Elizabeth Haymen growled as she looked down at the piece of paper that had just landed on the counter in front of her. She hated interruptions when she was working. Reaching out, she opened the piece of parchment and skimmed it quickly. Apparently, she had a visitor at the front desk; she knew who the visitor was. She had asked her mother to bring some Muggle medicinal things she needed for her patient.
Finally, she thought, she’s here. Standing, Elizabeth moved to the end of her lab and adjusted the screen so it was once again blocking her patient from view of the room. She then hurried out of her lab, stopping only to charm the lock on the door so no one could open it. She then rushed down the corridor to the stairs that would lead her from the fifth floor down to the ground floor to meet her mother.
Elizabeth was a Muggle-born witch whose parents were both Muggle doctors. She had never wanted to be a doctor; she had always wanted to be the one who found the cures doctors used. This didn’t change when at age eleven, she found out she was a witch. In the wizarding world, they didn’t use doctors, they used Healers. After Elizabeth graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she entered training to become a Healer. But at the same time, she worked with her parents to learn Muggle healing. Now, she worked at St. Mungos as a researcher.
Elizabeth’s work focused on combining wizard healing practices with Muggle medicine. She knew there was a way to make them work together to benefit both wizards and Muggles. Though she had been researching for fifteen years, she had only a few patients on which she had tried combined remedies. Though all of her treatments were successful, the Healers were still hesitant and distrustful of her theories.
Many stuffy and arrogant Healers dismissed her work. However, there was one, Augustus Pye, who was willing to let her try to save their gravest of patients. He didn't believed this man would survive. He should be dead already. Elizabeth believed by using a combination of Muggle and magical medicine, she could save his life. She was not going to give up on him just because everyone else had.
Yes, his injuries, suffered during the Battle of Hogwarts were severe; Elizabeth knew she could save him. Three years ago, a patient had come in with an injury very similar, and he had been saved. Admittedly, that man’s injuries were not as serious, but using the magical methods used on that man, along with the Muggle treatment for this injury, Elizabeth was certain of saving this man’s life.
When she reached the ground floor, Elizabeth saw her mum standing next to the Check-in Desk looking around curiously. Though she hadn’t slept in almost twenty-four hours, she had to smile. Her mother never missed an opportunity to learn something new. That was where her daughter got it from.
“Mum, I am so glad you are here. There isn’t much time. We have to hurry. Did you bring everything I asked for?” Elizabeth spoke rapidly as she led her mother down a long narrow corridor to a set of double doors. Going through the doors, Elizabeth started to climb the set of rickety stairs. Elizabeth didn’t bother with the elevator. Even at this time of night, it often took a while to arrive. It was much faster to use the stairs.
“Yes, dear, I brought everything you wanted. But from what you have told me about this man’s injuries, I don’t think what I brought is going to be enough,” Lynn Haymen answered her daughter. She knew Elizabeth would not listen to reason. She never listened, not when she believed in what she was doing.
Climbing up the stairs, they passed many portraits of Healers who had worked in the hospital. Most of the occupants of the portraits watched them silently. Occasionally, one would ask them if they needed help with a problem. Elizabeth, who used these stairs daily, ignored them. Lynn was fascinated by the moving portraits. If they hadn’t been in such a hurry to reach the patient, Lynn would have stopped and conversed with those who were willing to talk to her.
When they reached the fifth floor, they exited through a set of double doors and directly in front of them was the tea shop. Turning left, Elizabeth led the way down another narrow corridor past the gift shop, to the very end. There was a single door with no window. Painted on the door was simply her name.
Taking her wand out of her pocket, Elizabeth murmured the charm that would unlock the door. Stepping through the door, she motioned for her mother to enter. Closing the door behind them, she once again murmured a charm to lock the door behind them.
The room was small and most of it was taken up by workbenches on which there were test tubes, bubbling cauldrons, and piles and piles of notes written on parchment paper. Elizabeth walked past all of these to the back corner where a screen had been set up. Folding the screen back, she looked down at the man lying there.
At first glance, he seemed to be already dead. His skin was ghostly white, his cheeks sunken. His breathing was shallow and so slow it took a moment for you to realise he was still breathing. His shoulder length jet black hair had been pulled back away from his face.
Looking down at the man her daughter was fighting so hard to save, Lynn felt this was a lost cause. But, being a dedicated doctor, she opened her medical bag and began to check his vitals.
Elizabeth stood watching her mother. She knew the older woman didn’t understand her need to save this patient. She didn’t understand it herself. She remembered him from her days at Hogwarts. He was a year ahead of her and in a different house. Elizabeth knew he hated anyone of her birth. Mudblood was the word he would use when referring anyone of Muggle birth. She also knew what this man had been accused of last year. For some strange reason, Elizabeth knew there was a reason behind what he did, if in fact, he did do it. She was determined to give him the chance to explain why.
“Lizzie, did you give him the anti-venom yet?” Lynn asked her daughter, her voice sounded calm and serene, and Elizabeth could hear the strength in it.
“Yes, I gave him a dose early this morning. I haven’t given him a second dose yet. I was waiting until after we gave him the blood transfusion. He may not even need it once we do that.” Elizabeth looked hopefully at her mother for confirmation that her efforts would not be in vain.
“He is very weak. I don’t understand how he is even still alive. His will to live must be very strong. Let’s get to work.” Reaching down, Lynn opened the other bag she had brought with her. It was a small insulated bag. In it there were several pints of blood, and several bags of intravenous solution. She pulled out a bag of each, and looked around for a pole to hang them on. Taking out her wand, Elizabeth conjured the required pole for her mum to use.
Looking in her mum’s bag, Elizabeth pulled out the necessary needles and tubes to start the medicine drip and the blood transfusion. Quietly, they worked together to save this man’s life.
Once the medicine and blood had started flowing into the veins of the man lying in the bed, Lynn looked at her daughter. “Lizzie, you realize that even with all of this, we may not be able to save him. From what you told me, this was not an ordinary snake bite. I’m not sure the treatment I would normal do would help this man. Things are so different in your world.”
“Mum, I don’t know either. But in all the tests I ran on his blood, the anti-venom did help, just not enough on its own. That is why I thought using the anti-venom and replacing the blood he lost with the transfusion, might just be enough.”
“Well, we will know soon enough. If this is going to work, we should see some improvement quickly. Do you have the second dose of anti-venom handy?” Lynn asked her daughter without looking up from the man lying in the bed.
“Yes, Should we administer it now?” Elizabeth reached over to pick up the small vial from the nightstand where she had left it.
“Yes, put it into the IV. Then we wait and see what happens.” Lynn instructed her daughter.
Elizabeth carefully measured out the proper dose and squeezed it into the IV line as her mother instructed.
The watched closely for any signs that the treatment was working. After fifteen minutes, the patients breathing became a bit deeper. There even it seemed to Elizabeth, to be a bit more colour to his skin.
“Mum, is it working?” Elizabeth’s voice was soft and hesitant.
Lynn once again opened her bag, and rechecked the patient’s vitals. As she was doing this, his eyes slowly flickered opened.
In his black eyes, Elizabeth could see shock, and confusion.
“It is okay. You are safe. You are in St. Mungo’s. I’m Elizabeth.” Elizabeth looked directly into the depths of his eyes as she spoke. It was important to keep him calm. “You’re going to be all right. I know you must be confused as to what all these things are around you. But you just need to trust me that it is all for your own good. It is to save your life.” Elizabeth smiled reassuringly as she spoke.
“How long have I been here?” the man’s voice was weak and barely above a whisper.
“You’ve been here a bit over twelve hours. You were brought in around eight this morning. We don’t know who brought you here. I found you in the hallway outside this room. It is now almost nine at night. I think you should try to rest. Let the medicine work.” Elizabeth started to move to adjust his blankets.
“What happened at Hogwarts? What happened with the Battle?” The man reached out and grabbed Elizabeth’s arm to stop her from moving away from the bed.
Elizabeth gently took the man’s hand and carefully placed it back on the bed. She then finished adjusting the blankets around him as she spoke.
“He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead. Harry Potter has killed him. There were many who died, on both sides. Now, I must insist that you rest. You are safe here. The only people who know you are here are myself, and one Healer. He can be trusted to tell no one you are here.” Elizabeth tone was reassuring but firm.
At this news, the man slumped back on the pillows and closed his eyes. Not trusting for a second he was asleep, Elizabeth drew her mum away from the bed so they could talk without the man hearing them.
The man watched the two women talking quietly through barely open eyes. He could not hear what they were saying. He knew they were discussing him, but he couldn’t summon the strength to tell them to speak to him, to tell him what was going on. So, he studied them. The older woman, he knew he had never seen before. Her dark auburn hair was cut just above her shoulders with every hair in place.
It was the younger woman who captivated his interest. Her hair was a lighter auburn, and was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail. Strands of it were floating around her face like a reddish halo. She seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t figure out where he would know her from. Severus Snape’s last thought before the overwhelming fatigue took him under again was that under different circumstances, the woman was someone he would like to get to know.
Alive but Hidden Away by mudbloodproud
Chapter Notes: This story has been hanging around my computer for quite a while now. It is perfect for this prompt. I can't find the email of the person who originally beta'd it and helped so much with it. If it was you, PM or email me and let me know so I can credit you. I wish to thank you for your comments and help in getting the first chapter together.
I do not own anything you recognize in the story. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. I am just thankful to be able to play in her world for a little while.