How does Snape cope with everything that has been going on lately? Following Dumbledores orders and being the perfect death eater as well....One shot challenge written for maisie mullings.
This is dedicated to maisie mullings as it was his/her (I think her :P) challenge, to write a piece that shows a gentler Snape.
Note to maisie: This was easy to begin with, but then trying to balance out making Snape gentle but not really nice got a bit hard. I don't think I fully succeeded, but here it is. If anything, maybe it shows Snapes internal conflict with Dumbledores death, and everything else occurring, though he might not show it on the outside.
Disclaimer:You know the drill: JKR owns everything.
Tuesday September 30, 1997
Snape turned to face the portrait of Dumbledore in the headmasters office. "What can I do?" he pleaded with the portrait. It had only been a month into the new school term and already the children were being tortured to their limit. "You're the headmaster now. You can figure it out," the portrait said knowingly. The fact was, Snape didn't have a clue what to do. Yes he was headmaster, but if he contradicted the punishment of the Carrows, the death eaters would grow suspicious. This or course was the way most death eaters minds worked. Do what you are told, or be punished by way of pain. That is how Voldemort treats his followers, or anyone for that matter, so in turn that is the way his followers treat others. "No," Snape said, "I can't." Turning back around he stood up and walked out of the office.
The halls were empty as it was almost midnight. Most of the students were in their dorms, lucky to have made it through another day. The rest were in detention for something or other that they had done in class. Class, thought Snape. Even the curriculum had changed. There were no elective classes such as Care of Magical Creatures or Divination. There was a set schedule of courses and every student followed it. Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Dark Arts, and "Muggle Studies". Even basic classes such as Astronomy had been eliminated. They were deemed useless. Snape turned a sharp corner and headed down another long corridor. He didn't know where he was going. He just needed to get away.
For ten minutes he walked around aimlessly before a pair of doors appeared in front of him. The infirmary. He opened the door gently. There were quite a few beds filled, all screened from view. Snape walked a few paces down the center isle silently counting. Seventeen beds. Seventeen students with injury serious enough to be long term patients in the Hospital Wing. Most were Gryffindors he knew, and they probably deserved what they got, but he also was aware of a couple Slytherins currently being treated as well. He heard a slight cough from the bed on his right. He drew the curtain aside slightly to see who it was. Peering in he saw Liam Baddock. Snape sighed, a Slytherin first year.
Liam of course was pure blood. He had an older brother attending Hogwarts as well. Malcolm Baddock, a fourth year. The two's parents had died in service to Voldemort two years ago. Now they lived with their aunt and her muggle husband. Liam had been in muggle studies, and though he detested muggles, happened to know quite a bit about them, having lived with his aunt. He had made an innocent enough comment on whatever the subject was. But Alecto Carrow hadn't appreciated being contradicted. He had been all but flogged and had suffered quite a few doses of the Cruciatus Curse.
The boy coughed again. He was also running a fever. Sweat could be seen forming on his forehead. Snape walked into the curtained area. He conjured a cool damp cloth and dabbed the sweat from the boys brow. The boy had strawberry blond hair, but his green eyes often reminded Snape of Lily. Sighing yet again he pushed the boys hair back. The boy stirred slowly opening his eyes a fraction to look up at Snape. Those green eyes...Snape straightened up. That was it! He walked quickly out of the infirmary. He knew what he had to do, he just didn't know how he was going to do it.