16th Birthday Ⅲ

With care, Albus touches Rowan Prince's face which pales, ashen colored, and looks rather exhausted. He frowns at sensing the state of her body and internal damage. He hurries over to Severus, who is flushed, and clammy. He barely touches his face, before pulling his stunned gnarled fingers back.

"He's come into his full magic," Albus muttered with great concern. Unfortunately, even as Severus's apprenticeship master, he could not channel the awakening only one of blood could. If he so much as attempted to do so, his power would easily overwhelm the boy's body and surely kill him.

"Toppy!" Albus loudly ordered.

A loud pop is heard as a diminutive female house elf with great blue eyes in a neat little French maid's outfit appears. "Toppy answers Headmaster's summons!"

"Toppy please bring Reginald Prince immediately to Hogwarts," Albus quickly instructed. "Severus has awoken early into his full magical abilities and his body cannot stand the backlash. He will need the Head of the Prince lineage to ground him."

"Toppy obeys!" The house elf squeaked fiercely, before disappearing with a determined expression on her face.

Stomping footsteps loudly can be heard behind Albus Dumbledore before revealing an unhappy-looking Head of Slytherin, Professor Eponine Mortimer. Her usual straight hair is sticking in all sorts of directions. Her skin looks as shallow as always and her stick figure looks even thinner under her thick bed robes. "Why happened now?" She impatiently snapped, before her eyes come to a dreadful halt onto the two bodies lying on the carpeted floor.

"What happened?!" Professor Mortimer sharply asked hurrying forward.

"Severus Prince has come into his full powers," Albus gravely replied. "It would appear that Rowan attempted to siphon her twin's abilities and was temporarily successful before succumbing to internal wounds as a direct consequence of her attempts."

Professor Mortimer opens her mouth to speak, but a flurry of footsteps interrupts them to reveal a kind, stern witch in her late thirties. Despite the late hour, Madam Poppy Pomfrey wears a red dress with a white apron and matching matron cap. "I received your message, Albus," she briskly said hurrying forward, before clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"How bad is it, Poppy?" Albus pointedly asked.

"Rowan Prince has suffered some internal damage," Poppy Pomfrey said waving her wand again over Rowan and Severus. "However, I am far more concerned about Severus Prince. If this continues for much longer, I fear that his becoming a squib is the least of our problems."

"I have already sent for Reginald Prince," Albus admitted.

Poppy reaches into her matron dress and begins to pull out potions for use. "We will perform emergency treatment of Rowan Prince here. I dare not give Severus Prince anything in his current state and which will only serve to worsen the situation."

"Professor Mortimer, the Blood-Replenishing Potion will need to be administered in a small dose," Poppy briskly said handing over a dark potion to the thin, younger witch. She keeps an eye on Professor Mortimer all the while preparing other medications. It was not that she did not trust the younger witch, it's just that she would have never entrusted any of her patients to Horace Slughorn, not in a thousand years!

Pulling a small sand hourglass from her pocket, Madam Pomfrey turns the hourglass. The sand begins to pour downward. She quickly opens a round tin, "Starglass Salve," she held out to Professor Mortimer. "Miss Prince's hands are rather swollen as the point of magic contact; the salve should help with the swelling and soothe the pain."

While Professor Mortimer carefully places salve on Rowan Prince's hands, Madam Pomfrey carefully uncorks a clear potion, a replenishing potion. With her patient unconscious, she had no choice but to spell the potion inside her patient. It is a method less than preferred by healers as the magic spell used to transfer the potion into the patient's stomach counteracted the magic of the potion causing the potion's effects to dramatically weaken.

Pouring a bit of the clear potion into a small bowl, Poppy waves her wand and points at the clear solution. "En ventrem," she said, and the potions vanished having been directly transferred into Rowan Prince's stomach.

The sound of Professor Mortimer closing the Starglass Salve container is heard. Madam Pomfrey nods gratefully to the Head of Slytherin. It would seem that Eponine Mortimer could at least be counted on to help with patients, unlike Horace Slughorn.

Poppy refrains from loudly snorting, before glancing at the sands in the hourglass. She reaches for the next potion a blue bottle, Burning Bitterroot Balm. The potion would aid with internal healing, a pain reliever, and swelling. Pouring the correct dosage, she quickly sends the blue liquid into the stomach of Rowan Prince.

The last dosage, for the time being, is a yellow potion, Chelidonium Miniscula, a powerful healing draught used in very small doses as even a few extra drops could cause the dosage to become harmful to the drinker. Poppy carefully pours out only a small spoonful, before putting it away. With a wave of her wand, the last of the potion vanishes.

"A bit of color has returned to Rowan Prince's face," Professor Mortimer commented.

"Good that means the potions are working properly," Madam Pomfrey said with a pleased expression, before frowning upon glancing at her other patient in a far worse state, Severus Prince.

"Reginald Prince is here!" Toppy abruptly shrieked. "Please open the common room door!" The house elf begged having the distinct inkling that the wizard would attempt to blast the very walls of Hogwarts open in order to reach his grandchildren.

Albus hurries forward with his nightshirt flapping around his ankles. The door swings open to reveal the tall, slender wizard with stern features. Reginald Prince rushes past Albus Dumbledore and hurries towards his grandchildren. His jaws tightened with anger and worry at seeing his grandchildren on the ground.

"Miss Prince is safely stable now," Madam Pomfrey replied, "but the same cannot be said for Mr. Prince."

Reginald bows in a deep, but sincere bow filled with gratitude. He promptly straightens and hurries to Severus. Kneeling down, he places his hand on Severus's chest, the furrow on his brow deepens in response. Without hesitation, he reaches down and scoops Severus into his arms.

Madam Pomfrey lets out a cry of protest. "I cannot ground Severus within Hogwarts," Reginald explained, "Hogwarts will not permit it. I leave the care of my granddaughter in your capable hand, Matron. I will soon return," he firmly said, before hurrying out of the Slytherin common room.

"After him, Albus!" Madam Pomfrey said causing the headmaster to rush after Reginald Prince, who is already down the corridor.

"What a mess," Poppy mumbled to herself, before levitating her patient up. "Well, I would suggest that you head back to sleep, Professor Mortimer. I will see to my patients, but I would recommend that come morning you temporarily appoint two replacement Prefects since the Slytherin Prefects may be out for a few days or more in Severus's case."

"Understood," Professor Eponine Mortimer grumbled to herself, but waited for the infirmary matron to depart first from the Slytherin Quarters with Rowan in tow. It was going to be a long night and she had the feeling she would not be sleeping any time soon.