and check up on him then?"

"In a bit," Snape agreed. "First, I have some other plans."

Maya giggled when Snape grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. The half-eaten danish she was eating dropped to the floor as Snape headed back into the bedroom, laughing theatrically.

Harry smiled politely as Luna unpacked the baguettes with fried eggs on them, handing one to Harry.

"This looks great, Luna," Harry said honestly. The eggs had been kept warm with a warming charm and the bread was crunchy. And yet, Harry didn't seem to have much of an appetite. After taking two bites, he stopped eating and stared at a dirty spot on the table, thinking about the earlier occurrence.

He was drawn out of his reveries when Luna grabbed his hand. He looked into her blue eyes in confusion and then noticed how rude he was being. "I'm sorry, Luna," he said honestly. "I didn't mean to ignore you or anything."

"What's on your mind?" she asked kindly. "It might help to talk about it."

"It's a bit difficult," Harry admitted.

"Because it has something to do with my uncle?" Luna asked knowingly.

Harry chuckled. "Always the perceptive one, aren't you?" he said incredulously. "But yes, it does."

"You can tell me," Luna told Harry honestly. "I will understand if you're upset with him. He can be difficult sometimes."

"He told me I can't brew in multiple cauldrons at once," Harry grumbled. "I've been doing fine these last couple of weeks. I've completed every last one of the ridiculous assignments I have been given and I've not wasted a single potion."

He looked at Luna but she just looked back at him serenely, cupping his hand with hers and listening intently to his troubles.

"I honestly don't know how they want me to brew three hundred bloody pain reliever potions in a single day when I can only use one cauldron. I'm already here from dusk till dawn only getting a break to hurriedly eat my lunch and dinner. I don't see any of my friends, or my father anymore but I've never complained about it. After all, those sick people really need the potions."

Harry inhaled deeply when he noticed that he was running out of breath. Luna still didn't reply. She just handed him a glass of water from which he drank eagerly before continuing.

"After all those weeks, Chief Lovegood just waltzes into my lab with a slew of healers and tells me off for not brewing one potion at a time. He says that only someone as accomplished as Severus could do that and that he won't risk me blowing up the hospital just because of my arrogance."

Harry clenched his free hand into a fist and stared angrily at that same dirty spot on the table.

"He feels that I only do these things because of who I am. Not for a moment does he seem to consider that I actually know what I'm doing. He even threatened to end my internship if I continue the way I've been going. But I don't know how to else to complete my assignments if I don't."

Harry sighed deeply and found to his horror that tears seemed to be welling up in his eyes. Blaming them on his exhaustion, he blinked them away and looked hopelessly at his girlfriend. "Luna, what am I going to do?"

The kind look in Luna's eyes had shifted to one of fierce determination and yet she smiled.

"You're going to continue brewing," Luna told him easily. "Because that is what you do. You do what you think is best and don't let anyone stop you."

Luna got up from her seat, moved to stand behind Harry and gently put her arms around him in a warm embrace. She kissed Harry on the cheek as he grabbed her arms as if they were some sort of lifeline.

"You're not going to allow anyone to get to you. Not even the chief of medicine," she told him knowingly. "You're Harry Potter. You're the boy who warmed Severus Snape's heart, the boy who made friends with Draco Malfoy. You helped me when I was bullied and you worked hard on all of your creations. You have friends and family that care for you, not because of your great accomplishments, but because of who you are."

Harry couldn't help but smile at Luna's reassurances. He leaned back into her hug and looked up to meet her loving gaze. "Thank you, Luna," he said fondly. "That really helped."

"I'm glad," Luna said, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Now, you'd best eat your food and get back to work."

"Where are you going?" Harry asked, confused when Luna went in the wrong direction to floo out.

"Oh, I just have some things I need to do," she told him sweetly. And then she was gone, leaving a somewhat befuddled Harry behind.

Snape stood staring at the blasted door of his blasted muggle-friend with a frightening scowl on his face contemplating at what point in his life he turned into the soft-hearted man that would worry about someone as frivolous as Alexander.

And since when did he listen to anyone but Dumbledore telling him what to do? Even if that someone was a gorgeous chocolate-haired woman that made away with his heart.

Snape shook himself from his unhelpful thoughts and knocked on the door with the ferocity of a landlord eager to collect his overdue rent.

There were some sounds coming from inside that made it clear that someone was home but it took a very long time before the door actually opened to reveal a very dishevelled-looking Alexander. He looked as if he hadn't bathed in days. There were bags under his eyes and that annoyingly permanent grin on his face had vanished without a trace. And when he saw Snape, there was no denying the fear that sprung to life in his eyes. Snape couldn't help but feel a sharp twinge of worry.

"Severus," Alex breathed. "Why are you here?"

Snape frowned. "I hadn't seen you for quite some time," he said. "I was merely wondering if everything was alright."

Alex glanced downward before looking back up at Snape. There was a grief in his eyes that Snape had never wished to see on the man's face. He suddenly became even more worried.

"Alex," he said sternly. "Where are Charles and Emma?"

"Charles is at his grandparents," Alex said. "And Emma… Emma is inside. But Severus, she is so sick."

"Why didn't you warn me?" Snape snarled as he brusquely moved past Alex and walked towards where he knew their bedroom was. "You've never been shy to ask my help in the past. Why didn't you come to me this time?"

"I don't want her taken away," Alex said. There was a hopelessness in his voice that broke even Snape's heart.

"Taken away?" he asked. "What do you mean? Why would I take her away?"

"It's this epidemic," Alex said in a hushed voice. "It's all over the papers nowadays. People are getting sick. And all of a sudden, they disappear. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

With a few large strides, Snape had made it into the bedroom where Emma lay shivering in the bed. He kneeled beside her and gently put a hand on her forehead.

"It's going to be alright, Emma," Snape said kindly. "I'm here for you."

"I won't let you take her away," Alex said sternly but his voice trembled. Snape ignored him while he took Emma's pulse. He sighed when he noticed that it was a bit slow. He then motioned for Alex to join him in the hall.

"You're right," he told the muggle. "Those disappearances have happened because this illness is of a magical origin. The healers have taken in the muggles that have fallen ill, trying to separate them from the healthy muggles."

"Are they able to cure it?" Alex asked hopefully.

"Not yet," Snape told him. "The best healers are working on it but no cure has been found. If we take Emma to St Mungo's –"

"No!" Alex objected, moving in front of the door to the bedroom as if he needed to shield his wife from Snape. "If they can't help her anyway, I don't want her to go there. Please –"

"Alex-"

"I'll do anything. I can take care of her!" Alex said in desperation. "Please don't take her. I know you could if you wanted to but… I'll…"

Snape sighed and ran a hand through his hair. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. If he took Emma to St Mungo's, she could receive the magical care she needed but he could also understand Alex's worry. The muggle authorities were probably going crazy with all the disappearances of the sick people and their papers were probably full of conspiracy theories.

"Alright, Alex," Snape finally said. "I won't take her anywhere. But on one condition."

"Yes?" Alex said, his stance relaxing slightly.

"You'll allow me to give her the potions I think she'll need," Snape said. "And you will get some food in you from time to time. I also believe sleep and a shower are in order."

Alex chuckled, though the sound of it was not quite as happy as Snape would've liked it. "You win, Severus," he said. "You're really a good friend, do you know that?"

"As are you," Snape admitted. "Don't worry. I will help you to the best of my abilities. You can count on me."

"I always do, Sev," Alex replied wearily, flashing a brief yet genuine smile in Snape's direction. "I always do."

Harry stared at the missive in his hand. It was short and to the point, written by Caratacus Lovegood himself.

Mr Potter,

Come to my office at 13:45.
Do not be late.

C. Lovegood

Harry wondered what he could've possibly done wrong now but he dared not stay away. For a moment, he missed the expectation of detentions and loss of points at Hogwarts because then he knew what was coming. Now, there was nothing but uncertainty.

He knocked on the door at exactly 13:45 and entered when he was prompted to do so by the commanding voice of the chief.

"Mr Potter," Lovegood greeted curtly. "Do come in and close the door, if you will."

Harry did as he was told and stood waiting.

Lovegood sighed. "Take a seat boy," he said. "Come now, we're both busy people and I'm sure you would like to get this meeting over with as quickly as I do."

"Sir?" Harry asked as he took his seat. "I'm not sure what this is about."

"Of course you're not," Lovegood said. "But I'm not one for small talk so let's get straight to the point. You're dating my niece."

Harry's eyes widened momentarily and shifted briefly to Lovegood's wand that lay casually on the edge of his desk. "I am, sir," Harry told him, doubting if it was a good idea to admit that at this point.

"During lunch, my niece seemed to deem it necessary to come into my office and tell me just how unfair I'm being," Lovegood continued.

Harry was unable to suppress a mortified groan. "I'm so sorry, sir," Harry said. "That was never my intention. I'll talk to –"

Harry was stopped when Lovegood raised his hand. "As she explained to me your attitude in school as well as your accomplishments both in and out of the field of potions, I realized that I might have been somewhat unfair towards you."

Harry couldn't help but stare.

"While I would never allow any intern to brew as you have been, I understand that you've been doing so for a while now and that you're managing just fine. Only the boys who need to clean the cauldrons can complain about that."

Harry secretly pinched himself to see if he was dreaming. Did Lovegood just make a joke?

"On another note, I think I need to make clear that when we assign you a certain amount of potions to brew, it is not expected for you to complete said assignment in a day's time," Lovegood continued. "That being said though, I agree that it's been most useful for you to brew the way you have. Our healers would be in even more trouble if you weren't as skilled as I have to admit you are. Therefore, I give you permission to use multiple cauldrons again. If you, however, have an accident while doing so, this privilege will be revoked immediately. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Harry said in wonder. "Thank you, sir!"

"Alright, Mr Potter," Lovegood then said. "You'd best be off. I understand that we really need the rest of those fever reducer potions soon."

"Right away!" Harry said eagerly. He nearly knocked over his chair in his haste to get out and get started again, eager to show chief Lovegood that his newfound faith in him was not unfounded.

He hurried back towards the elevator and was about to get in when he locked eyes with a familiar, distraught-looking Slytherin. He skidded to a halt as he took in the dishevelled appearance of the blonde.

"Draco," Harry said. "What are you doing here?"

Oops. Looks like it sort of ended on a cliffhanger. Sorry! Do let me know what you thought, please. The next chapter will be up tomorrow.