Candra woke up with a throbbing headache her eyes stinging slightly. She'd cried until she'd fallen asleep, still in her uniform. She'd woken up in the middle of the night and gone for a shower, careful not to wake anyone up. She'd washed the dried blood off her knees and her lip and checked the rest of her body for injury. Her wrist was still slightly swollen but it felt better than it had; but there was a bruise spreading across her stomach.

She looked at herself in the mirror for the first time on the way out of the shower. She winced as she noticed the gash on her lip and she was sure that she was going to have a black eye by the time she woke up. Without going to madam Pomfrey there was no way to make any of it better. She'd just keep her head low as usual and hope that Professor Snape didn't tell anyone. She'd gone back to bed and fell into a very light sleep, the pain in her head becoming almost unbearable.

Snape had checked the dining hall for her at dinner. Looking over at the Ravenclaw table he tried to spot the flash of bright red hair (distinctive even in the mass of Ravenclaw's). His stomach dropped slightly when he didn't see her, that meant she hadn't eaten that night.

"Ridiculous," he thought to himself, "Why are you so concerned about one student? It's quite pathetic really." He pushed the thought out of his head, remembering his years at Hogwarts. Bullying wasn't something that should be taken lightly but Dumbledore refused to believe that any could possibly be being bullied at Hogwarts. Sometimes Snape worried about the man, at times he seemed to think the world was made of sunshine and lollipops.

Against his better judgement Severus went to the great hall to eat breakfast as well (a meal which he would usually eat in his private quarters) to make sure that she'd actually turned up for breakfast. Once again his stomach dropped as he noticed her absence from the Ravenclaw table. Fortunately the Advanced Potion lesson he was teaching first was hers and he'd be able to make sure she was alright. He snided himself again, he was starting to sound like a worried parent...not a professor.

The class were all seated when the Professor walked into the room. He quickly walked up to the front of the room and scanned his eyes across the front desk. Within a few seconds it was clear that Candra wasn't there.

"Turn to Chapter two and take notes on the uses of gillyweed. At least one roll of parchment." There was a rustle of paper and quills being taken out ready to take notes. Snape sat at his desk and started to mark a couple of papers that had already been handed in, which reminded him.

"Mr Tyler do you have the paper which you owe me?" he said sharply. Hunter walked to the front of the class and threw the pieces of parchment on the desk. An evil looking smirk flicked across his face before he sat back at his desk. Snape glanced at the essay and sighed. The writing was clearly not Hunters but Snape decided to leave it until the detention he had planned.

Ten minutes passed of the rest of the class writing when Candra walked into the room. Well walked probably isn't the best word...shoved or stumbled probably describes it more adequately. She gained her composure and slowly walked up to her desk at the front and sat down. She'd kept her head down the whole way eager not to draw any more attention to herself. As soon as she sat down Snape said,

"You're late Miss Jones." He got up from his desk and stood in front of her. She kept her head down and said,

"Sorry Professor," keeping her head down.

"And what excuse do you have for being late to my lesson Miss Jones?" he said sternly his tone forcing her to look up. She raised her head, avoiding his gaze. As he saw her shock flashed across his face for a moment. He was aware that most of the class were watching and he tried to bring the sterness back into his face. His eyes still held a trace of concern as he noted her split lip and a black eye that looked swollen and sore.

"I was feeling ill Professor, I apologise." Her head was still throbbing and she was trying to ignore the rest of the class staring at her.

"I'll see you after class Miss Jones, turn to Chapter two and make notes on the functions of gillyweed." Candra nodded and took out her textbook.

The rest of the lesson passed with Snape trying not to look at Candra with anything but concern in his eyes. If he was honest it was hard not to look at Candra at all. At the end of the lesson Candra sat patiently waiting for the rest of the students to leave the classroom. When they had all gone Snape finally spoke,

"Why were you really late?" he asked.

"I was feeling ill Professor and I accidentally slept in late. I apologise and it won't happen again," Candra said slowly as though she was picking each word carefully. She didn't look up as she spoke fiddling with her thumbs as she had done before. Snape sighed,

"I don't appreciate being lied to Miss Jones."

"It's true Professor. I have – I mean I had a very bad headache last night and I slept in late. It won't happen again."

"Does your head still hurt? If it does you should probably go to Madam Pomfrey." He knew what her answer would be before he'd finished speaking.

"No Professor I'm alright." She felt bad lying to a Professor, but she felt worse knowing that Professor Snape probably knew that she was lying. Snape sighed knowing that he was about to offer something stupid that was totally against what he should do as a Professor.

"What lesson do you have next Miss Jones?" he asked.

"I'm studying in the Great Hall sir."

"Good, well I shall have the teacher informed as to why you were absent at the end of this lesson." Candra looked up a confused look on her face,

"But Professor -"

"You should find yourself lucky, Miss Jones, that it happened to be a Potions teacher that found out about your predicament. I may not have all the medicinal skills of Madam Pomfrey but I am completely capable of healing small cuts and bruise; and curing headaches of course." Snape knew that he should insist that she went to the hospital ward, but he knew that that would probably only make matters worse; and he couldn't let that happen and still sleep at night.

"Professor you don't have to-" she started before being cut off by the professor again,

"I wouldn't argue right now if I were you Miss Jones, now please follow me." He walked through a doorway at the side of the room and Candra got up from her desk and followed him, slightly dumbstruck.

The room that he led her into was a smaller classroom. There were a couple of desks and a teachers desk at the top of the room. The walls were completely covered in shelves that were themselves filled with bottles and boxes filled with herbs and plants and all other sorts of items.

"Sit down Miss Jones," Snape's voice sounded louder and reverberated off the walls of the small room making Candra's head ache for a moment. She sat down at one of the desks and noticed Professor Snape closing the door before picking up a few bottles off the shelf seemingly at random and placing them in front of her on the desk. He grabbed a couple of leaves of some sort out of one of the jars and handed them to Candra. She picked them up and looked puzzled.

"Eat them, it will ease your headache," he answered her question before she could ask it and watched as she slowly chewed on the leaves scrunching her nose slightly at the flavour. Almost instantly the tension eased in her head and she felt the pain beginning to seep away.

"Is that any better?" he asked and she nodded slightly in reply.

"How did you get the bruises on your face Miss Jones," he asked before doing anything else.

"They must have happened when I fell Professor," she said quietly.

"No, they did not Miss Jones. I was there when you fell. Let me assure you that nothing you say will leave this room, please tell me how you got those bruises." Candra open and closed her mouth a couple of times before saying anything. She noted that she had never heard Professor Snape say the word 'please' before.

Snape could see a battle of wills going on in Candra's mind. Those eyes betrayed her, you could see every emotion she had flick through them as though you could read her thoughts. He noticed that they glistened with tears slightly as she finally spoke, obviously having made up her mind on how much to tell her Professor.

"They...They thought that, because I'd stayed behind for a while yesterday, I'd told you what was happening. So...they ummm they -" her voice cracked slightly as she spoke and she tried to fight back tears, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her eyes showed determination as she started to speak again,

"They gave me their idea of a 'warning'. So that I would obviously understand what would happen if I ever tried to tell anyone again." Snape tried not to let any emotion show in his face as he walked around the desk and sat down on the chair next to Candra. His mind was screaming at him to say something comforting, 'It's okay, I won't let them hurt you again' or 'It's not your fault, I'll make sure this gets sorted.' Both of these things would obviously sound ridiculous coming from her Potions professor so he kept quiet.

He was starting to worry that he would become emotionally attached to this girl, probably due to pity more than anything (at least that's what he told himself as he tried to avoid those eyes that were staring at him with...was that gratefulness?) He could remember all too well how cruel teenagers could be to their peers (Snape realised that he didn't actually know why Candra was being bullied, and seemingly ignored by the rest of the year. This he would have to work on finding out.)

He turned the chair he was sat in so that it was facing Candra.

"I need to see the bruises properly before I can decide on the best way to treat them, is that okay?" he asked. Candra nodded in reply suddenly embarrassed at the proximity of her teacher; she scolded herself in her head for being so childesh. Snape motioned for her to turn her chair so that it was facing his, she did so promptly and tried not to blush as their knees brushed against each other. Snape didn't show any signs of noticing and leant forward to inspect her face.

Her lip was swollen slightly on one side around a cut that had obviously come about by a fist in the face. He pressed on the swollen area lightly with his index finger and Candra hissed slightly at the sharp pain it brought about. Snape stopped for a moment a slight frown on his face as he mumbled an apology. He leant forwards more, examining the cut on her lip closely. It wasn't too bad and had already begun to heal; but if left alone there was definitely a possibility that it would scar. Snape was already running over possibilities of potions in his head. He paused as he thought and his thumb ran across Candra's bottom lip.

Candra could feel every touch as though her senses were heightened. She suspected that this was due to the fact that half of her face was probably swollen, with more bruises waiting to bloom forth. She inhaled sharply as Snape's thumb ran across her lip, making it tingle under his touch. She hoped that Snape had took it for a gasp of pain, but he seemed to be lost in his thoughts looking past Candra at the wall behind them.

Snape felt her breath on his thumb, pulling him out of his thoughts. He withdrew his hand quickly as he realised that it had been resting on her lip, careful not to touch any of the sore spots. Pulling himself together again he put a hand on either side of her face, his fingers feeling around her jaw and down around under her chin for any more swelling. Candra didn't even try and stop the blush spreading across her cheeks, there was no point. Snape felt her cheeks heat slightly with the blush and resisted the urge to chuckle.

It was deadly silent in the room and Candra could both hers and Snape's steady intake of breath. She heard her own hitch slightly as Snape touched sore spot that was obviously going to bruise.

He moved to examine her black eye which was slightly hidden by her hair. He should have asked if she could push it out of the way so he could see her eye, but instead he lightly brushed the away that was in the way back with his fingers and tucked it behind her ear. His hand lingered slightly longer than it should have and he quickly moved it away once he realised what he'd done. He took a look at the purple bruise that surrounded her eye and the swelling it had caused. It looked much worse now that he looked closely at it and a familiar tug of anger wrenched at his stomach. He didn't dare touch it; his fingers hovered above it as though trying to erase it before he pulled them away.

He stood abruptly and Candra sat patiently. She stared at him as he arose, she couldn't stop herself. This was the first person, for a very long time, who had actually shown kindness to her. Albeit a cold, distant sort of kindness. He collected a few more things off the shelves and Candra watched him as he worked. She watched for around fifteen minutes as he ground, chopped and stirred. At the end of the process Snape had ended up with two different salves. One of them was for the cut on her lip and the other for the bruises and swelling. He walked back around the desk and sat down again on the chair facing Candra's. Nothing had been said whilst he'd been concocting the salves but he had been aware of Candra cataloguing his every move, as though trying to remember everything. He picked up one of the salves,

"This is for the cut on your lip," he said. His voice seemed quite loud after the long silence they had just been subjected to. Candra nodded slightly, watching Snape's index finger scoop up some of the mixture. It was a dark olive green colour and looked approximately the same consistency of melted cheese, almost a stringy texture to it.

"It may sting a bit as it's applied," Snape warned, before slowly dabbing the mixture completely over the cut. Candra was surprised at the feeling of it. It did sting, a lot. It was freezing cold and it was like having an incredibly intense freezer burn. She closed her eyes, but the feeling quickly passed. After around ten seconds the cold feeling was gone and Candra tentatively brought a finger up to her lip. It felt as though the cut was gone, and indeed it was. It having been a very small cut, it hadn't taken much to make it vanish completely. Candra looked at the Professor with a slightly shocked look in her eyes,

"Wow," she said quietly. Snape fought back the urge to smile.

Snape picked up the second salve,

"Obviously this one is for your bruises, it may not make them fade completely but it should take away the swelling and the pain." Candra again nodded, the thought of being without pain a nice feeling. Her headache was a distant memory, her thoughts a lot clearer than they were. Once again Candra watched as Snape dipped his fingers in the mixture, this one wasn't as thick as the other, though it wasn't incredibly runny either. The colour difference was quite astounding, instead of being a subdued colour this particular mixture was bright purple. Snape leant forward and gently applied the salve to the bruise around her mouth. She flinched slightly; this one sent a tingling prickly sensation to the area it was applied to.

Snape hesitated before beginning to apply it around her eye. She closed her eye and he dabbed it on as gently as he could; though he still felt her stiffen slightly with obvious discomfort. Once he was finished he sat back and waited, watching as the bruises seemed to heal in fast forward. They healed to the point where they were barely noticeable, like a dull grey around her eye and her lip. The swelling was completely gone. Candra gasped as her fingers touched her eyelid, and a small smile formed on her lips.

"You should be feeling better now," said Snape.

"Yes," Candra said, when her hand flicked to her stomach grazing over the bruise that was tender and throbbing, "oh."

"What is it? Are you okay?" Snape stood and leant forward putting his hand over hers on her stomach.

"No, I mean yes professor. It's just, I have a bruise on my stomach as well from where they were...well its just that it's been fine until-"

"Show me," said the Professor sternly giving her no choice in the matter. Candra flushed red as she slowly pulled up her jumper so that Snape could see her stomach. She held the jumper in place and watched Snape's eyes widen slightly as he noted the boot shaped bruises spread across her stomach. He sighed, his mind wondering what cruel punishment he could give Hunter when his detention came. He picked the salve back up and began rubbing it gently across the bruises, allowing himself to feel a tinge of relief when he saw them beginning to fade.

Candra put her jumper back down once the salve had completely disappeared.

"Thank-you professor, I really appreciate this," she said quietly then went to pick up her back and leave.

"Wait a second Miss Jones," Snape said, motioning for Candra to sit back down. Candra felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, Snape had his arms crossed and he ran a hand through his hair before sitting down as they were before. He sighed and then spoke again,

"Candra," Candra looked up at him as he addressed her with her first name for the first time. "I am willing to not mention your...situation...to the headteacher as a formal matter. But..." Candra felt her heart sink, she felt panic rise in her chest 'but' was never a good word. Snape saw the panic flash in her eyes and instantly felt guilty, in the quiet room he could hear her breathing quicken as she thought over the possibilities of what 'but' meant. He can't tell anyone, please don't tell anyone. What if he tells Dumbledore? They'll destroy me completely...

Snape sighed, again, and decided to change what he'd been about to say 'if this happens again I'll have to tell Dumbledore'. Instead he said,

"Please be careful Miss Jones, if anything else happens with you and Mr. Tyler please inform at once. I'm here if you wish to talk about anything," he tried to word what he was trying to say carefully. He wanted her to confide in him; honestly he pitied her...he really did. It was obvious that she needed someone to talk to, and if he didn't offer then no one would. Not only that though but there was something there. He wanted to know more about her, he wanted to...his pushed away unwanted thoughts. His hand flexed forward as though to lay a comforting hand on her knee, but he instantly thought better of it not sure whether the action would be appropriate or not.

Candra didn't think that she had ever heard anything more odd. Professor Snape was being, there was no other word for it, kind. This was strange, as far as she was aware Professor Snape wasn't kind to anyone. Ever. He had a reputation for being cold and distant to everyone, she couldn't believe that he was being kind to her. A warm feeling spread across her chest at the realisation that maybe someone cared about her. The warm feeling was instantly frozen slightly as the rational side of her brain realised that it was probably only due to pity that Snape was being kind; and his duty as a professor. But she still let herself have a vague glimmer of hope that maybe someone at Hogwarts was going to start being kind to her.