Chapter 1
Breathe Easy

I sat at the piano and stroked the melody running through my mind out of the beautifully, smooth ivory keys. My eyes slipped closed as I let my fingers run on their own. For some reason these chords had been following me around for weeks now and I simply had to get them out. So, here I was, playing it and writing down each key stroke on the blank pages before me. It was a rather hypnotizing melody to be honest. The music seemed to have a soul of it's own.

When the music had run it's course and I had written it all down I leaned back to stretch. I moaned and ran a hand over my face when I caught a glimpse of the clock. It was 2:13 a.m. and I had to be up in a little less than three hours to begin getting ready for work.

Though I was the only one living at Grimmauld Place for the summer I still worked to save up for my University fund. Everyone was a little nervous about me venturing out to work day after day but I refused to quit. I had agreed to be stowed away in Headquarters after the attack on my home but I refused to cower in a corner. I was not going to allow the Death Eaters to keep me from living my life. That was like letting them win. I was not about to do that. If anything I was a fighter.

I pulled myself from my thoughts and took the silencing spell off of the sitting room. Slowly I headed upstairs to my room to get a few hours sleep.

I woke about an hour later to a loud crash from downstairs followed by Mrs. Black's wails. I immediately grabbed my wand from the nightstand and sneaked down the hallway. As I rounded the corner my wand was already extended and a curse was formed on my lips. The sight that I was met with stole my breath.

There was someone laying on the ground just inside the foyer. The blood pooling around them took me back to the night my own home had been attacked and I quickly checked each room on the first floor. After my thorough sweep I headed back to try and determine if I could help whoever was currently occupying the floor. I dropped down on my knees beside the still figure and checked for a pulse. I soon found one. It was thready but it was there none the less. I levitated the unconscious person to the couch in the sitting room and began running diagnostic spells to determine the damage.

I quickly discovered that a hex had been placed to stop anyone from healing the wounds with magic. With a heavy sigh I headed up to my room and grabbed all of my first aid things. Thankfully I had picked up a thing or two from my parents and Madame Pomphrey. I conjured a sterile work table and set everything out. I let out a grateful sigh when I realized that the hex did not stop potions from working.

I tipped the person's chin up and poured a blood replenishing potion into their mouth while massaging their throat to help them swallow. When I had gotten in enough to help I quickly removed all of their clothing with the exception of undergarments and began to assess the damage. Whoever this was had been quite brutally tortured. There were lacerations and bruises littering practically every area of their body. I decided to start off with cleaning them so that I would know exactly what was needed.

I soaked a sponge in warm water and began to drag it over legs that were matted with already dried blood. As I worked the legs became whiter and the water turned redder and redder. After five minutes I had to conjure fresh water just so I could continue. Half an hour later gave me a clear view of everything but the face and I was nauseous at what I was faced with. Carefully I soaked the sponge in fresh water and began to clear his jaw working my way up to reveal a stubble roughened face and high, elegant cheekbones. Next was an aquiline nose and wide eyes. I gasped and dropped the sponge as the face of my old Potions professor was revealed. He had most likely been discovered by Voldemort or had done something to cause his master to be greatly displeased. I sighed and began washing his hair. When he was free of the old blood I surveyed the damage and knew immediately that many of the cuts would need stitches and more than a fair few were infected.

Sighing I reached over and picked up the rubbing alcohol. I placed all of the tools that I would be using into the bowl and poured the rubbing alcohol over them to sterilize everything. When I was finished I poured it over my hands and forearms. Turning I began soaking cloths in it and dabbing at some of his cuts hoping to prevent infection where I could and fight it where it had already set in. When I was finished sterilizing everything I began to set up my needle and thread. Some of the cuts had to have stitches. It was simply unavoidable.

I set to work on the larger, more dangerous wounds. There were seven total on his legs and only three on his torso that needed immediate attention. The main wound on his torso that worried me stretched from his left shoulder and went all the way down to his right hip in a zig zag motion. It looked as though it had been torn with a blunt object instead of cut and the shredded skin made me feel desperately ill. His Achilles tendons had also been cut and I winced in sympathy as I sewed the ends back together. Once the hex wore off I would vanish the stitches and simply heal them with magic but for now the thread would have to do. It would at least stop the bleeding.

At five I quickly called into work and told them that I had a family emergency and couldn't make it. My boss understood and told me to take as much time as I needed. I explained that it would most likely be a week before I could make it and he agreed to make arrangements for my temporary replacement. I hurriedly thanked him and ended the conversation.

I headed back into the sitting room and finished stitching Snape up. When the last stitch was in place I started sifting through the bag until I found a bottle of pain killer and a syringe. After tapping out the air bubbles I injected the Morphine/Demerol cocktail into his upper arm. It was an extremely small dose. Just enough to kill the edge.

With that done I headed over to the piano and began to play the first thing that came to mind. It was my favorite song and I began to sing the words of promise.

Look into my eyes and you will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart - search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more
Don't tell me it's not worth trying for
You can't tell me it's not worth dying for
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

I allowed my eyes to close and slipped into the music. I knew this. It was safe. So I allowed myself to forget everything just for a moment and let the music take me away.

Look into my my heart and you will find
There's nothing there to hide
Take me as I am - take my life
I would give it all I would sacrifice
Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for
I can't help it there's nothing I want more
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

There's no love like your love
And no other could give more love
There's nowhere unless you're there
All the time all the way

Don't tell me it's not worth trying for
I can't help it there's nothing I want more
I would fight for you - I'd lie for you
Walk the wire for you - Yea, I'd die for you

You know it's true
Everything I do- I do it for you

As the last note died away I heard a moan behind me and I hurried over to the couch to check on my patient. His eyes were fluttering rapidly behind his eyelids and I immediately checked his pulse. It had grown stronger but was still slightly weak. With a growl he struck out at me with his hand and I winced as I watched the stitches covering his chest pull tight. He moaned as I gently grabbed his hand to stop him from hurting me or himself. I layed it down by his side and covered it with one of my own. My free hand reached up to gently cup his cheek in a soothing gesture. Apparently he did not find it so soothing since his eyes shot open and straight to mine. I stayed perfectly still as his eyes seemed to take in every feature of my face.

"Am I in heaven?" His voice rasped as though he had been screaming for days on end.

I smiled gently at the childlike question coming from the older man. "No. You're not."

A smile tilted the edges of his mouth up. "I didn't think so. I never thought that I deserved heaven." At this he began coughing violently and shuddering at each pull of the stitches. "If this isn't heaven then why am I seeing an angel?" His lips lifted as his hand came up to rest on my cheek. "Tell me, angel, what is your name?"

I laughed and covered his hand with my own. "No need to worry about that now, sir. You need to rest a bit and then I will answer all of your questions." I brushed the back of my fingers down his cheek and cupped his jaw. "Sleep now." I whispered. He simply nodded and obeyed with a smile.

As I sat back and stared at my ex Professor I prayed to God that someone from the Order would come by to visit me tomorrow. We had been searching for Severus Snape for weeks now thinking that he had gone MIA. I wasn't too sure that I could handle taking care of him all by myself. Hopefully Mrs. Weasley would show her mother hen colors soon and drop in to 'visit', which everyone knows means mollycoddle. I couldn't stand her hovering but if she showed I would at least have a little help.

The visit was overdue as I had already been living at Grimmauld Place alone for almost a week. As there were still three months left of summer hols I was sure to get plenty of visits soon. At least I hoped.