Students walked past, some bumping into young Lacy as she walked against them, back to her common room, although she was supposed to be heading to Transfiguration with her fellow Slytherins and the Gryffindors. Missing classes was once something that would upset Lacy, but now she didn't care….. It didn't matter anymore…. Why bother? She was now alone in the corridor as everyone found their classes like they were supposed to. Lacy walked aimlessly in the general directions of the dungeons, paying no mind to where she was going. She was now detached from her everyday life, keeping everything at a distant in hopes of also keeping all her pain and guilt away. Sometimes it worked, but sometimes, like right now, they forced their way through her barriers and sliced into her like a knife leaving her bleeding, raw and defeated. As tears started to sting her eyes Lacy realized that she was finally at her commons room, almost to her bed, and when she got there she collapsed. Pulling the covers over her head tears started to fall and Lacy silently sobbed into her pillow as the memories from this past summer came flooding back.
Professor Snape was midway thru his lecture when he noticed the door in the back of his classroom quietly open and shut. Lacy McCallister tiptoed to her seat in the back row seat, all his students stared, but he wasn't going to let her interrupt his lecture, he continued with his lecture assigning them work for the rest of the period. Professor Snape sat at his desk observing his students; a good majority of them were hopeless in this subject. One of his prime students used to be Lacy McCallister up until the beginning of this year, she used to be one of the few students he enjoyed teaching. He looked at Lacy as she sat there in the back of the class. She looked particularly distressed; her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying. She just sat there staring at her ingredients. Good God he thought, someone put her out of her misery. Severus wondered what was distressing her so…. Was it boy trouble? Maybe a backstabbing friend? A slight smile came to his lips as he thought of just slipping into her mind and finding out what silly thing caused her to disrupt his class. Legilimency wasn't approved for use on students, but what was one little slip.
Severus slowly pushed into her mind rather easily and he instantly regretted doing so. Inside was chaos. There was pain, anxiety, sadness, and horrible memories. There was a man groping, she was crying, begging for him to stop. Now she was alone, in her room, thighs exposed. What was she doing? That was quickly answered as she took a razor to her skin over and over again with a look of relief upon her face. As quick as Severus was in her mind, he pulled out, and He and Lacy made eye contact, she had a look of horror on her face. He looked at the time, just five more minutes of class. Severus instructed the class to clean up, but his eyes never left Lacy. She sat there, even more disturbed as when she came in, fumbling to clean up her barely started potion. As Students left his dungeon, Snape called out, "Lacy McCallister, detention for being late."
The look on her face as she left pained him. What had this poor girl endured? Who did this? Hate, anger, and sadness overwhelmed him as he thought of her and what he saw. Damn the Gods, what was wrong with him. He should just hand this matter over to the headmaster, but there was something about Lacy. He was going to regret this for sure. He wanted to help fix her. Before his next class arrived he wrote out her directions for her detention, which he only gave so he could be alone with her.
Lacy McCallister,
Your tardiness has resulted in the punishment of detention. Tonight at 8 in my private office
Potions Master Severus Snape