Castle Discipline

by lynned0101

A sixth year story involving the usual, and a few unexpected, characters from the HP world. This is a discipline story, but with a twist. I hope it appeals to a broader audience, but still, don't read if corporeal punishment upsets you!

A/N – I wrote this fic as an experiment for a "spanking" group, but it is not a typical discipline or spanking story. There is some corporeal punishment, richly justified in the context of this story, so be warned, but typical corporeal punishment is far from the focus of the story.

X X X X X X X X X X

The late summer day began for Albus Dumbledore as most did when he was present in Hogwarts Castle. After rising and enjoying his breakfast, he entered his office and greeted those of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses who were awake in their portraits, as he took his seat behind his desk. Paperwork, and even urgent owls, had to wait. The first order of business was always the same. Dumbledore rested his hand on a specific stone on the wall behind his desk, a stone touched so often over the centuries that a slight depression had been worn in it. His face took on an expression of concentration and attentiveness, rather like he was engaged in a particularly fascinating conversation with an old friend. In a sense, he was. Dumbledore was talking to the castle.

Oh, Hogwarts Castle began over one thousand years ago as all buildings did. When the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry agreed that the appropriate location for their school would be a castle, they also agreed that the land just north of the wizarding community of Hogsmeade was perfect. There was ample local stone available to be mined, an old-growth forest and a deep, ancient lake, all in a setting removed from curious eyes – an ideal and very beautiful setting for a magical building. Land was secured and two sets of plans for the castle were created. The first set represented the true plans for the magical castle. The second set had been modified to fit muggle sensibilities, as hundreds of muggle stonemasons, quarrymen and craftspeople were contracted from across Europe to come to Hogsmeade to work on the castle. The basic mining and non-magical construction took many decades, and for that time, the wizards of Hogsmeade shared their remote and idyllic community with muggles. When the basic construction was completed, an enchantment was placed upon all the muggles in Hogsmeade. Over a very short period, they all decided that it was now time for them to move elsewhere, and once they did, they promptly forgot about Hogsmeade and the castle entirely. Their places were taken in short order by highly skilled wizard craftsmen, who needed several further years, even with their magical abilities, to strip out all the internal constructs that had been incorporated just so the building made sense to the muggles, and to add exterior embellishments that would have been beyond muggle comprehension or abilities. When the exterior was finished, and the interior restored to fit the true construction plans, the wizard craftsmen were joined by others with woodworking skills, as well as several hundred house elves and a group of about 50 goblins. The magical construction crew needed a further ten years to complete the interior and place all the finishing touches that created the structure that students in the centuries to come would immediately recognize as Hogwarts.

The magic worked in and around the castle during that final phase of its construction had infused the stone walls with enormous strength and power. When construction was finished, the founders were joined by many of the most powerful witches and wizards of the day to create wards, enchantments, spells and other magics that would shield the castle from view by non-magical beings, strengthen its already strong stone walls, and protect it and all those within it from harm. Each succeeding generation added its best and strongest magics, as well.

The power of all this magic bled into the castle's surroundings, gradually affecting the nearby forest and lake. The magic-enhanced soil of the forest supported the growth of rare and magically- powerful herbs, trees and plants. These in turn attracted a tribe of centaurs, a herd of unicorns and other creatures of the magical world, all of whom were happy to make it their home. Likewise, the magic seeped into the water of the lake. That allowed the lake to produce amazing magical plants, which in turn attracted a community of merpeople, a family of giant squid and a host of other aquatic magical creatures.

Things continued in this manner for another two centuries: the castle infused with more and more magic by the strongest witches and wizards of every age, shedding further magical power into the forest and the lake. There finally came a time, however, when the powerful wards, enchantments and spells in the walls of the castle, and in the air and the soil around it, produced a sense of awareness in the castle itself. It went from being a place of shelter and protection to being an active protector of all those within.

No one knows exactly when that occurred. As the castle's awareness and understanding grew, it became dissatisfied with its role of quiet vigilance. It wanted more direct impact as a protector. Observing that one resident of the castle enjoyed a special relationship with the castle's magics, it identified the Headmistress of the School as the castle resident to whom it would make its awareness and intentions known, to whom it would communicate the information that it had. The castle concentrated its attention on a stone behind the desk she used, but soon realized it needed to direct her attention to that stone. The castle could not communicate with a person directly, but it noted that the portraits of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses kept up a steady conversation with the incumbent Headmistress, so it focused on the portraits. Through their physical connection to the castle walls, the castle pushed out thoughts of its intentions and desire. At first, the portraits were each quite distressed by this sensation, but one morning, one of the portraits risked derision and mentioned to his colleagues the strange sensation he was experiencing. When several of the others acknowledged that they were experiencing the exact same thing, the portraits finally spoke to the sitting Headmistress about this. She was a very formidable witch, well into the second century of her life, with a strong sense of adventure. The suggestion that, by touching a particular stone pointed out to her, she could speak to the castle itself, was too good an invitation for her to pass up, and she immediately accepted. She was thrilled with the idea, if a bit less enthused with the streams of data that was the substance of this communication. When the Headmistress passed away a few years later, the portraits discussed among themselves whether to encourage the new Headmaster accepted by the wards to communicate with the castle. After a rather vigorous debate (vigorous for portraits of dead Headmasters, at least), the decision was made to say nothing until they felt the strange sensations that had mobilized them to speak the last time. That was the right thing to do, as it turned out.

Over the centuries, then, the portraits waited for the castle to signal its desire to communicate with a new Headmaster or Headmistress. It usually did so within six months to a year after the new leader was accepted by the wards and given access to the office, although a number of Headmasters were not invited for a period of several years. A few Headmasters were never invited to communicate at all. The castle's displeasure in a Headmaster seemed to be permanent, as the castle walls would not accept portraits of the former Headmasters with whom it declined to communicate. The descendants of one former Headmaster with whom the castle never chose to communicate presented a portrait to be hung in the castle, and no fewer than seventeen attempts were made to do that over several decades, all with the same result. The nail on which the portrait was hung inevitably was forced out of the stone walls, and the portrait sent crashing to the ground. Eventually, the descendants accepted that portrait back and hung it instead in the rear parlor of their family manor.

While all of the Headmasters and Headmistresses were flattered by the castle's attention and accepted the invitation to communicate, most of them quickly concluded that there was little value to them in the communication. The castle imparted data, lots and lots of data, and few wizards could see the benefit to them in such a basic form of information. As a result, most leaders spent no more than a quarter of an hour a month, sometimes only every other month, with their hands on that stone, and many seemed to develop a headache from the experience.

The remarkable exception to this was Albus Dumbledore. The castle seemed to recognize a kindred spirit in the brilliant, quirky wizard almost immediately, and surprised the portraits with a request that they ask him to touch the stone within one week of his appointment as Headmaster. Dumbledore, for his part, was thrilled at the news that the castle wanted to communicate with him. He reacted very differently to the barrage of information than had his
predecessors. He first sought to understand where the information being shared came from. Sensing his curiosity, and recognizing that he had already begun to contribute to the wards protecting the castle, it directed Dumbledore's attention to the various wards and enchantments which tracked and measured many things about the castle and its inhabitants. Dumbledore realized that the castle was sharing data being generated from the magic that protected it. Dumbledore was particularly interested in one ward that tracked the location of all castle inhabitants. He saw no need for anything like a map that simply showed who was where (although he had heard that some students about twenty years ago had created a charm to link that ward to a parchment and had actually created such a map), but he did value being able to link people to events within the castle, especially if there were problems.

One person about whom Dumbledore expressed particular concern was his volatile and acerbic former potions master, and now Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Severus Snape. Responding to Dumbledore's interest, the castle paid particular attention to Snape
and his impact on others as he interacted with them. There was another ward that measured heart rates and blood pressures that served to track safety and threats within the castle, and linking that ward with the identification ward enabled the castle to report when Snape was provoking particular distress among students and colleagues. It absolutely delighted Dumbledore (and thoroughly vexed Snape) to be able to approach Snape when his moods became particularly disruptive, and calm the younger wizard down a bit.

As a result of this situation, Dumbledore realized that he could edit the data a bit by posing questions or expressing interest in particular items, as well as people. He could express his focus or concern, and the castle would tailor its data and seek to present relevant information. By taking the time to continually refine his questions, Dumbledore was able to receive particularly useful information that he came to value highly, and he made communication
with the castle not just a daily routine, but a priority each day. He always spent at least a quarter of an hour at the start of each day, and sometimes much longer periods, in rapt communication with the castle.

On this particular day, Dumbledore was focused on the fact that, tomorrow, the Hogwarts Express would bring the students back for another year of learning. He expressed his joy at having his Hogwarts family all together again, and sought the castle's engagement in making the upcoming school year a safe and pleasant experience for all involved. The castle welcomed the charge, and its magics thrummed in anticipation of welcoming and protecting all the people soon to be sheltered within its walls.

With a sigh and a pleased look on his face, Dumbledore broke the connection with the wall and set about completing all the administrative work that necessarily accompanied the start of a new school year. He was so looking forward to tomorrow.

That cheerful optimism was nowhere to be found in the dungeons the next afternoon, where Severus Snape was unpacking from a trip to a Potions Masters Congress that had been held this year in Brugge, Belgium. He enjoyed the conference, of course. This year, his long-standing wish to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts had finally been granted, so his joy in creating and making potions would no longer be sullied by having to work with students who had absolutely no skill or talent, or who found the subject distasteful. He relished being among others who shared his enthusiasm and at least some of his talent for "the subtle science and exact art" (as he liked to say) that was potionmaking. The gathering had lasted a week, and he had delivered a particularly well-received presentation on one of his most recent creations. Much of the cost of the Congress was underwritten by companies that did business with and made their money from the potions community. Several of the wizard and goblin law firms that handled patent applications, a number of manufactures and distributors of potions products, and a number of suppliers of potions ingredients saw to it that the food, wine and other amenities were of top quality. Snape was not by nature a social creature, but he did enjoy the company of fellow researchers, and truth be known, the luxurious accommodations contributed to his enjoyment.

Snape's quarters at Hogwarts were certainly very comfortable, and the food was plentiful and good, and even the wine was of excellent quality, but somehow it failed in the comparison with the experience he had just enjoyed. He sighed as he settled back into his rooms and reviewed his curriculum for lessons beginning the next day.

The pleasure and relaxation of the prior week, and the anticipation of embarking on a new career teaching DADA, slowly ebbed away and was replaced with a nagging dread of the weeks to come. His years as a teacher had taught Snape that there were two groups of students about whom he had legitimate reason to worry. Curiously, their Houses had nothing to do with this, although his Slytherins did represent probably the biggest risk. He was worried about the return of second and third year boys from wizarding families, and upper year girls from muggle families.

The boys had just spent the summer, their first or second with their wands, among their families. In such settings, the decree against the use of magic by underage wizards was virtually unenforceable because of all the other magic being performed in their homes. All
too many of those boys had used this time to learn all sorts of hexes and spells from older brothers, and even from uncles and fathers, and now returned to Hogwarts brimming with pride and bravado and eager to show off their new "skills" and impress their friends. Very few of the boys were actually strong or competent enough to represent real threat of harm, but there needed to be vigilance and speedy intervention to keep things from getting out of
hand. The more aggressive boys had no doubt learned about dueling, too; his Slytherins were always a challenge there. For his money, Snape would let the duelists do their damage and live with the consequences, but often as not their lack of control meant that bystanders would be hurt. The first month or two of a new term was always a real nightmare for the teachers. Snape's head began to throb just thinking about it.

The other group, upperclass girls from muggle families, was almost never an issue in his House, but he had them in his classes. The issue with this group stemmed from the fact that witches and wizards came fully into their power at sexual maturity. For children of wizarding families, and even boys from muggle families, that almost always occurred after graduation, so it was not Snape's problem. However, for some reason, probably having to do with additives in the food or water in muggle communities, the girls in those communities tended to mature several years earlier, some as early as their sixth year at Hogwarts. For an ordinary witch or wizard, the maturation of powers was not a big event. There may be a slight surge in power, but sometimes not even that. For more powerful and not yet fully-trained witches, the surge could be more dramatic and might not be well-controlled. Girls seldom represented the risk of harm to others that boys did, but it had been known to lead to some interesting situations.

As Snape prepared to leave the dungeons and go upstairs for the Welcome Feast, the throbbing in his head grew steadily worse, and his stomach began to feel queasy. Snape was inclined to attribute this to a long day, portkey travel, and possibly to some mussels he'd enjoyed at dinner the night before. He selected several potions and consumed the appropriate doses. Thus fortified, he donned his teaching robes, charmed them to billow at the slightest forward motion, and set off for the Great Hall.

Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger were sitting together at the noisy Gryffindor table. The sorting was done, the speeches over, and the food was piled high on the trestle tables. The conversation was the usual: catching up with what had gone on over the summer, gossip gleaned from overheard chatter on the train, plans for the new term. Hermione seemed to be bursting to say something, but to Harry and Ron's annoyance, she was not going to share it over the table. "Please, let's talk in the Common Room later. It's nothing serious, but I discovered something over the summer that I'd really like to discuss with you both, in private."

After Ron and Hermione had discharged their Prefect duties and gotten the first years settled into their dormitories, they joined Harry on one of the couches off in a quiet corner of the Common Room. Harry had been intrigued by Hermione's comment about a discovery, and he blurted "Come on, Hermione! Spill! Your discoveries can't be anything but spectacular – what happened that could not be discussed over dinner?"

"I discovered that when I touch someone, or touch something they've touched, I think I can feel their magic. I don't know that I can do anything, so I would not call it a skill, but I definitely can feel magic in other people. Actually, in animals, too – Crookshanks was a bit of a surprise there. I noticed it around the house, although of course my parents have very low levels. When we went to Diagon Alley to get my school supplies, I was astonished how strong the
sensation was. And of course, it was like that on the train here, today."

Ron looked a bit nonplussed by this news, but Harry was interested. "How do you know it's magic you feel? What does it feel like? Is it solid, or like an aura? Can you actually see it?
And is this constant – can you turn it off?"

"I really don't know much about this yet. It's just a sensation, but I am sure it is magic. I could feel it when I hugged my parents goodbye this morning, low levels, almost undetectable. When I hugged you hello, I could sense the same basic thing, but much stronger. I can't see anything when I look at you that I'd say is your magic. This isn't making sense, is it? And I don't know about turning it on or off. I suppose, now that I'm back in school, I'd better find a way to turn it down if not off, because there is just so much magic here. "

Ron finally joined the conversation. "Hermione, why don't you speak to Madam Pomfrey about this? There are some healing specialists who can read or react to magic like this, I think. She might have some ideas about what it is and where you can learn more about it."

The conversation drifted along to other topics, and finally Hermione went off to speak with some of her other friends. Harry asked Ron about his initial reaction to Hermione's news. "You didn't look happy about Hermione's news, Ron. That's not like you. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, mate. That's a scary new skill for her, that's all. It's possible, if Hermione finds out that she can enter someone's magic and manipulate it, that she's a healer. Those are really rare – not a mediwitch like Madam Pomfrey. You can train to do that. A healer has a skill that they are born with."

It was Harry's turn to look distressed. "You mean, by hugging me, she could look, or feel, inside me? Touch my magic?" Ron chuckled at Harry's reaction. "Nothing invasive there, Harry. She can't hurt you. She's going to have to sort this all out with Madam Pomfrey, maybe get her assessed. Give her something to do other than read and study, at least."

Down in the dungeons, Snape had endured his least favorite evening of the term, getting his first years settled into their dormitories and acquainted with Slytherin House rules. Snape was never pleasant under the best of circumstances, but even worse when he felt so ill. He was finally able to set his listening charms and wards and retire to his own rooms for a well-deserved brandy just as the clock was striking midnight.

The first several days of classes were a time to start to establish routines. Snape was surprised and pleased to have actually gotten a full nights' sleep the first night, expecting his wards to go off once if not twice as students got used to the new surroundings. He felt he was suitably intimidating with his new speech to first year DADA students, and he was as comfortable in his mastery of this subject as he had been in his Potions classes. He continued to feel achy and usually found himself with a headache by the end of the day, but he had his own store of potions and dosed himself as needed, and he thought no more of it.

Hermione was having some difficulty getting her new sense of others' magic under control, and it was starting to show. She kept up in her studies, of course, but the constant barrage of sensations was making her short-tempered and her sleep was suffering. Harry and Ron exchanged worried glances over breakfast the second day, as their friend was now sporting rings under her eyes. They noticed that she was clearly making an effort to touch nothing directly with her skin. She had spent some time in the library, too, although she'd found nothing that explained her situation or gave her any information about how to control the sensations.

It was Snape's turn to patrol the halls the third night of term. He made his first and most thorough pass through the corridors and alcoves about eight o'clock. He had developed a listening charm several years ago that was powerful but short-lived, which was a perfect compliment to his patrol duties. As he checked each out-of-the-way alcove and corridor and established that it was empty, he cast the listening charm in it. The charms did not transmit or
track conversations – the vapid conversations of the students would drive any grown wizard crazy – but were set to signal only exceptions to normal levels of noise. They were powerful for about four hours, which was the time that mischief was most likely, and then evaporated over the next four hours, so they were gone by the next morning when the students were about en masse. Once his listening charms were set, Snape could spend most of his time
patrolling the main corridors, knowing the charms would alert him to anything untoward in the other places.

The first half of his patrol duty was very typical for early term. He had to get a few lost first-years pointed in the right direction, and send a couple of amorous Ravenclaws back to their Common Room. About ten o'clock, his charms alerted him to a disturbance in an alcove on the other side of the castle. The exception to normal noise levels seemed to be extreme, so he ran in the direction of the problem as fast as he could.

When he arrived at the location of the charm that summoned him, he was greeted by a sight that sickened him. A young girl was lying on the stone floor of the alcove in a large, and expanding, pool of blood. She seemed to have a large gash through her torso and hip, and from the angle of her leg, Snape suspected that the bone had been completely broken through, if the limb had not actually been severed. He could see she was screaming piteously, but he could not hear her. With a jolt, he realized that a noise-blocking charm had been set around the entrance to the alcove. His listening charm in the alcove was, fortunately, stronger than this other charm, so while the noise was blocked, his charm was able to alert him. He moved quickly to assist the injured student. The young girl might not have seen it this way, but luck was with her this night. Not only did Snape's listening charm get past the noise-blocking charm and bring him to her aid, he was the only member of the staff, aside from Madam Pomfrey, who could begin to deal with her serious injuries immediately. Within seconds, he had staunched the flow of blood from her wounds, rendered her unconscious, immobilized her and begun to levitate her to the Infirmary.

Madam Pomfrey was clearly shocked when Snape entered the Infirmary levitating the child before him. The girl was in very bad shape, but Madam Pomfrey drew on her training and experience to take control of the situation. She directed Snape to place the child on a bed near her office, and as he complied, he reported what little he knew of matter, and described the injuries he saw and the spells he had used to stabilize her to get her to the mediwitch. "Poppy, one of my listening charms alerted me to this child's screams. She was in an alcove off a corridor, behind a noise-blocking charm. I must alert Albus, now that she is in your hands."

Snape used the floo in Madam Pomfrey's office to firecall the Headmaster. "Albus, we need you immediately in the Infirmary. A child has been hurt. You need to see this. Please, hurry."
Alarmed at the distress evident in Snape's voice, Dumbledore stepped through the floo moments later and hastened with Snape to speak to Madam Pomfrey at the child's bedside.

She looked up at Snape. "You saved this child's life tonight, Severus. That wound could have been fatal. You got to her and stopped the blood loss just in time. Literally, had you gotten to
her one minute later, there would have been nothing I could do for her. She's got a long night ahead of her, and she'll be here for another couple of days, but she is stable now. I'll be able to mend her hip and leg, and replenish her blood supply. She will be able to walk back to her dormitory when she's ready to leave."

Snape looked relieved, as Dumbledore patted his shoulder. "Margaret Upshaw is a Hufflepuff. Poppy, if you can leave her side for a few minutes, would you please call Professor Sprout and alert her. Severus and I will wait with her." Snape added "I would like to scan her injuries, to see if we can verify how this was done. It might help us identify the perpetrator." Madam Pomfrey stepped away from the bed to allow Snape access to the girl, and he and Dumbledore both drew their wands and began casting spells and scanning her. Eventually, Snape looked at Dumbledore and said "My best guess: a poorly-cast slicing curse. It was strong enough to do serious damage and even slice through bone, but the fact that this wound is healing well tells me that the dark magic part of the curse did not work." Slowly and sadly, the older wizard nodded in agreement. "Can you show me where you found her, Severus?"

They took their leave of the Infirmary as soon as Madam Pomfrey returned, and went directly to the alcove. Dumbledore could sense immediately the charms still in place. "A noise-blocking charm, Severus? How did you find her, then?" Snape walked past him into the alcove, and gestured for Dumbledore to follow him. "I placed a listening charm in this alcove as I began patrolling the corridors tonight. The other charm, at the entrance, blocked noise from getting out, but my charm was stronger and was able to reach out to me."

"It feels like dark magic was done here. Severus, do you feel it too?"

"Yes, Albus. Fortunately, poorly-done dark magic, as we thought upstairs, given the fact that Miss Upshaw's injuries are healing as we speak. The noise-blocking charm is very concerning. Its use has become quite popular among followers of the Dark Lord of late, rather than placing a silencing spell on the victim. They can enjoy the sounds of their victim's screams, while preventing others from hearing and responding."

Dumbledore needed to steady himself with his hand against the wall as the impact of what Snape said hit him. This was not an accident or even a prank gone bad. Someone, almost assuredly another student, had enjoyed Miss Upshaw's torment and did not intend for her to be found, likely until she was dead or past hope. Snape looked at him with real pain etched on his face. They both realized that, given the presence of dark magic and the use of a charm
favored by followers of Voldemort, the perpetrator was almost certainly a member of Slytherin House.

"These listening charms are set simply as alarms. I cannot tell who was here or what was said. I assume students, especially those who know about this, will be discussing it. I will see what I can find out in my Common Room now – I have some more traditional listening charms in place there. I'll also place them around my classroom tomorrow."

Unfortunately for Snape, there had been a great deal of discussion about this, albeit in hushed tones, among some of his Slytherins that night, but as the hours passed, the students had all gone to bed by the time he arrived to check. After breaking up a couple of fifth-years snogging in a dark corner and dispatching them to their dormitories, Snape paid a final visit to the Infirmary to check on Miss Upshaw's progress and to see if Madam Pomfrey required any
special healing potions to speed that along, and at last returned to his classroom to place listening charms throughout. He carefully linked each charm to a recording parchment, and brought the parchments to his office, where he then connected them to the ward that identified everyone in the castle. He would have transcripts of all the conversations that took place in his classroom tomorrow that identified the speakers. He consulted his planned syllabus for the classes tomorrow, and adjusted the lesson plans to include at least half an hour of loosely supervised work in groups of three students. That was always the noisiest arrangement in his classroom, and for once, that suited his purposes.

When he finally retired to his quarters, Snape took what he hoped would be a relaxing shower before bed. He tried spelling a steam shower, leaning against the walls and out of the way of the water, hoping that the steam would ease the tension he was feeling, and then spelled the water to pulse on to his back as he rested his head on his forearms against the wall. Nothing helped. He spent a restless, achy night and needed doses of several of his stronger potions in the morning to get himself moving and off to his classes.

Dumbledore's communication with the castle the next morning was very emotional. He expressed that a child had been seriously injured, by someone within the castle, who apparently left that child to die. The castle responded with information about instances in which groups or individuals had been terribly agitated the day before, most notably in the Slytherin Common Room, the alcove and the Infirmary. Dumbledore implored the castle to be vigilant and felt reassured as he broke his connection with the stone.

Snape did not have to wait long for his listening charms to bear fruit. His first class of the day was the Slytherin-Gryffindor sixth-years. Snape presented the assignment, organized the students into groups of three and repaired to his desk to address a large pile of paperwork, hoping his inattention would give the little monsters ample time to brag and tell their stories. When there was just fifteen minutes left in the class, Snape made a show of putting his paperwork aside and walking among the students, criticizing a Gryffindor here, praising a Slytherin there. When class was over, he had free time until lunch, so he repaired to his office and began to scan the recording parchments that had stacked themselves neatly on his desk. The top parchment reported a conversation among Draco Malfoy and his two goons, Vincent Crabb and Gregory Goyle. It was the conversation that Snape feared the most, and his relief was palpable when he realized that they were just discussing what they had heard in the Common Room about someone else's acts. The next parchment told him of Harry Potter's and Ron Weasley's concern for the other third of their trio, Hermione Granger, who seemed to be in a midst of either an illness or some personal crisis. She hadn't been her usual annoying self so far this term, and on reflection, he realized she looked rather haggard. They clearly were not involved in whatever had transpired last night. A few parchments down, Snape hit paydirt. Pansy Parkinson complimented Theodore Nott on the fine work his cousin had done, and Theodore replied "I worked with him on that all summer. Kid's got a real talent there, you know? His slicing curse is at least as strong as my dad's! You should have seen it – he went right through bone, even! And she screamed like there was no tomorrow. Good thing our dads taught us that noise- blocking spell. It was fun to watch her try to call people to help her as they walked down the corridor, and they walked right on by because they could not hear her."

Snape was nearly sick to his stomach as he read that. He took the parchment and firecalled the Headmaster, asking him to step through the floo immediately. Snape presented the parchment to Dumbledore. "It appears that Theodore Nott's cousin was the perpetrator. The young man is Michael Nott, a second year in my House. Even worse, it appears that Theodore was there with Michael, as he mentions the noise-blocking charm and says that he enjoyed watching the child scream for help."

"Thank you, Severus. The matter is in my hands now, and whatever action is taken will be my decision alone. I will perform legilimens on Mr. Nott to establish his role in this matter, and assuming that he is indeed the culprit, he will be gone from Hogwarts before the noon meal. Please, bring Michael to my office immediately."

Snape's second-years had Charms that hour, so he hastened to Professor Flitwick's classroom and asked that Mr. Nott be excused. The little monster swaggered from the classroom, and Snape, giving nothing away and fearful of what he might say if he spoke to the boy, simply guided him to the gargoyles guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office. When Snape and Michael arrived, Snape saw Dumbledore look at the boy over the top of his half-moon glasses, and suspected that the Headmaster was wasting no time in probing the boy's mind. He was right. Dumbledore was fully aware of the roles that Michael, Theodore and another young Slytherin, Charles Turbott, had played in the events of the night before in a matter of seconds.

The twinkle was completely gone from his eyes as he said "Mr. Nott, have you anything to say in defense of yourself for the heinous and cowardly attack on Miss Upshaw last evening?" The arrogant sneer on Michael's face flickered for just an instant at that question, but he restored it almost immediately. With a mocking grin, he shrugged "Professor Dumbledore, I am sure I have no idea what you are speaking about." Dumbledore held his eyes for several moments as he said "Professor Snape." At that, Snape extended his hand and intoned "Accio, Veritaserum." In seconds, a small vial flew into his outstretched hand. Michael's bravado faltered at that. "You can't . . ." Snape interrupted "Indeed, Mr. Nott, he can. The by-laws of this institution, as well as Ministry Decree number 7,342, clearly state that the Headmaster may administer Veritaserum to a student when the matter under inquiry involves the death of or serious injury to a student. The questioning may relate only to the matter under investigation, and must be undertaken in the presence of the student's Head of House." Michael's face finally showed fear. "My father will never allow . . ." Once again, Snape cut him
off. "No parental notification or authorization is needed here, Mr. Nott. The Head of House stands in loco parentis in this situation." Snape then poured a small glass of pumpkin juice from a pitcher on the Headmaster's desk and carefully added three drops of the fluid from the vial into it. Swirling the glass to mix, he handed it to Michael. "Drink."

Michael was clearly considering his options at that point, and finding not that would lead to his complete extrication from this situation. "Mr. Nott, if you do not drink that pumpkin juice right
now, it will be forced into you." With a look of pure hatred directed at Snape, Michael finally drank the juice.

It took little time for Michael to tell the story at that point. He had been bragging about a dark magic slicing curse he had learned over the summer to Charles Turbott, a classmate. Charles expressed disbelief that he could perform such a curse and challenged Michael to prove his boast. Michael's cousin Theodore offered to shield his demonstration from detection with a noise-blocking charm that he had recently learned. The three boys found a girl using an alcove to practice some of her spells, and assaulted her there. The noise-blocking charm was put in place, and then Michael released his slicing curse, resulting in extremely serious injuries to the girl. The three boys stayed to watch her scream. Charles was very upset and wanted to leave immediately, but Theodore was enjoying it and wanted to stay. They all left about a minute after the assault began.

Dumbledore looked very old and very sad as he spoke. "Mr. Nott, you are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I will summon your parents to retrieve you immediately. Professor Snape, please be sure that Mr. Nott's possessions are packed and that he is ready to leave within the hour."

As soon as Snape and Michael were outside of Dumbledore's office, Snape summoned a house elf, and Dobby answered the call. Before the house elf could launch into one of his little speeches, Snape cut him off. "Dobby, it is essential that Mr. Nott's possessions be packed into his trunk within the next half hour. Please see to it, and have the trunk waiting here outside the Headmaster's office." The little house elf disappeared to do as he had been instructed, and Snape looked at Michael. "I think we should have a chat in my office while we wait for Dobby to handle that."

Snape walked Michael to his office in silence. Once inside, he turned to the boy, who had finally lost some of his swagger and was looking a bit nervous. Drawing himself to his full height and channeling his pounding headache into a particularly fierce glare, Snape looked down at the boy and said softly "Mr. Nott, in all of my time at Hogwarts, I cannot remember a moment when a student in my own house shamed me and it as you have just done. What you did is beyond shameful – words fail me. The school punishment is probably not severe enough, but at least you will be gone from here. As you might or might not know, Hogwarts banned the use of corporeal punishments like canings and paddling some years ago. Pity.
However, as you have been expelled, school rules no longer apply. Right now, it's just you and me."

As Michael realized the situation he was in at that moment, a look of true fear appeared on his face, but it was too late. Snape cast a wordless body-bind spell on him and he was rooted in place. With a lazy flick of his wand, Snape levitated the boy to his desk and bent him over it. When he was in place, Michael's robe was lifted, and his trousers and pants lowered. Snape took a ruler from his desk and with a tap of his wand, it transformed into a cane. Contemplating the bottom of the twelve year old boy, and the cane, he tapped the cane with his wand and it became a broad paddle. With a nod, he concluded that this implement was better suited for use on a child, even if the child was a monster, and he stored his wand
away.

"You are going to regret your actions last night, Mr. Nott. I assure you of that."

Snape drew back the paddle and landed a mighty swat across the middle of Michael's bottom, taking the boy by surprise. After a shriek of shock and pain, the invective and threats began. "You can't do this to me! Don't you realize who I am - who my father is? We'll have your job! We will ruin you! We will inform the Dark Lord – this might even cost you your life! How dare you!" Snape was not impressed, and he reached a decision. Michael was going to get five swats with this paddle, counting from when he stopped fighting, making threats and protesting his punishment. Meanwhile, Snape set a rhythm of landing hard swats all over the
boy's bottom, sit spot and down his thighs. He was surprised how long it took, and how very dark red Michael's bottom got, before the boy finally stopped swearing at him and threatening him with all manner of nasty reprisals for this punishment. When the boy finally became quiet, Snape said "Five swats now that you are paying attention" and concluded with five particularly vicious belts right to his sit spot.

Michael, having spent most of his venom, sobbed over the desk when Snape was finished paddling him. Snape surveyed the damage he'd done to the boy's bottom, and complimented himself on his restraint. Snape left the boy over his desk and rummaged through potion bottles on an upper shelf until he found the one he wanted. He placed a drop of fluid from
the bottle of healing potion into a shallow bowl, and added a carefully measured portion of water, and waited until the two substances blended together. He then applied the diluted potion to Michael's bottom with a wad of cotton, watching to see that he used just enough to remove the redness from the skin, just enough to heal the outer layer of the skin only. Michael would not appear to have been paddled, but he would feel the aftereffects of this session for several days.

Snape flicked his wand, and the boy's pants and trousers were roughly returned to their proper positions, and he was pleased to observe the discomfort apparent in Michael's face as that was done. Finally, his robe went down and the body-bind released. Snape grabbed the boy by the arm and roughly stood him up to face him.

"Mr. Nott, you have no idea of the restraint I had to apply to myself to keep from doing you grievous bodily harm. I wish you nothing but misery for the rest of your days, and I hope those days are few." Then, staring into the boy's eyes, he pointed his wand and said "Obliviate." Snape took a few minutes to be sure that the boy would remember nothing after they walked into his office a short while ago. Snape then began what was for him a standard tirade about the stupidity of doing something for which he was obviously going to be caught, during which he noted Michael's eyes refocus. He finished his rant with "Come, Michael, we must return to the Headmaster's Office. I am sure Dobby has your trunk prepared and waiting for you by now."

The pair walked in silence back to Dumbledore's office, Michael being vaguely aware that Snape had been angry at him for doing something for which he should have realized he would be caught, but not recalling all that had been said. He felt a bit uncomfortable, but decided against saying anything about it. His father was already in the Headmaster's office and had concluded his interview with Dumbledore by the time they arrived. He had already shrunk Michael's trunk and placed it in his pocket. Derek Nott nodded briefly at Snape, who nodded in reply. With no further words, Derek and his son each took a handful of floo powder from the bowl by the Headmaster's fireplace and departed Hogwarts.

Dumbledore let out a sad sigh. "Severus, I did think of calling the Ministry and exploring some sort of criminal action against the boy. But we both know that nothing would come of that. The boy is just twelve, and Miss Upshaw is going to fully recover. The Ministry would do nothing in any case, and I would rather not give the family any reason to be pleased to have got one over on us. I'm sure the boy will be dealt with harshly by his father, for having been found out so quickly, if nothing else, and I would expect he'll be sent off to Durmstrang or some other school with different standards than Hogwarts. Would you please bring Theodore Nott to my
office now?"

Snape walked in the direction of the Transfigurations classroom, where the sixth year Slytherins were now in class, and considered his options. He was fairly certain that Derek Nott would have alerted his brother Theodore about what had gone on at Hogwarts this
morning, so he did not expect to have custody of the boy once Dumbledore met with him and expelled him. Snape would dearly love to see this one turned over to the Ministry, as Theodore Jr. was of wizarding majority and ought to be held accountable for his criminal
actions. He was not sure where Dumbledore would come out on that, as there were obviously political implications and this was another situation where the Ministry might be persuaded not to impose its own punishment. He could not influence that, but he could be just a bit tardy in delivering this horrible young man to the Headmaster's Office. They could have a little "chat" as he'd just had with his cousin Michael. It was not much - more symbolic than anything, but
it was Snape's own small vengeance.

He collected Theodore from Professor McGonnagal's classroom and escorted him in stony silence to his own office. Once inside and with wards set, Snape looked down on the youngster with his best glare firmly in place, and spoke at last. "Mr. Nott, your cousin Michael has just been expelled from this school for his role in the absolutely disgusting attack on Margaret Upshaw last evening, and I am quite confident your role will be acknowledged with at least the same. I am hoping, given the fact that you are older and of majority, that the Headmaster will press criminal charges with the Ministry, as you so deserve to spend some time in Azkaban. As I told Michael, I have never been as ashamed of any member of
Slytherin House in my entire association with it as I am with you and your cousin right now. You are a worthless disgrace to the wizarding world." Theodore stared at Snape, thoroughly shocked and taken aback by his words. Before he could think to react, Snape had him in a wordless bodybind, and just as he had with Michael, had him placed bent over his desk, robes up and trousers and pants down. This time, though, when he transfigured the ruler from his desk into a cane, he left it in that form.

"Mr. Nott, as I told your cousin, corporeal punishment like caning and paddling was banned at Hogwarts about twenty years ago. I am willing to take my chances with the enforcers of that policy by bringing it back right now, just for you." Theodore never was very quick with words, and unlike his younger cousin, did not come up with anything particularly threatening or challenging, even in the situation in which he found himself. Snape drew back the cane and
landed a mean hit right in the middle of Theodore's bottom. The boy was shocked and screamed in pain and surprise. "Mr. Nott, I understand that you enjoyed listening to Miss Upshaw's screams last night. I do not share your perversion." With a flick of his wand, he placed a silencing charm on the boy, and proceeded to deliver eleven more vicious hits to his bottom. It was strange, seeing the body jump with each strike, and the shoulders heave, but hearing nothing at all from the boy, but it certainly was better than having to listen to his caterwauling.

Theodore's bottom was in bad shape. Snape could not compliment himself on his restraint this time. With a small shake of his head, he rifled through his potions store and selected the appropriate small bottles. He applied a drop of the healing potion to a damp flannel and began to dab it on the places where he had broken the skin. When he had repaired that damage, he again prepared a dilution of the potion and used the least amount possible to provide only the healing needed to remove all external evidence of the caning.

He stood Theodore up again, waited for him to right his clothes, and looked the boy in the eyes. Pointing his wand, he muttered "Obliviate" and proceeded to carefully remove all of
Theodore's memories since entering Snape's office a few minutes ago. He took a few additional minutes more to add a small link between the sight of blood and feelings of intense nausea. That would be a wonderful impediment to the boy's most probable career choice, and Snape grinned evilly at the thought of a Death Eater who got squeamish at the sight of blood. Served the bastard right.

Again, he launched into a speech many of his Slytherins had heard before, about the stupidity of doing something which it was so obvious he would be caught, and saw the slight focusing of Theodore's eyes as the effect of the Obliviate spell wore off. He would only recall part of the lecture, and not realize where the intense discomfort in his nether regions came from, if he even recognized what the discomfort meant. With a look of pure disgust, Snape concluded his comments to Theodore. "Mr. Nott, I am extremely disappointed in your behavior, and have little expectation that you will be a member of the Hogwarts student body after your interview
with Headmaster Dumbledore. Let us not keep him waiting."

Snape took the boy by the arm and with a grip that would probably have left small bruising but for the robes he had on, led him to the gargoyles guarding the moving stairway to the Headmaster's Office. As he expected, Theodore Sr. was already in the office as he and Theodore Jr. entered, and the two nodded in greeting. Snape looked to Dumbledore, as he was not sure if the Headmaster desired that he remain for the interview since the student's parent was present, and with a nod, it was clear that he was to remain. He stood to the side, as Dumbledore leveled a steady look at the boy, who seemed to shrink a bit under the glare. Snape did not know if Theodore Sr. recognized it for what it was, but Snape knew that Theodore Jr.'s mind had just been probed. As before, Dumbledore asked the young man if he wished to explain his role in the attack on Margaret Upshaw, but this young man made no attempt to cover up or disavow his actions. He did not swagger or boast, but he sullenly acknowledged his involvement. Dumbledore informed him that he was expelled, and neither of the Notts reacted to that news. Snape was no longer in doubt whether criminal charges were to be brought to the Ministry. He was disappointed, but not surprised, that there were no Aurors in attendance at this meeting. The Notts were well-connected to a number of Ministry officials, so this might have been the result of their quick intervention, or possibly Dumbledore
anticipated that and chose not to even attempt that course of action. Dumbledore asked Snape to have Mr. Nott's personal effects brought to his office immediately, and Snape took his leave, with a nod to Theodore Sr., and the comment that he would have a house elf
bring his trunk to the office as soon as it could be packed. On the landing outside the office, he summoned a house elf and gave that instruction, as he himself headed back to his office. It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and his head already felt like it would explode.

The Gryffindor sixth years had a free period after Transfigurations and Harry and Ron had spent most of breakfast and what time they could get to speak to Hermione during and between their classes to encourage her to take advantage of that free time to visit Madam
Pomfrey. Hermione was tightly-wound under the best of circumstances, but after several days of the barrage of sensations giving her almost no quiet time to recharge, she was fast becoming completely insufferable. As they walked out of that last class, the conversation among the trio of friends turned into a nasty argument. "Leave me alone, you two! I am quite capable of taking care of myself, and I certainly don't need the likes of you two trying to mother me. If you don't stop going on about my seeing Madam Pomfrey, I swear I am going to hex the both of you into next week. I have studying to do, and I think you'd both be well advised to do the same." Harry and Ron looked at each other as their friend literally elbowed them aside. They had discussed what they would do if Hermione persisted in ignoring the obvious problems she was having dealing with her new sensation or skill or whatever it was.
They really hoped they were not jeopardizing the friendship all three valued so very highly, but the boys were afraid that Hermione was going to hurt herself or become ill, and that gave them the courage to take action.

The two boys walked quickly to flank Hermione and each took an arm. Harry tried to calm his friend as they led her into an unused classroom. "Hermione, this has gotten all out of hand. You are a mess, and you are not coping well with this. We're worried about you, that's all. I'm afraid it's getting like it did the year you had that time-turner. We can't let this go on." She was not going to listen. "I know you mean well, but I have work to do and this is just not a priority right now." Ron looked at Harry and shook his head. They knew what they needed to do, and had already discussed the roles each would play. Ron had closed the door when they entered the room and he now clicked the lock. Harry held Hermione by the arm, and gently pulled her into the classroom. She resisted, so Ron joined Harry in pulling her along. They got to the front of the room and took the chair from behind the teacher's desk.

Hermione's eyes widened when she realized what they apparantly intended to do to her. When Harry sat on the chair, and Ron moved as if to gather her up and put her over his lap, she lashed out. Her own parents had never spanked her, and she was not about to allow two people she thought of as her friends get away with this. She cast a leg-locking spell, which Ron was able to dodge, and the fight was on. She might not have the physical agility of the two boys, who were both very fit from all their Quidditch playing, but the three of them knew that she was by far faster and better at casting spells. The two-against-one was not nearly the mismatch it might seem to be, and she was able to hold them at bay with a creative mix of nasty spells. The boys at first were quite on the defensive but eventually got the hang of dodging what she sent their way and getting off a few spells of their own. It was one of Harry's stinging hexes that finally caught her on the backside as she turned sideways to avoid it. It hurt like nothing she'd every experienced. Her general run-down state, compounded by the energy she had expended in this battle with her friends, and now the indignity of getting this incredibly painful hex right on her bottom had her right on the edge. She tried as hard as she could to focus on the fight before her, but tears were starting for blur her vision. Harry was the first to notice that Hermione's fight was ebbing, and he said "Hermione, you need to stop this nonsense telling us that everything is fine and get some help. We love you and can't stand watching you do this to yourself." She continued a desultory effort to keep up the battle, but her heart was not in it any longer, and the tears finally won out. She was crying hard, and no longer able to get spells out, and if this meant that they were going to subject her to the indignity of a spanking, she might never forgive them, but there was nothing she could do now to stop it.

To her surprise, the boys did not press their advantage in that was at all. Harry held her in a tight hug as she cried out her final tears and her sobs finally stopped. She pushed away from Harry and looked at her two friends. Seeing the concern and love in the expressions of the two boys as they tried to comfort her, she finally agreed to heed their advice. She accepted a clean handkerchief from Harry and dried her eyes and blew her nose. With a sigh, she said, "OK, let's go to the Infirmary."

Unbeknownst to the trio, as he was heading back to his office to find the strongest pain potion he had, Snape had overheard noises coming from an unused classroom and had stopped to listen. He needed a few moments to focus, but was sure he heard crying. The door was locked, and with a quiet "Alohamora" as he tapped the doorknob with his wand, he silently opened it just a bit. He was surprised to see Hermione Granger sobbing rather disconsolately in Harry Potter's arms, while Ron Weasley stood by, gently patting her back. He recalled the transcript he had seen of their conversation in the first class of the day - something was wrong with her or she had a problem, and these two had been urging her to get help. She
was always the brains of that little group. It was a surprise that she was the one with the problem to begin with, and that she then needed those two to persuade her to do something about it. He concluded that his intervention was not needed, and closed the door quietly, and finally headed off for a nice, big dose of pain potion.

Madam Pomfrey looked up from her desk where she was writing her notes on Margaret Upshaw's case to see Hermione Granger walking in to the Infirmary, between her friends, Harry and Ron. Madam Pomfrey noticed that the girl looked upset and run down, so she put down her quill and went over to the group. Looking from one to the other, she said, "Hello, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. Miss Granger, may I help you with something?" Hermione looked near tears, and Harry spoke up. "Actually, Madam Pomfrey, Hermione is a bit distraught, but she's told us part of the story and we can spare her having to repeat it. May we all go to your office?"

This was unorthodox, and Madam Pomfrey generally did not like unorthodoxy, but she did know that these three were fast friends, so she reluctantly stood aside as the three filed in and took seats around her desk. Harry was the one who spoke up. "Madam Pomfrey, when we got back to Hogwarts this year, Hermione told us that she had begun to sense the magic in others over the summer. She was at home when this first started, so with the low magic levels of muggles, this was not a problem. She said the sensations were a good deal stronger when they all went to get her school supplies at Diagon Alley over the summer, and she was really inundated with the sensations on the Hogwarts Express, and now at school. She told me that she can feel magic when she touches people, or touches the things they have touched. We don't think she can turn this off, and is barraged constantly by these sensations. She's looked really tired since term began, and has been very snappish. We've been urging her to come and speak to you about this since that first night, but only now got her to agree to come in." Ron was nodding along with Harry's narrative, affirming his statements, and Hermione just slumped between the two, her somewhat strung-out demeanor affirming them as well.

It was something of a relief to them all that Madam Pomfrey actually looked pleased and excited by the story Harry had just told her. "Well, now, this is most curious and exciting. Thank you for that information, Mr. Potter. Miss Granger, we do need to get you assessed by a Healer from St. Mungo's. We haven't had a student still at Hogwarts develop anything like this in decades. I understand the problems you are having with lack of sleep and quiet rest, and we'll have to see what approach will give you relief." With that, the mediwitch stood and signaled for Hermione to follow her to one of the examination rooms in the back, and added "Thank you, gentlemen. I will take care of Miss Granger from here." The two stood and made their way out of the office, with almost guilty smiles directed to their friend, who simply moved in the direction indicated by Madam Pomfrey.

A few scans later, Madam Pomfrey was helping Hermione back into her school robes and directing her back into her office. "You are suffering from lack of sleep and general overstimulation of your magical core, but everything else is fine. I know that there are techniques that Healers and others with skills along that magical axis use to control this manifestation, so once we have you assessed and know exactly what this is, you can be trained to handle it yourself. For now, I will give you some potions that will enable you to manage. I have a sleeping draught that will enable you to have restorative sleep at night, and will speak to Professor Snape about something you could use during the daytime. For now, I can place a charm on a pair of light gloves to block any magic from reaching your hands. That will render your wand useless, but for tasks like doing homework in the library, you will be able to touch books without sensing the magic of others who touched them before you." Hermione smiled weakly at the news; that had actually been the worst part of this whole thing for her. She had always loved being in the library, but this term, it had become a place of pure
torment for her. She said "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. How soon do you think you can get someone here from St. Mungo's, and what is involved in an assessment of this sort?" She was directed to a chair in the office, as the mediwitch began to search for potions and a pair of gloves in her cabinets.

As they were thus engaged, a noise outside the office caught their attention. Hermione was surprised to see Snape of all people chatting with a girl she recognized as a second year Hufflepuff, who was in one of the beds near Madam Pomfrey's office. As he directed a smile - a SMILE - at the girl, he realized his presence had caught the attention of others, and he took his leave of the clearly adoring girl and moved over to the office. Madam Pomfrey smiled at
Snape and said "I'm so glad to see you here, Professor Snape! As you can see, Miss Upshaw is doing very well. I think she will be walking back to her dormitory by tomorrow. May I ask your assistance with another matter? Miss Granger here as manifested some sort of skill along the Healing axis, and until we are able to have her evaluated and provided with some training to control this, she's becoming run down from the barrage of sensations of others'
magic. I am going to offer her a sleeping draught for the near term to be sure she gets adequate sleep, but all I have to help her during the daytime is charmed gloves, and she will not be able to wear them constantly as they will interfere with some of her courses. I was hoping you'd have some ideas, maybe a potion to help her." Snape leaned against the door jam as he considered the uncharacteristically subdued girl sitting in the chair near the desk. Not that he had really given the matter any thought, but he now understood what had the two Gryffindor boys concerned about Miss Granger, and he assumed the incident he had overheard a short while ago in an empty classroom was the final conversation that persuaded
her to visit the Infirmary. He himself was here because he discovered when he got to his office that he had consumed all of his pain potions and he was hoping to persuade Madam Pomfrey to return a bottle to him for his use until he could brew another batch. Maybe he could use this request to barter for the pain potion he needed.

"Indeed, Madam Pomfrey. I think you may have something in the stores I've already provided to you that might help, at least until I can brew something more tailored to her situation." He went to the cabinet and shifted some bottles until he found the one he wanted. He asked Madam Pomfrey for a clean bottle, and carefully measured a small portion of a potion designed to calm excessive nervousness into it. He then sought a bottle of distilled water, and added a slightly larger portion of that. He finally added several drops from another vial, which caused the diluted potion to bubble for a few minutes and then change color. He handed the
bottle with the blend of potions to Hermione with the instruction to take one teaspoonful every four hours during the hours she was awake, and to be sure to leave at least four hours before a dose of this and any sleeping draught. "I recommend that you take a dose right now, and plan to stay in the Infirmary until your afternoon classes. I am sure this potion is not too strong, but as your body no doubt craves rest right now, the calmness this will induce will
probably make you extremely sleepy for a bit. I should be able to provide something specifically for the problem you are experiencing tomorrow morning." Hermione nodded her understanding and thanks and Madam Pomfrey led her to a bed across from the one occupied by Margaret Upshaw. Neither professor had noticed the look of great concern that was on Hermione's face as she took the potion bottle from Snape, but once directed to a bed, she rested back on a pillow and was asleep in seconds.

"Poppy, I think Miss Granger would be best served spending the rest of the day here in the Infirmary with you. If she does wake before the end of lunch, though, I suspect she will want to attend her afternoon classes. If you give her something to eat, and you think she looks up to it, she ought to be fine. You make the call. Just remind her to stick to the dosing schedule I just gave her. I came by to ask you for a bottle of the full-strength pain potion, as I've used up my last bottle."

He was hoping the casual request would get him the bottle without comment, but Madam Pomfrey was smarter than that. "Severus, you are looking nearly as overwrought as Miss Granger. I know you are used to keeping back stores of the potions you brew for me and you
diagnose and dose yourself, but I think it would be wise for us to take a more careful look at you. You've looked rather poorly since the start of term, so I don't think you've resolved whatever is troubling you. It's been years since we've done a real work-up on you, and I think we need to address that now. Come along."

The mediwitch herded the reluctant professor into the examination room just vacated by Hermione, and handed him a hospital robe with instructions to be wearing that when she returned momentarily. He usually put up quite a fuss if she tried to corner him into accepting a physical examination, and the fact that he'd been fairly easy to get into the examination room was a point of concern to Madam Pomfrey. She gave him a few minutes to remove his clothes and don the hospital robe before reentering the room. She went through the usual scans, and worked some more complicated ones to verify that all of his organs were all functioning optimally. She reported her findings as she worked, knowing that this particular patient knew as much as most mediwizards about the detailed results of her scans, and usually had some thoughts on the findings. She finally asked "Severus, what symptoms have you been experiencing recently? Why have you been taking the pain potion? All my scans tell us that
you are in perfect health."

"I have had severe headaches, very likely stress-related, but more than usual for start-of-term, and sometimes concentrated in the back of my head, not just at the temples where I usually have them. I also have had aches in my back and shoulders, mainly, and a few
bouts of nausea. I first thought this was from my trip to the continent at the end of holiday, or something I ate there, but the aches have not abated."

She stood behind him as he sat on the examination table, and directed her wand to the back of his head for some detailed scans of his brain, skull and finally scalp. His brain and skull were completely normal, but the readings on his scalp suggested injury. She gently parted his black hair to inspect his scalp, and was shocked to see bruising on the skin. "Severus, you have a bruise on your scalp. Nothing at all beneath that to suggest you hit your head, just the surface seems to be bruised. And the back of your forearms, look at the bruises on your arms!" Offering him a sheet, she asked that he remove the robe and cover himself with the sheet for a further examination of his skin. He did as asked, and stretched out on table. When Madam Pomfrey lowered the sheet off his shoulders, she gasped. "Severus, you have massive bruising on the skin of your upper back and shoulders. Did you fall, or hit something?" She lowered the robe further, and discovered similar bruises just on the swell of each of his cheeks. "Let me set up a charm so you can see this for yourself." He looked at the nasty bruising on his back and bottom, and shook his head. "I have no idea how that happened, Poppy. I didn't fall, or get hit by anything, or do anything that would have given me those bruises." Madam Pomfrey ran very careful scans on the bruises, and reported "Only the topmost layers of skin are damaged, and the problem is definitely not the result of any malfunction in your circulatory system or in your blood. These are all the result of a trauma, but I've never seen anything like this. Bruising that severe always means some damage to the tissues below, but in your case, the damage is just on the top of the skin." She soaked a wad
of cotton with some healing potion, and was able to heal the bruises with just one pass of the wet cotton. "The bruises are all gone. Were they the reason for the aches you felt? Do you feel better now?" Snape replied "I still have a headache, but the body aches have eased." "Good. Get dressed now and join me in my office."

A few minutes later, Snape was sitting in the chair across from her desk, snugly buttoned into the yards of black fabric that made up his habitual attire. "Severus, I'm delighted that the solution to your problem was a simple swab with healing potion, but I'm very troubled that we have no idea why you had that terrible bruising in the first place. Please, promise me you'll run a charm to inspect your back at least every day, and let me know if the bruising returns. I'll get someone from St. Mungo's to consult, if this persists. Here's the bottle of pain potion you wanted. If you'd prefer to return to your office through the floo, feel free."

"Thank you for your concern, Poppy, but I am sure I will be fine. I appreciate the bottle of pain potion – I will be sure to replace this with a fresh one when I brew up some more. The potion I have in mind for Miss Granger should be ready by tomorrow morning, so you may invite her to return here after breakfast to retrieve it along with instructions for its use. I also appreciate the offer of the use of your floo, but I think the walk will do me good."

With that, Snape stood and swept from her office, past Margaret, who waved as she called "goodbye" and Hermione, who was still sound asleep. He had to admit (at least to himself) that he felt somewhat relieved that Poppy had determined that he was in fine health, because he could not recall ever feeling so poorly for such a long time, without there having been some obvious external reason behind his discomfort. A good dose of the pain potion in his pocket, and he was sure he would feel as good as new.

As Snape reached his office, he found a very upset Charles Turbott standing outside it, waiting for him. The second-year boy looked as if he'd been crying, although now he was just struggling to maintain his composure. "May I speak to you, Professor Snape? In your office, please?" With a nod, Snape unwarded and opened the door, stepping aside to allow Charles to enter before him. He gestured for the boy to take a seat, as he went to a side table and opened his bottle of pain potion and quickly took a large dose. He stood silently for a moment was it entered his system, and with a deep breath, turned and addressed the boy. "I assume you are aware of the departure of the Nott boys from the school?" Charles nodded mutely. "The Headmaster has not yet asked me to bring you to him to discuss your role in the events of last night. It is possible he will, although I believe your part was somewhat different from the role played by the others. Tell me what happened." With a visible gulp, and in a very soft, scared voice, Charles complied. "Michael had been bragging to a group of us about all the dark magic he had learned over the summer, and all the curses he could use. He described several curses, including a slicing curse. I got tired of his bragging, and called him on it. Teddy overheard me, and immediately organized a demonstration. We snuck out of the Common
Room a little before ten, and went looking for a place to do it. I was not sure exactly what they needed to do demonstrate whatever curse Michael was going to do. We found that girl practicing charms in an alcove, and before I realized what was happening, Teddy had done something at the entrance of the alcove so we could hear inside, but people passing outside could hear nothing. Michael did a horrible curse – the girl was hurt so bad, and screaming so loud. I never saw so much blood – it was awful." At this, tears began to fall again from Charles' eyes. He gamely wiped his eyes and his nose on his sleeve, and continued. "I was scared. I wanted to run, and get her help, but I was afraid to. What if they did that to me? Teddy was enjoying it. That scared me, too. Finally, Michael grabbed him and got him to leave, and we ran all the way back to the Common Room. I heard some whispering this morning that the girl is in the Infirmary, so I guess someone found her."

Snape took a deep breath. He did not have the Headmaster's permission to use legilimency on a student, but he nonetheless found himself believing the boy. If a Slytherin was going to make up a story, he would be certain portray himself in a much more favorable light. "The Nott boys have left Hogwarts, so you need have no fear of them while you are here. Nothing that transpired suggested that either thought you were the source of any of the information that
led to establishing their involvement. I will speak to the Headmaster to determine if he wishes an interview with you himself. Please meet me here in my office at seven o'clock tonight to resume our discussion." Thus dismissed, the boy stood awkwardly and let himself out of the office.

In the Infirmary, things proceeded just as Snape had predicted. Hermione awoke about half an hour before afternoon classes were to begin, and Madam Pomfrey had her hands full keeping her one extra moment. Hermione seemed back to her usual self, and really, all the
mediwitch wanted to do was be sure she ate something. Finally, Hermione was persuaded by Margaret Upshaw to stay long enough for them to enjoy sandwiches together. Hermione thus had the chance to ask about Margaret's conversation before with Snape, after which she
thought she saw Snape actually smile. "I was hurt by some boys last night, and Professor Snape saved me. He also caught the boys who did this to me, and they've gone home. He is so scary, and I didn't like him at first, but he helped me." She blushed a bit, making Hermione grin. If anyone deserved his own adoring Hufflepuff, it was Snape. Hermione had changed her thinking about him toward the end of third year, when Snape unhesitatingly stepped in front of her, Harry and Ron to shield them from the werewolf in front of the Whomping Willow. In many ways, he was still a greasy git, as Ron liked to say, but she felt she owed him some gratitude, too. She asked instead what happened to Margaret last night. She'd heard whispered rumors that something terrible had occurred, but was not sure what to believe. "I was hit by a curse. It sliced into my hip, and went right through my leg. Madam Pomfrey told me that if Professor Snape had not found me as fast as he did, and did not take care of me right away as he did, I could have died! She's fixed me all up now. My hip and leg are all healed, and I don't even have a scar. I'm taking blood-replenishing potion because I bled so much, and Madam says I have to stay here until I have taken all I need to of that." With good wishes for her quick recovery, Hermione finally took her leave of the Infirmary. Madam Pomfrey sent her off with the potion Snape made to tide her over today and a bottle of sleeping potion for night, a pair of charmed gloves to wear if she needed, and an admonition to return the following morning after breakfast for the potion Snape was brewing now. The nap had done Hermione a world of good, and armed with some tools to control the sensations that kept coming at her, she was absolutely back to normal.

At seven o'clock that evening, Charles Turbott returned to Snape's office. Over lunch, he had learned that the Nott boys had not just left Hogwarts, but had been expelled. The fact that his name had not come up in any of the discussions he'd overheard made him feel a bit relieved, because the Notts still had friends here, and he was scared that if they thought he was the reason the Nott boys had been caught and punished, they would come after him. He reported to meet with Snape that evening feeling a bit better about things. Snape for his part had sought a word with Dumbledore before dinner to brief him on his conversation with Charles. They already knew he had been involved in this, as Dumbledore's legilimens on both boys,
as well as Michael's narration while under the influence of Veritaserum, had identified him as a participant. The fact that he had sought Snape out was a positive sign. Dumbledore was willing to grant Snape permission to use legilimens on Charles, and if the facts were as Charles had told him, to impose only a House punishment and no School action would be taken. Dumbledore had looked at Snape with that annoying, all-knowing grin; while it had
never been acknowledged in any formal way, Snape was quite certain that the Headmaster knew what the Slytherin House punishment was. And they said Slytherins were manipulative!

When Charles entered his office, Snape stood to meet him and held his gaze for several seconds. The boy looked a bit confused, but the sensation of legilimens left many people a bit befuddled. It took Snape mere seconds to find Charles' memories of last night, and confirm that the story Charles told is exactly what he remembered of that night. It was just a Slytherin House punishment, then, and one Snape wanted to get over with quickly. "Mr. Turbott, the Headmaster and I discussed your participation in the events of last night, and we have agreed that this will not mean the end of your tenure at this school." A look of relief was evident in Charles' face at that news. "However, your role cannot be ignored. I concede that you were confronted with difficult choices, but you made bad ones, and you must pay for that. Daring Michael Nott to prove his ability to cast a curse? Going with Michael and Theodore to find a victim? Not leaving immediately, nor alerting anyone, when it became obvious that they meant to do serious harm one of your fellow students? That young girl nearly died. If that had been the case, there would have been no choice but for this to be a Ministry matter. Theodore would probably have been sent to Azkaban, and you and Michael might well have had your wands snapped. As it is, Miss Upshaw is recovering nicely and will be back amid her fellow Hufflepuffs, probably tomorrow."

Snape moved his chair from behind his desk and set it in front of the boy, whose look of relief had morphed into a look of intense worry. "Your punishment will consist of three elements, Mr.
Turbott. First, you are restricted to Slytherin House except for the times that you are in class or at meals for the next month. If you have need of anything in the library to complete your school work, written application is to be made to me, describing what you need and why, and I will consider a means of enabling you to secure access to what is required. Second, you will visit Miss Upshaw in the Infirmary tomorrow and apologize to her for your role in this incident. Finally, as you seem to have figured out already, you will receive a spanking. To me, then."

Snape sat in the chair, helped the boy get his school robes off and directed him to lower his trousers and pants, which he did with visibly shaking hands. Once Snape had Charles over his lap, he held him steady, and began peppering his bottom with hard, stinging swats. Tears were flowing almost immediately. "Ow, please sir, Ow! I'm sorry! Ow! I won't Ow! do this again! Ow, no, please stop!" Snape kept up a steady rhythm and as Charles' bottom got redder, his protestations and apologies got weaker and finally were lost entirely in sobs. "Mr. Turbott, I already told the Nott boys that this incident shamed Slytherin House as no other incident of which I am aware during my entire tenure here. You played a role in it, so you must bear some of the responsibility. You said before that you would not do this again. I pray that is so, Mr. Turbott. I assure you that I will be nowhere near as lenient as I have just been if I ever have to address this issue with you again." With that, Snape dropped one leg while raising the other, and delivered a final ten of his hardest smacks to Charles' sit spot. The boy was sobbing hard over Snape's lap at that point. Snape really did not want to comfort this boy; after all, he had done nothing to comfort Miss Upshaw. He finally just let the boy sob, and when he was calming down on his own, he helped the boy stand and right his clothing. He
offered the boy a handkerchief to wipe his eyes and finally patted him on his shoulder. "We all make mistakes, Mr. Turbott, some worse than others. The main thing we can do is commit to ourselves that we will learn from our mistakes, and never repeat them. I cannot offer you forgiveness; only Miss Upshaw can choose to forgive you for the terrible behavior you showed her. I can promise you my support as you move forward from this point, in making better choices." The boy seemed very grateful for those words. "You may return to your dormitory now. I will be visiting the Infirmary after breakfast tomorrow, and you may accompany me then, if you wish." Charles nodded, and slowly made his way out of the office.

Snape stood and took a deep breath. He still had several hours of brewing in his private lab this evening. He knew the brewing process would calm him, and with a dose of pain potion right before bed, he could look forward to a good night's sleep. This had been one hell of a day.

Dumbledore had a very difficult time communicating with the castle Saturday morning. He began expressing his distress over the expulsion of two students who had been behind the horrible attack on Margaret Upshaw, and the fact than another student who had been
connected with that incident had been punished for it. The castle seemed, well, it seemed agitated. It offered a barrage of data that was not organized as it usually was, and Dumbledore's questions, that would normally result in the data being refined and presented
more helpfully, were ignored. He noted a focus on Snape, which did seem to happen at times, but he could not seem to divert that castle's attention to anyone or anything else. He could not recall a more unsatisfactory session and eventually broke it off in frustration.

Saturday morning did see a flurry of activity in the Infirmary. Snape arrived before seven o'clock with Charles Turbott in tow. The boy looked near tears all over again this morning, and Snape had noticed he'd not eaten much at breakfast, but he did not try to shirk this visit. Snape escorted the boy to Margaret's bed, where she had just finished her breakfast, and made the introductions. Margaret was a bit shy in front of Charles, but listened carefully
to his apology. Charles spoke with his head bowed - he could not quite bring himself to look at her. Snape approved of the apology. It was a straightforward statement of his regret for his thoughtless actions, with no excuses. Most un-Slytherin! "Margaret, I had no idea that anyone would be hurt, and I apologize to you for not having considered that might happen. There were so many things I could have done differently that would have spared you harm, and I
regret every single action that led to your being hurt. I hope you get better fast, and hope that you can forgive me." Tears were flowing from Charles' eyes by the time he sought her forgiveness. By then, Margaret was crying too. Snape was reduced to being the dispenser of tissues to both children. Eventually, they both calmed down, and to his surprise, it was Margaret who spoke first. "Charles, I saw how scared and upset you were. I realized that it was the other boys who meant to hurt me, and that you were as frightened as I was. I understand that you did not mean for me to be hurt. I accept your apology and I forgive you." A fresh flood of tears followed that statement, so Snape had to dispense fresh tissues. As he was casting about for some way to break this maudlin mood, Margaret did it for him. "I got some chocolate frogs - would you like one, Charles?' The thought of chocolate at this hour of the morning repulsed Snape, but Charles enthusiastically accepted, and just like that, the two students were, if it was possible, friends. Snape noticed Madam Pomfrey finishing her tea in
her office, and he needed to give her the potion he'd brewed last night for Hermione.

"Charles, you may visit with Miss Upshaw for fifteen minutes, less if Madam Pomfrey asks you to leave sooner or if you misbehave. Am I understood?" Charles realized that he was
grounded and this was an exception, so he nodded, thankful that Snape was not embarrassing him by revealing his punishment.

Snape knocked on the open door of Madam Pomfrey's office to get her attention. "Oh, my, you were not joking when you said first thing on Saturday morning, Severus! May I get you a cup of tea?" "No, thank you, Poppy. One of my Slytherins had an apology to deliver to Miss Upshaw for having been part of the group that hurt her. She is a most gracious young woman. They are sharing chocolate frogs as we speak."

He put a large amber potion bottle on her desk. "This is the potion for Miss Granger. It has a nerve relaxer base, but it is formulated to focus just on overstimulation attributable to the magic of others. There is nothing here addictive or otherwise harmful, so we can allow Miss Granger to dose herself, and it can be used rather liberally. I'd recommend that you start her with one teaspoonful every two hours. It will build up in her system, and she should be
able to take one teaspoonful every four hours within a few days, although if she needs it more frequently, that would be fine. She might even find that this, rather than a sleeping draught, at
bedtime is all she needs to get her rest." He offered a parchment with a list of ingredients. "The last time I brewed something for Miss Granger was several years ago, and she had no reported sensitivities then, but you might want to check these ingredients against any more current information you have on that. If anything is of concern, please let me know."

As Snape turned to take his leave, the fire flared in the grate, and Dumbledore's face appeared. "Poppy, Mr. and Mrs. Upshaw are in my office and we will be heading down to see Margaret momentarily. Have you seen Severus this morning?" She stepped aside and he moved into view. "Oh, I'm glad to find you there. The Upshaws would like to meet you, so please wait for us there."

With a soft curse under his breath, Snape immediately turned to leave the office. Madam Pomfrey guessed his reason and followed quickly. Margaret might be willing to forgive Charles, but who knew how her parents would react to seeing her visiting with one of the
boys who had been part of the group that hurt her? She did not want the parents to be upset, and seeing how well the children were getting along, she did not want Charles to be embarrassed, either. She got to the bedside ahead of Snape. "I am sorry, Mr. Turbott, but I must get Miss Upshaw ready for the day, so I need to ask that you leave now." With a shy smile, he stood and waved his goodbye to Margaret.

Madam Pomfrey ran some final scans and pronounced that with one more dose of blood replenisher, Margaret would be ready to leave, meaning she'd be able to have lunch with her friends. "Let's get you up and into a wrapper, and we can check your walking." Magical bone
healing was very fast, but when children were involved, it still paid to be cautious. Madam Pomfrey and Snape each took an arm as Margaret stood up, and in short order, it was quite clear that her leg and hip were fine. Suddenly, Margaret erupted in a screech and ran toward the door. "Mummy! Daddy! You came to see me!" The Upshaws hugged and fussed over their daughter and slowly walked with her back to her bed.

Dumbledore made the introductions. They warmly greeted Madam Pomfrey, who knew them from their time at Hogwarts. Snape had never seen them, so he assumed they attended some years before him. He was quite surprised to be greeted with similar warmth, then. "Headmaster Dumbledore told us that you are the real hero here." Snape looked vaguely ill, and glared at Dumbledore. Mr. Upshaw laughed at that. "He told us you would react that way, because you hate to be fussed over. But, Sir, we are forever in your debt for saving our little girl." Very awkwardly, Snape sputtered "It was my duty as a teacher here . . ." but Margaret was having none of that. She bounded over to him and delivered a fierce hug to his middle, announcing loudly "Professor Snape is my favorite teacher, ever!" Snape was mortified, and if it was possible to twinkle to death, Dumbledore was at risk of just that.

A mid-morning owl from St. Mungo's to Madam Pomfrey brought mixed news. No Healers were available to do an assessment, and the ones capable of that very detailed process might not be available for some time. However, they did have a mediwizard in training who was
qualified to teach some relaxation and meditation techniques that Healers had found very helpful in their blocking this sense of others' magic. Even better, he could spend an hour at Hogwarts Sunday evening. She wanted Hermione to learn to control this without potions as soon as possible, so this was good news. Hogwarts' rules required that a member of staff be present whenever a student was to meet privately on school premises with an adult not
their parent, and she was not available on Sunday evening, so she consulted with the Gryffindor Head of House, Professor McGonnagal, who agreed to attend.

By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, Professor McGonnagal found herself with a third-year girls' dormitory full of dragon pox, so she could not leave. Knowing how important this training was to Hermione, Dumbledore agreed to fill in, and once he heard that the
training focused on relaxation techniques, he decided to insist that Snape join him.

At the appointed hour, Chase Carter arrived in the Infirmary floo. He had been a Hogwarts student himself not long ago, and he and Madam Pomfrey had a lovely visit as she escorted him to the vacant room in which this training was to occur. Carter was clearly surprised to see Dumbledore and Snape in attendance; actually, he looked quite cowed by Snape, who seemed very pleased with that reaction.

Carter explained the series of exercises and meditation techniques that they would learn, and then addressed the wholly unsuitable attire of his class. Hermione, in muggle jeans and a sweater, could probably have at least managed, but the voluminous robes of the professors were a problem. He transfigured his own robes into loose-fitting yoga pants and a sweatshirt, to demonstrate what was required, and Hermione immediately followed suit. Dumbledore
transfigured his robin's egg blue robe into robin's egg blue yoga attire, and rather reluctantly, Snape joined them, in black. Carter led them through a variety of exercises, and was quietly surprised that Snape, and in particular Dumbledore, had no trouble keeping up or in performing any of the moves or stretches he put them through. They all lay on the floor for some visualization exercises and then some meditation techniques. Carter observed "Well done, all! Miss Granger, please continue to work on these exercises and meditations. I would expect that over the next week or so, you will no longer need any potions or sleeping draughts."

After Carter was gone, Hermione also thanked the professors for joining her. Dumbledore remarked "I can't recall the last time I had so much fun!" as he transfigured his yoga wear back into robes. Snape staggered to his feet, and it took Hermione and Dumbledore a few moments to realize that something was amiss. He was white as a ghost and clearly in terrible pain, almost not able to stand up. "Are you having a heart attack?" Hermione asked, while
Dumbledore quickly scanned Snape with his wand. "Wizards don't usually have that kind of problem. And, no, Professor Snape's heart is fine. Let's get him to Madam Pomfrey." The two tried to support Snape between them, but he had already begun to feel better, and was
cautiously trying to stand upright.

"I do not need the Infirmary; I will return to my quarters. I am fine."

"No, my boy, that did not look fine to me, and you are coming with me to see Madam Pomfrey. Now. Good night, Miss Granger." With a frown on her face, Hermione took her leave and returned to Gryffindor Tower.

Ron was waiting for her in the common room. "So how did this session go? Are you OK now?"

"Well, I have to work on these exercises and use some meditation techniques Carter showed me, but he thought that after a week, I would be fine. The potion that Professor Snape made for me is really helping, so I'll be good until this works."

"Who was this Carter?"

"A mediwizard in training at St. Mungo's. He was a student here a few years before us and you'd've loved how he was in awe of the Headmaster, and terrified of Snape!"

"Whoa, you mean they were in the session?"

"Of course. There's that rule about needing a staff member present that I told you about at supper, and since Professor McGonnagal has all those sick third-years upstairs, she couldn't make it. My guess: the Headmaster figured this would be fun, and then figured Snape could use some relaxation techniques." Ron laughed at that.

"I was actually surprised how easily they kept up, the Headmaster in particular. He's quite limber. And Snape never even broke a sweat. He collapsed at the end of the session, though."

"Bloody hell - what was that about?"

"Don't know. He stood up, staggered and doubled over in pain. I thought he was having a heart attack." To Ron's puzzled expression, she added "Muggle problem. Wizards apparently don't get it. Anyway, after a minute or two, he was fine, and when I left, Dumbledore was arguing with him about going to see Madam Pomfrey."

"Oy, that poor lady will earn her wages tonight!"

"Indeed. Actually, I've noticed something about Snape. First, when I took a potion bottle from him in Madam Pomfrey's office the other day, the magic I could feel from him on the bottle felt off, like something was really wrong with him. And tonight, when I held his arm when the Headmaster and I thought we needed to catch him before he collapsed. Of course, I've been taking the potion to dull that sensation, but something still felt very off about him."

"That Snape has a negative aura would strike me as obvious. You can always stop by the Infirmary tomorrow to tell Pomfrey, if you think she should know."

It was no surprise that Dumbledore had won his argument with Snape and the two were already sitting in Madam Pomfrey's office. Dumbledore did not trust Snape to tell the whole story about his symptoms, so he was describing what he saw, and Snape was finally persuaded to share descriptions of the discomforts he experienced. While professing that he was fine, it was clear to the other two that he was still in some pain.

"Severus, I checked you over thoroughly just last Friday and you were fine. I just ran a few more scans, and nothing has changed. Would you please step into the exam room and use a reflection charm to check your skin. Let me know if the bruising is back."

While he was gone, Madam Pomfrey briefed Dumbledore on Snape's visit on Friday, and the very odd bruising on his body. Snape returned moments later to report, "Nothing. No bruises, Poppy."

"I suppose it would be asking too much for you to stay overnight in the Infirmary." The scandalized look on Snape's face made it clear that was asking far too much. "In that case, I insist that you go straight to bed in your quarters, take the potions I prescribe, and ONLY those potions, and I will send a house elf to tend to you."

With much harrumphing, Snape went back to his quarters and allowed himself to be fed herbal teas, and provided with a pillow charmed to be warm to place over his tense stomach, and he even took the potions that Madam Pomfrey had sent back with him. Not surprisingly, he slept very well and was feeling much better the next morning.

Monday was a nice, normal day. Nothing awful happened to anyone The only glitch was Dumbledore's continued problems with his communications with the castle. It seemed even more agitated and distracted than before, and he was able to maintain contact with the stone for about ten minutes before the barrage of disorganized data threatened to give him a headache and he broke contact.

Tuesday, howwever, was a disaster.

Dumbledore's early morning effort to communicate was the worst it had ever been before. The castle almost seemed to be in some distress. Where Dumbledore was used to feeling the castle's protection when he touched that stone, today he almost felt fury and threats. Not knowing what to do, he abruptly broke contact, and figured he would try again, later.

Snape awoke with a nasty headache, and thought to revive himself with a shower. As he stood under the pounding water, it started to get hotter and hotter, and it did not respond to his spells to cool it. He began to feel horrible shooting pains, as well, all throughout his body. He staggered away from the steaming hot water, and collapsed unconscious just outside the shower. He was stretched out on the floor, partly on one side, resting mainly on one hip and
shoulder. As he lay there, his body was becoming bruised, and at times, his body jerked as if he was being struck. Indeed, welts were appearing on his body, and if sounds could have been heard over the pounding water, the sounds would have been those of some of his bones breaking. Had he not fallen unconscious as soon as he left the shower stall, he would have been in agony at the horrific beating an unseen force was inflicting on him.

Dumbledore went to the Great Hall for breakfast, as a good cup of tea usually made things better. It was odd that Snape was not there, although he sometimes took breakfast in his rooms, so that was not anything about which to be concerned. When word reached Dumbledore half an hour later that Snape had never appeared for his class that morning, he was indeed concerned, and he floo-ed immediately to Snape's office. There was no sign that Snape had been in it this morning, so Dumbledore went immediately to Snape's quarters. Again, there was no sign that Snape had been in the sitting room, so he went through the bedroom and followed the sound of the running water to the bathroom. He stopped the flow of water and banished the steam with a wave of his wand. He was shocked by the sight of a very battered Snape twitching on the floor as welts and bruises appeared on his skin while Dumbledore watched. Not knowing where this beating was coming from, Dumbledore quickly
checked around himself, but there was no one else present to deliver this beating. It was happening on its own. And it was continuing as Dumbledore watched: he gently placed his hand on Snape's hip, and actually felt a welt develop beneath his hand, as if Snape had been struck while Dumbledore touched him.

Dumbledore levitated Snape out of the bathroom and over toward his bed, noticing that more welts were appearing. Hoping to stop whatever was inflicting the beating, he cast a very strong insulation charm around Snape that would both immobilize him and, unless his own body was attacking itself, block any magic acting against him. Fortunately, it did the trick and the assault stopped. Unfortunately, he could not be treated while he was within the charm. Dumbledore placed an obscuration charm as well around Snape and levitated the man to the Infirmary as fast as he could.

Madam Pomfrey was quite upset to see Snape back again so quickly and in such bad shape. She gently got him positioned on a bed, and removed just the top portion of the insulation charm so she could treat him, while protecting him as best she could from further harm from . . . wherever. Fortunately, it seemed that the assault had stopped. Dumbledore described where he had found Snape, and what was happening with him, as she scanned him to assess his injuries and went to work. Madam Pomfrey was able to heal the soft-tissue
injuries he had suffered with her potions and salves. She spelled a dose of bone repair potion directly into his stomach, but it did not work. Snape had several breaks in his pelvis and the leg on which he had been resting, as well as in his arm on that side, and those were proving to be completely resistant to her magical cures. Her scans established that he was in no medical danger from these injuries, but he would have to be immobilized for months if all this
damage had to cure without magical intervention. She tried several different spells, and a different potion, but nothing was working on those broken bones. As she was preparing to call St. Mungo's again to request a consultation, Dumbledore, who had been sitting quietly in a chair by Snape's bedside with a pensive look on his face, suddenly spoke up. "Poppy, I think we need to move Severus out of the castle immediately." Mistaking his concern, she said "Albus, I am quite sure whatever he has is not contagious, and even if there is something in this that could be transmitted to another, we have excellent containment spells that will block it."

"No, Poppy, I am not worried about his spreading a disease. I think he needs to be out of the castle, and as fast as we can arrange it." Still not understanding the problem but appreciating that Dumbledore was not likely to be this upset and insistent for no reason, she finally agreed. "I think we can have the bedroom in the Shrieking Shack cleaned up and prepared to serve as Severus' quarters for his convalescence within an hour or two. Will that do? Once we get him settled there, I will call St. Mungo's and ask that a Healer be dispatched to Hogwarts."

He nodded at Madam Pomfrey. "Please let me know when you get him settled here." With an absolutely murderous look on his face, Dumbledore left the Infirmary to return to his office.

A very agitated and angry Dumbledore sat behind his desk and placed his hand on the stone. He ignored the streams of data pushed out at him, which continued to focus on Snape and his activities. He had some thoughts of his own that needed to be shared. He thought with much affection about Snape. He thought particularly of the story Snape shared about finding Margaret Upshaw and getting her to the Infirmary, and recalled in detail Madam Pomfrey's declaration that Snape had saved her life with his quick action. He also summoned the memory of the very warm appreciation showed to Snape by the Upshaws for saving their daughter. Dumbledore then expressed a terrible fear that, if the castle was not safe, if the good people sheltered in its care were not safe here, that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would have to close its doors. Finally, he imagined his sadness at watching the castle being dismantled, stone by stone. Then he abruptly removed his hand from the stone. Let it draw its own conclusions and stew on it!

The rumors were flying among the students about the unprecedented event – Snape had missed his classes! Speculation was rampant as to the cause, although the spike in activity in and around the Infirmary led to the general understanding that he had taken ill. Most students saw this as cause for celebration. Even though Snape was very happy to finally be teaching DADA, he still delighted in making students miserable and they still found him a thoroughly
unpleasant teacher. Some things did not change. There appeared to be only two students who were concerned to think that Snape was ill. One, a sixth-year Gryffindor, decided to head to the Infirmary herself to share her perceptions that there might be something wrong with Snape's magic. The other, a second-year Hufflepuff, went off to make him a get-well card.

As Hermione entered the Infirmary after lunch, she found a very frazzled Madam Pomfrey trying to calm down over a cup of tea in her office. "Madam Pomfrey, may I have a word? I sensed something was wrong with Professor Snape's magic when I took the potion bottle
from him last week. I can't describe what I felt better than that. I'd been sensing magic all week, and what I sensed from that bottle was very different and seemed, off. Then when he got ill on Sunday evening, I took one of his arms to steady him with Professor Dumbledore. I was taking the potion to block those sensations, so it was not as strong, but again, I am sure it was the same. I've heard others saying that Professor Snape is ill, so I wanted you to
know that, in case it helps."

With a small shake of her head, the mediwitch answered "Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It has been a hellish morning here." She looked at a basket of potions on her desk. "We moved Professor Snape to a location out of the castle, at Professor Dumbledore's
direction, so I have a house elf out there with him. Now the dragonpox that had afflicted the third year Gryffindor girls seems to have hit both the third and fourth year Ravenclaws."

"Can I help you? I have a free period now. Can I help with the Ravenclaws?"

"No, the students need medical care. I do need these fresh potions taken out to Professor Snape. It's not far, just this side of Hogsmeade . . . "

Hermione figured that out in an instant. "Oh, is he in the Shrieking Shack, then?" At Madam Pomfrey's surprised expression, she added "I've been there. I know the entrance under the Whomping Willow, so I don't have to leave school grounds. I can walk this out there, if you'd like."

Madam Pomfrey could not help but think that Hermione was almost as bad as Dumbledore, knowing things she just ought not know. "Yes, please. Just give this to the house elf out there, his name is Tibbs. We only got Professor Snape settled in out there in the last couple of hours, so I doubt he wants company."

With a chuckle, Hermione assured her she would restrict this visit to dropping off the potions. She was confident that she was among those on the long list of people with whom Snape would not want to visit.

Hermione was a bit surprised that the ground floor of the Shrieking Shack was as decrepit and dirty as it had been the last time she was there, but conditions improved dramatically as she reached the second floor. The floor was scrubbed and waxed, the paint looked fresh, the curtains new, the windows sparkled and the furniture looked polished. She was greeted on the landing by the most distinguished-looking house elf she had ever seen – it had never
occurred to her that a house elf could even look distinguished. He approached her and with a soft voice but perfect diction said "Miss Granger, it is a pleasure to welcome you! I am Tibbs. Professor Snape is right this way." Hermione was a bit flustered. "Actually, I am just bringing these potions for Professor Snape from Madam Pomfrey. I understand that he might not yet be up to receiving visitors."

"Nonsense, Miss Granger. I believe that the diversion of a visit would do him good. It will take his mind off himself."

She was ushered rather forcefully into the bedroom and looked around. It was really quite pleasant in here now. Clean and fresh, with a welcoming fire in the grate, windows letting in lots of sunlight, comfortable furnishings – very surprising. The bed had been rebuilt and the dark, dusty bed curtains and coverings were gone, replaced with sparkling white linens. There in the middle of the bed, looking very uncomfortable, was Snape, also in sparkling white linen pajamas. She walked to his bedside as he watched her warily and drew his blankets up to his chin with his good arm. There was a bright spot of color on the wall behind his nightstand, and as she approached she realized it looked like a hand-made get well card from a child. She could not imagine this was something a Slytherin would do, but then it came to her – a second-year Hufflepuff might do something like that. She smiled at Snape, who glared in response. "I offered to help Madam Pomfrey by walking a basket of potions out here for you. I appreciate that you might still be settling in, but Tibbs was adamant that I visit. Can I bring you anything from the castle? Some books or periodicals? Parchment and quills? Maybe a dictaquill? Sunglasses?"

Snape ALMOST smiled at that last suggestion. His glare slid to a sneer, and not a very intimidating one at that. With a sigh, he nodded. "The light in here is a bit uncomfortable, actually. Tibbs has taken his orders from the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey a bit too
seriously. If you would, have a house elf get my sunglasses and the books on my nightstand in my rooms, and the last issues of the potions journals to which I subscribe. I would appreciate that, Miss Granger."

Her eyes landed on the card stuck to the wall over his nightstand and she smiled again. "That get well card is very colorful, Professor Snape. It is a pity that you can't enjoy it on the wall
behind you." He rolled his eyes. "I told Tibbs to incinerate that! He stuck it to the wall? When I get my wand . . . " "But sir, it's very nice and I'm sure heartfelt. Allow me to guess – Margaret Upshaw?" He arched his eyebrows at that. "I had lunch with her on Friday when I woke up in the Infirmary. I guessed based on the way she blushed when telling me what a hero you were to her." Nearly laughing at the look of horror on Snape's face, she quickly added "I will not tell anyone."

"I rely on your discretion, Miss Granger."

Promising to send a house elf back with the items Snape had requested, Hermione took her leave.

Madam Pomfrey made an urgent firecall to St. Mungo's before heading off to the Ravenclaw dormitories, and requested that a Healer be gotten to Hogwarts as soon as possible to address Snape's injuries. The scheduler had been a student at Hogwarts about ten years ago
and, on hearing for whom the Healer's services were needed, immediately understood the reason for Madam Pomfrey's distress and pleas for urgency. A healthy Snape was a trial, but she could only imagine what he would be like injured.

An owl arrived for Madam Pomfrey that evening. St. Mungo's could possibly get a Healer to Hogwarts the day after tomorrow, or Friday morning at the latest. Not optimal, but at least something. Madam Pomfrey made sure that Snape had fresh potions every day, just in
case his magic managed to sort itself out, but that did not happen and he grew nastier with each passing hour. Tibbs was a most interesting house elf, and he was ideally suited for this
assignment. He could not be goaded or distressed by any of Snape's rants, and his magic was strong enough to keep Snape cared for and, when necessary, restrained. For his part, Snape sat in bed wearing sunglasses, working his way through a large stack of books and
periodicals, fuming at everyone who came out to see him.

Dumbledore made contact with the castle again on Wednesday evening, and once again, ignored the data it pushed out at him and instead repeated his thoughts of the morning, with emphasis on his sad thoughts about having to close the school, and watch the castle being dismantled. He could sense the castle's agitation and distress, so he decided to make his thoughts very clear. He expressed his belief that the castle had been the cause of Snape's
injuries, and made it clear that he was absolutely horrified atthat. The castle's agitation seemed to ebb, as its distress grew. Dumbledore persisted in his thoughts, then, conveying his respect and warm feelings for Snape, and his ardent conviction that Snape did what he did to make the castle and students safe. He went back to his memories of Snape at Margaret Upshaw's bedside as Madam Pomfrey told him he had saved her life, and then as the Upshaw family thanked him. He thought with appreciation about how Snape quickly identified the boys behind the attack on Margaret and helped him deal with them. The castle pushed out data showing moments of great distress over the start of this term, and Dumbledore matched each with his own feelings about the participants, often specifically casting Snape in the role of the solver, not creator, of the problem. Slowly, the castle seemed to understand. At that point, Dumbledore broke his contact with the stone. He hoped the castle would be ready to discuss resolutions tomorrow, after processing the information he'd shared tonight.

Thursday dawned and everyone associated with Snape's care hoped that this was the day his magic was healed. He was driving them all to distraction. Even the equable Tibbs seemed to be running out of patience with his demanding patient.

For his part, Dumbledore's priority was to continue his discussion with the castle about resolving its attack on Snape, and he was back at his desk right after breakfast. The castle had seemed to come about from the day before, and no longer seemed agitated. Dumbledore had given the matter some further thought, and had a proposal. He thought about Snape, and the fact that he alone had been the victim of the castle's punishment. He thought that if Snape concluded that he felt safe within the castle's walls despite the castle's error in judgment in attacking him, that Dumbledore would agree that the castle was safe and he would not press the issue further. He also thought that if Snape was not comfortable returning and brought the matter to the attention of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts, they would agree that the school was not safe and it would have to close, and likely that the castle would have to be dismantled. He left open the matter of how Snape was to be reassured of the castle's good will, to see how the castle would address that. Dumbledore experienced the greatest relief he had felt since this whole awful incident began as the castle began to push out information that showed that it recognized Snape as a fellow protector of the school and its students. He gently drew the castle back to the question of assuring Snape that things were different now. When no solutions were forthcoming, he advanced one of his own. He proposed that the castle speak directly to Snape. Dumbledore did understand that the castle had been very careful to restrict its communication to the sitting Headmaster or Headmistress, but was not sure if a suggestion that someone else be contacted would be a problem in the castle's perception. To his relief, it was not a problem at all. The castle seemed quite pleased to have this chance.

An owl arrived in the late afternoon on Thursday with a note from St. Mungo's that the Healer would be there early Friday morning. The look of relief on Madam Pomfrey's face was comical.

Healer Eoin Atwood arrived in the Infirmary floo with the first light of dawn, and Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him. She provided a briefing on the case from her notes, and then thought to add Hermione's observations, even though that was not part of the file. "Healer Atwood, it might be of interest that we have a student who has begun to manifest a skill on the healing axis. We have not been able to have Miss Granger evaluated, but she reported
having a distinct perception that there was something wrong with Professor Snape's magic based on his handing her a potion bottle, and her taking his arm to steady him when he nearly collapsed this past Sunday."

He was quite interested in this. "I would like to meet your Miss Granger. At the very least, she seems to have strong empathic skills, even if she is not a Healer." Madam Pomfrey immediately dispatched an owl to Hermione at breakfast, asking her to come to the Infirmary. Hermione was enjoying breakfast with her two friends when the letter was dropped into her cereal. Fishing it out, she brightened as soon as she read it. "There's a Healer at Hogwarts
right now! He's here to see Snape, of course, not to assess me, but Madam Pomfrey's invited me to meet him!" Harry and Ron were happy to see their friend so excited and enthused and wished her good luck as she took a final gulp of coffee and hurried off.

Dumbledore had already arrived in the Infirmary by the time Hermione got there. Healer Atwood was very gracious to Hermione and asked her to expand on the cryptic observations about Snape's magic shared with him by Madam Pomfrey. She had been thinking about that
herself, how to describe what caused her to say his magic was "off." The best she had come up with was an analogy to light and dark. Most magic felt light and bright, but there was a darkness somewhere in Snape's. Healer Atwood seemed a bit flustered by Hermione's description, but nodded. "I think we ought to visit the patient now." As Hermione turned to leave them, he added "Please, join us, Miss Granger! You could learn something by participating, and I am confident that a professor at this school would consent to this, as part of developing the skills of one of his students."

Actually, Hermione was not at all confident about that, but this was such a fantastic opportunity that she was willing to take a stab at it. She joined the others in the walk out to the Whomping Willow, and then through the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack.

Snape seemed surprised to see Hermione among the group that arrived to treat him. Healer Atwood explained "Miss Granger has manifested a skill along the healing axis, as I understand you know." Snape nodded at that. "She may be a very strong empath, but it is
possible that she is being called as a Healer. She spoke to Madam Pomfrey about her concern that she felt something wrong with your magic. Would you consent to her participating with me in treating you now?"

Hermione half expected an explosion, or at least a very loud instruction for her to leave immediately, and braced herself. To her amazement, Snape actually looked at her with interest and nodded. "I was, of course, aware about the fact that Miss Granger was experiencing a barrage of sensations from the magic of others, but I was not aware of any concern Miss Granger had with regard to me. I would have no objection at all to her participation here."

Dumbledore looked delightedly at Snape and back to Hermione. Madam Pomfrey looked a bit uncomfortable having a student with them at all, let alone participating in a Healing, but realized that her protestations would fall on deaf ears. Hermione was moved to the middle of the little group to stand directly next to the Healer.

Healer Atwood assumed (correctly) that the adults were familiar with the work of a Healer, but Hermione was not. "Miss Granger, the skill of a Healer is instinctive and internal. We do not wave wands or administer potions or salves. My personal preference is first to touch the point of injury, as sometimes the damage is local to that spot and can be dealt with quickly and directly. If the problem cannot be dealt with there, we then focus on the magical core."

With a wave of Madam Pomfrey's wand, Snape's badly broken leg and hip were undraped while he remained otherwise fully clothed in his white linen pajamas. To the others' slight amusement, Hermione blushed quite severely at this. Healer Atwood ignored that, and directed Hermione's hands to touch Snape's leg near his hands on Snape's upper thigh. She stared at Healer Atwood, too embarrassed to look down. "Concentrate, Miss Granger. See if your magic can push out, into Professor Snape."

Hermione closed her eyes and centered herself as her hands rested lightly on Snape's leg. It was suddenly clear as day to her how to simply push her magic out. Almost instantly, as she did this, she also understood that there was absolutely nothing that anyone could do to help him in touching Snape's leg. She could feel and see the magic flowing in his legs. It was flowing around the injuries it wanted to heal, and could not help, and that caused it frustration
and pain. It was obviously not damaged magic, just magic that could not work on the problem it saw. Hermione could not imagine why Healer Atwood remained focused here. Her own frustration, and the pain she could feel from Snape's magic, brought tears to her own eyes, but she resolved to find some benefit from this situation. She focused herself tightly on Healer Atwood's magic and how it was exploring and testing around Snape's injuries. This could still be a learning event, even if it could not help Snape, so she mimicked the actions of the Healer and allowed herself to test out the mechanics of this process.

At long last, Healer Atwood seemed to reach the obvious conclusion that there was no help to be rendered here, and lifted his hands. Hermione immediately did the same.

"Professor Snape, there is nothing we can do at the site of your injuries, so we must work with your core."

Another wave of Madam Pomfrey's wand covered Snape's leg again but opened the front of his pajama top to expose his chest and stomach. Without another word, the Healer placed Hermione's hands next to his and he pushed into Snape. Hermione followed him moments later.

The core of Snape's magic was massive – that took Hermione aback. It was actually very bright and vibrant as well, although Hermione was sure that she detected something embedded far in the mass, nearly hidden, that was different. She pushed and probed on her own in that direction, ignoring Healer Atwood's magic and what he was doing. She was finally starting to make some headway toward the spot she suspected was the trouble when the Healer lifted his hands, and then lifted hers, as well.

She looked angry at the interruption. "But, Sir, I think I saw the . . . " He cut her off. "No, no, I am quite sure that the core of Professor Snape's magic is not damaged at all. A most puzzling
case – this might be a curse. I think we should make arrangements to bring you to St. Mungo's, Professor, to consult with some experts in cursebreaking." With a pointed look at a now upset Hermione, he added "There is nothing we can do here."

True to her nature, Hermione persisted. "Sir, I do believe I saw . . ." Once again, and very pointedly, the Healer cut her off. "No, my dear. It does sometime happen that young, untrained Healers get a bit overconfident, or do not interpret the things they see appropriately, because they do not know what they are doing. Training and experience make all the difference. Miss Granger, I do assure you that there is nothing to be done here."

Hermione went silent, and looked sullen. Dumbledore stepped in to diffuse the situation. "Well, then, Madam Pomfrey, why don't you escort Healer Atwood back to the Infirmary so he can floo along to his next appointment. Healer, thank you for attending. We will be in touch with St. Mungo's."

After the mediwitch and the Healer left, Dumbledore addressed himself to Hermione. "Healer Atwood did not treat you respectfully, and I regret that. What did you think you saw?"

"Well, Professor Snape's magic is massive, really. The surface looks fine. But I was certain that I saw a small spot, embedded well into his magic that was not as full of light as the surrounding magic. I was making my way toward that when Healer Atwood pulled me out."

Snape was looking at Hermione with a very odd look on his face, as if he was weighing his options. "Miss Granger, I cannot believe I am saying this. If you would be willing, I consent to your entering my magic again to see what you can find or do."

"But, Sir, Healer Atwood was right. I have no training or experience at all! Even if I could find the problem, I have no idea how to fix anything. What if I hurt you?"

Dumbledore chimed in. "Actually, Miss Granger, Healers cannot do harm to their patients, so do not worry about that at all. Healing is a very instinctive process, as Healer Atwood said. Training can make you capable of doing more, or improve your technique, but the essential skill to heal magic is within you. Even in his backhanded way, Healer Atwood acknowledged that you possess the skill."

With a touch of reluctance, Hermione finally said "If you think I might be able to help you, Professor, then I am happy to try."

With Dumbledore standing next to her, Hermione again placed her hands on Snape's stomach, and gently pushed out her magic into him. Snape watched with interest as she stood stock still. It was an interesting contrast – the absolute stillness of her body and the
incredible force and speed with which her magic was moving with him. When she was in his magic with Healer Atwood, he could not tell their magics apart, but now that she was alone, he realized what amazing power she had and was actually impressed by the confidence with which she deployed it. She moved with great boldness within his magic, actually working up a slight sweat in the warm room from her invisible exertions.

Hermione needed just a moment to locate the spot she had seen before and immediately moved her magic toward it. When she finally got to that spot, she was sure it was the right place. The magic there seemed tangled and twisted in upon itself. She pushed and probed
for a second, and then gently began to work her own magic against the tangles to work them out and get the flow back. She had no idea how long she was in Snape's magic or how long this process took. Time stood still for her. Eventually, the lightness of the spot matched it surroundings, and she concluded that the magic was repaired. Slowly, she backed out, and finally lifted her hands.

She drew a deep breath as she opened her eyes and looked down at Snape. "Are you alright, Sir? Did I cause you any pain or discomfort?" "No, Miss Granger, I could feel you in there, and I am quite fine."

Dumbledore had placed an arm around her waist and guided her to a chair nearby. "I imagine that you need a moment to recover, yourself, after that expenditure of magic. Sit here for a minute, to be sure you are alright." Turning back to Snape, he asked "When was the last dose of potions administered to you, Severus?" As if on cue, the week's worth of bone-healing potions, including a dose taken just the night before, all kicked in at once. Snape writhed and grimaced in pain as his bones were repaired. The pain was severe for only a minute, and then gradually ebbed away. Finally, Snape could breathe again and he gently flexed his leg and
arm. "I've been dosed with potions all week, Albus, and now that my magic is able to work on my injuries, the potions worked."

Hermione was paler now than she'd been when she sat. Snape's grunts of pain had scared her terribly, and she'd tried to stand to help, but her legs were weaker than she realized. When Snape was fine again, her panic receded and Dumbledore helped her up. "He's fine,
Miss Granger. That was just all the potions in his system finally being able to do their work." He waved his wand over Snape, and pronounced "And they did work! All the breaks are gone! Well done Miss Granger!"

Dumbledore led Hermione out of the bedroom. "I require a private word with Professor Snape, Miss Granger. Would you please return to the castle, and ask Madam Pomfrey to step out here in about an hour? If you have missed any classes this morning, please ask the
professors to check with me, and I will assure that you are excused."

After Hermione left, Snape slowly worked his way over to the edge of the bed and was gingerly placing some weight on his leg and trying to stand. Dumbledore grabbed his good arm. "After several days in bed, Severus, you might not be steady on your feet. We need to
speak, but I do suggest that you take advantage of the most excellent softening charm Tibbs placed on the bathtub here. I think some exercises and stretches in the tub will help your muscles and you will be very comfortable while you do them. When you are done, we will speak." Snape flexed his injured arm, which was just fine, and slowly allowed Dumbledore to help him stand. He was a bit wobbly, and the headmaster helped him walk into the bathroom.
Dumbledore then took a seat by the fire and sat there dozing until a much refreshed Snape joined him about half an hour later.

Dumbledore got right to the point. Looking Snape in the eye, he said "I know what caused your injuries, Severus. Please sit down and allow me to tell you this entire story. You were injured by Hogwarts Castle."

Not surprisingly, Snape looked at him with an expression that clearly translated into "You are crazy." Dumbledore shook his head with a small laugh. "I know what that sounds like, and, no, I am not crazy. I am going to tell you something known only to a select few. Many centuries ago, the many magics employed to shield and protect the castle gave it a consciousness. It has communicated with Hogwarts' Headmasters and Headmistresses for at least the last
seven hundred years. The portraits of the former Headmasters in my office told me to touch a stone behind my desk a week or so after I was named Headmaster. They explained that the castle wished to communicate with me. The wards in particular gather an enormous amount of information, and the castle chose to share it. As I expressed questions, it focused on data relevant to the things of concern to me."

"It pains me terribly to admit this, but I fear that I am the reason that the castle focused on you and eventually decided to discipline you. Yes, Severus, the castle was punishing you. That is what these injuries represented. You might have noticed that I always seemed to know when your demeanor among staff and students reached a point that we needed to discuss it. I knew that you were becoming too confrontational when the information I got from the castle told me about the impacts your interactions with others were having on them."

The expression on Snape's face hovered between skepticism and serious concern. He heard the words, but this was not right on so many levels. Surely Dumbledore had lost his mind - buildings don't speak or communicate! But it HAD irritated Snape no end that Dumbledore always seemed to sit him down for a conversation about his behavior exactly when Snape was having his roughest interactions with those around him, and he had to be getting his insight from somewhere! But the castle?

"I have expressed my absolute outrage to the castle that this has happened, and let it know that if we had any reason to believe that the castle was not safe, I was confident that the Board of Governors would not hesitate to close the school. If the castle represented enough of a threat, I expected it would be dismantled. I am going to make the decision whether to approach the Board about this, Severus. That decision will be entirely on my shoulders and no one else's. I look to you, as the only person wronged here, for input. If you tell me that you feel safe within the castle, I will take that into consideration, and might say nothing further about this. If you feel unsafe, I cannot allow others to remain here."

"I do not know if the problem with your magic that Miss Granger just fixed was caused by the castle itself, or if this is something that you acquired while you were abroad, or even if you have had this all your life. I don't know if this attracted the castle's attention, or led to its actions against you. There is so much we don't know here. However, I did propose to the castle that it break with tradition and speak to someone who is not a sitting headmaster. It
agreed and would like to speak to you, to express its regret and good intentions going forward. This is a signal honor. You will be the first person who is not a sitting Headmaster of Hogwarts to whom the castle will speak. As I said, Severus, the decision here will be mine, and if I decide to involve them, the Board of Governor's. I am not putting this on your shoulders. I would value your input, and I do feel you need to think this through and communicate with the castle to provide the input I need from you."

"Will you do it?"

Now, this put Snape in a spot. Dumbledore was asking him to participate in his delusion? It was actually disturbing to Snape to think that the castle could communicate at all, and now Dumbledore wanted him to communicate with it? However, Dumbledore was clearly serious about this, and was in other respects still seemingly in possession of his faculties. Slowly, Snape realized that he had to agree to do this. He had to swallow his feelings of discomfort
about this, and do it for his friend and mentor. With a voice laced with reservations, he said "All right, Albus, I will do as you ask."

Dumbledore looked relieved, and very pleased. "Thank you, Severus. I know this is not something with which you are comfortable. Thank you for trusting me."

As Snape shook his head a final time and moved to stand, Madam Pomfrey arrived, clearly upset and flustered.

"Severus, what are you doing out of bed?!? I understand from Miss Granger that you allowed her to enter you again after Healer Atwood and I left! What on earth were you and Albus thinking? This is outrageous, and I must protest. How can you allow a student – A STUDENT, ALBUS - to take such extraordinary liberties? She has not been assessed, or tested, and goodness knows, she had no training! How could you have permitted this, both of you?"

"Because, Poppy, it was clear to Severus and me that she has talent. We discussed that she clearly felt something that Healer Atwood missed. He acknowledged that she was manifesting healing capabilities, and remember, he had been in Severus with her. A Healer cannot harm a patient, so there was was no danger to either Miss Granger or Severus in proceeding. It was absolutely safe! And she had detected something that Healer Atwood had not! It took her
just minutes to find the problem, and hen she was able to fix it. Once she fixed it, the potions you've been administering to Severus kicked in. He was in distress for a few minutes as all the healing happened at once, but I scanned his injuries, and he is healed."

"Really, Poppy, I could feel her magic in me, and she is not only a Healer, but a remarkably strong one. I am healed now, no thanks to Healer Atwood. Albus and I will be contacting St. Mungo's about him. He should have been willing to listen to Miss Granger, who so
obviously had insight he did not. Had this matter been left in his hands, I would have been left unhealed for who knows how much longer until someone else with more skill was finally able to work with me and look beyond Healer Atwood's insistence that my magic was fine, when it was not. Please calm down. Miss Granger did exactly as I permitted her to do, and she helped me."

Harrumphing away, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and ran her own scans of Snape, which only confirmed what Dumbledore had told her. All of Snape's injuries were, in fact, healed now.

"Come, Poppy, Severus and I were just about to walk back to the castle. Please provide Tibbs with instructions about returning your potions to the Infirmary, and join us." She glared at them both, but gathered all the remaining potions into the basket and conferred quietly with Tibbs for a moment, before falling in with Snape and Dumbledore for the walk back.

For her part, Hermione had sought out Harry and Ron as soon as she returned to the castle. Unfortunately, it was already lunch by the time she returned, and this term they had afternoon classes until an hour before dinner. She sat with them at lunch, but made them promise to join her in the Gryffindor common room as soon as classes were over. The boys could tell that their friend was just bursting with news, but she wasn't sharing until they met up later. Neither
expected the news to be anything like confirmation that she was actually a Healer, but with Hermione, you never knew.

That was exactly what Hermione announced to them later that afternoon. "Can we please go up to the dorms? I want to check your magical cores." Harry blanched - he'd been upset when he learned that Hermione could sense his magic when she touched his hand, and now - what was she going to do? Ron followed along, his distress more connected to jealousy that Hermione had such an important skill than any fear about the process. Whatever their reservations, they both ended up with their shirts open as Hermione placed her hands on
their stomachs in turn. She was delighted for the chance to experience this process again and reinforce what she had learned in doing this with Snape earlier, and to their own surprise, both Harry and Ron found it quite interesting and not the least bit uncomfortable or, to Harry's concern, invasive. They peppered her with questions. "How do you know what to do?" Oh, Merlin - Hermione, I could feel you in there!" "What does my magic look like?" "Is my magic OK?" "Is there anything wrong with me?"

"Dumbledore said that a Healer cannot do any harm to a patient. My training will enable me to do more, and refine my technique, but it's all instinctual. The best word I can come up with to describe magic is 'light.' You both have really strong, very bright magic. Actually, so did Professor Snape, even with the little patch in the middle that was not as bright. No color, or anything else, just light. When I was in the magic in each of you, I could tell it was strong and whole. When I encountered a darker patch, I just focused on it, and pushed and pulled with my own magic to untangle and straighten out the streams of light, and once I did that, the patch became the same brightness of the surrounding magic."

Harry was very curious about how she got in. "Actually, once I saw Healer Atwood do it, I understood. I just push my magic out into you when I touch your stomach, and your magical core is in the center of your torso. It was so simple, and obvious. When I was having the problem with the sensations, I did not realize that I controlled the entire process. Just like I can push my magic out when I touch you, I can pull it back in. As I've been working on accessing your magical cores, I've been able to shut down the sensation after I've pulled out from your magic. I think I've got that totally under control now."

Harry was especially happy about that last bit. "Hermione, that's outstanding! I was so worried about the effect that the sensations were having on you - I was really afraid that your not getting the rest you need was going to make you ill. It's such a relief that you can control it now."

When Snape and Dumbledore got back to the castle, they had headed straight to the Headmaster's office. Snape felt uncommonly ill at ease as he entered, but was careful to project his usual self-confidence. He noticed the looks of disapproval on many of the faces in the portraits. He heard some of their griping about it being very inappropriate that he, a surly professor who was not even a Deputy Headmaster, was being accorded this honor. Whatever this was about, it was clear that the portraits all seemed to be involved and in a way, it pleased him that they were upset with the castle's invitation.

Before he could digest that this all made the situation more real than he had imagined, Dumbledore directed him to sit in his chair, and told him to touch a specific stone. His fingers registered the depression in the stone as he did so. While Snape was not a particularly emotional person, he could not help but feel an enormous sense of the history of Hogwarts and the castle as his hand traced the stone worn down by the touch of so many other hands over so many centuries. It was an an honor to join that long line of men and women who had been invited to do this, regardless of their being magical or tasked with leading Hogwarts. Almost as soon as he reacted to the history of the situation, he felt the pulse of the castle's magic reaching into him, bearing all sorts of data about the castle and those within it.

Dumbledore had given him some suggestions about how to maximize the value of this communication, but until he was actually experiencing this, none of that made much sense. Suddenly, it all came together. He began to understand the flow of data. He understood the castle's expression of regret that it had misinterpreted his actions and taken action itself against him as a result. He also understood that the castle was assuring him of its good intentions and protectiveness toward him as well as everyone else in the castle. However, he had some questions of his own, and he communicated them. The castle was quite pleased to have another wizard like Dumbledore engaging it in this way, and it paid close attention to the issues about which Snape expressed his concerns. It gathered and shared information that was responsive to his questions, and as he further developed and refined his questions, it
refined the information it provided. Even the portraits were astonished by the length of time that Snape sat with his hand on the stone, apparently relishing this communication as much as Dumbledore usually did when he sat there.

At long last, Snape broke the connection and leaned back in the chair with a deep breath. "Albus, I must confess myself astonished by this experience. I am somewhat at a loss to describe what I feel right now. However, based on the communications that were made to me, I do believe that the castle bears no ill will towards me or anyone else, and it is safe for me and all the others here to remain." Dumbledore smiled at that news. "Thank you, my boy. The
castle has been expressing its regret to me since I called it on its involement in your injuries, and assuring me that it will never seek to punish an inhabitant of the castle again. I was personally comfortable that this was one isolated incident, perhaps an experiment on its part, and not something it had done before or would do again, but I have been accused in the past of believing only the best of people, and possibly buildings. I am very pleased that you share my assessment of the castle's intentions. I am not going to mention this incident then to the Board of Governors."

It was already late afternoon at that point, so Dumbledore summoned them each a tumbler of firewhiskey. If ever there was a day deserving of a nice large drink, it had to be this one. The two wizards shared the drinks sitting in the chairs by the fire in Dumbledore's office, each quietly lost in his own thoughts. As the time for dinner neared, they stood and walked companionably toward the Great Hall. Snape in particular noticed himself paying attention to aspects of the castle he had not noticed before. Somehow, the castle felt different to him. Instead of entering the Great Hall from a door near the dias where the professors sat, Snape
walked to the foyer in front of the hall, where the students entered, and Dumbledore followed along.

The students were milling about in the foyer as they began to enter the Hall, and it was clear that Snape was looking for someone. The little clusters of students split apart to make way for the Headmaster and Snape as they waded through the throng, and a few Slytherins here and there greeted Snape and expressed half-hearted relief that he was well. Not finding the person he sought in the foyer, Snape led Dumbledore into the Great Hall, where he scanned
the tables. Sure enough, he spotted the one he was looking for where she already sat with her friends at the Gryffindor table, and he strode with his usual purposefulness in her direction.

When Snape arrived to stand right behind Hermione's seat, a quiet descended on that part of the table as curious students strained to hear what Snape and Dumbledore wanted with Hermione. The look of concern mingled with fear on Ron's face told her that she needed to
look behind her, and once she saw the two, she stood immediately to speak to them.

"Headmaster, Professor Snape, good evening."

Looking directly at Snape, and with a bit of nervous concern in her voice, she added "Is anything amiss, Sir? Is there any problem?"

Snape pulled himself up to his imposing full height and looked down at Hermione with a look that almost bordered on a smile – possibly that was his version of a smile, she was not sure. "Miss Granger, I am quite well, thank you. I wished to speak with you now to express my thanks for your intervention this morning and to acknowledge formally what I am sure you have now concluded: you have indeed been called as a Healer, and it was my honor to be the first whose magic was healed by you."

Dumbledore then joined in. "We are both very grateful for your intervention, Miss Granger. I am contacting St. Mungo's myself to request that a qualified Healer be dispatched as soon as possible to do a formal assessment and to work with Madam Pomfrey to create a training regimen for you that we can begin for you while you are still a student here. I will also speak to the Administrator about arranging for some further training for Healer Atwood, who clearly
failed to see what you saw, and then behaved inappropriately in not investigating your discovery further. Had you not been available to assist us today, Professor Snape would have remained incapacitated for a considerably longer period of time. Again, our thanks, and please enjoy your dinner."

With that, the two professors made their way to the head table and took their seats.

Conversation sprang to life again at the Gryffindor table as they departed. Interest was always highest when someone was scolded or in trouble, and this was clearly not such an event, so people generally went back to their dinners.

Harry and Ron noticed how pleased Hermione was by the visit. "Is that a protocol in wizarding culture, to formally acknowledge that you are a Healer?" Harry wanted to know. "I have no idea. I am so relieved that he is alright, I was worried I'd done something wrong and managed to do harm to him or something."

Ron added "I've never known a Healer, but I have heard something about it being an honor to be the first one healed by someone developing as a Healer. It's great that they are going to speak to St. Mungo's about that Atwood person. It sounded like he was not very nice to you, and to have Dumbledore speak on your behalf will really make them listen. And Snape - Merlin, did he try to smile at you?"

With a laugh as they recalled that most uncommon sight, the trio rejoined the conversation at their table, as the two professors regaled the others at the staff table with the story of Miss
Granger's new skill.

Snape was quietly hoping that he would have another opportunity such as he had today to communicate with the castle. He was thinking of numerous questions he could pose and the use to which he could put information.

For its part, the castle had enjoyed its conversation with Snape, and had already identified a stone in the wall behind the desk in Snape's office in the dungeon. It was focusing magic there to make it glow a soft blue, sure to attract Snape's attention when he was next in this office. It was very excited at the prospect of further conversations and the opportunity to sift through its vast quantities of data to share information with this most interesting professor. It was sure that it had much to share, much that Snape would find interesting and valuable. It quietly thrummed with excitement and anticipation at this new contact. All was well.

For now.