Cursed

SS/LE, AU, Marauder Era

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter 4: Hospital

Once they got to the hospital, Severus was asked to take a seat. Mrs. Evans stayed with him a while, then got impatient and went to see what was going on. From where he was sitting, Severus could see a lot of things going on. Both healers and patients were on the move with all sorts of muggle contraptions. He recognized some things like a wheel chair and a gurney, but there was a lot of beeping and electrical things running, tubes and hoses, and wheeled carts packed full of things. Pretending that he didn't understand muggle things should be best because he couldn't imagine what all this was.

Mrs. Evans returned after finding out that the detective were waiting for the physician they used for abuse cases. She had called that telephone number a couple times herself over the years for Severus. When nothing happened, she thought some magic whatever took care of it, but now she knew that the bureaucracy was so slow and dull that they never figured out when they could find Severus. She was worried what this could mean now.

"I don't think it'll be much longer, Severus," she said as she resumed her seat next to him. "He wants one doctor in particular because he won't rush through things. I suspect he'll be thorough and give you a good looking over."

"A good looking over?" Severus repeated. "Like x-rays?"

"Perhaps," she replied. She was not sure if Severus had broken bones at any point, but it was better that he was prepared. Mrs. Evans always found getting an x-ray to be annoying and uncomfortable. "It's a huge machine to take the picture, and they need to position you just right where it focuses. Like if they wanted one of your chest, you couldn't not lay on your side, or your arms would be in the way."

The silence stretched between them, and both of them were thinking about Kettleburn leaving Severus behind. If he returned, or sent someone else back for him, would they go over to the Evans' to look for him, or did they have a better way of tracking down students?

Severus also thought about his parents. What was being done with them? Although they had told him that he'd have to leave home once he graduated from Hogwarts, what happened now? The police had said they died in their sleep. Did they just stop breathing, or did it give them some horrible nightmare then they died?

Mrs. Evans asked, "Will you need an owl to contact your mother's family?"

"I don't know of anyone to contact."

"So it was just your two parents, and no one else?"

"As far as I know. I suppose I am related to other of those families since they are all related, but I don't know which ones."

"Hmm," she replied, remembering Lily said something like that. All the students without muggle parents were related. Sort of like the royals.

Eventually, a doctor came out, and introduced himself, "I'm Dr. Hirsch, and you are my patient this afternoon. Your name is Severus?"

"Yes."

"And you?"

"I'm a mother of one of the other students at the school, and live locally … uh, Severus' parents aren't with us anymore."

"Yes, I um, heard. So uh … let's get going, I have an exam room that you can change in."

"Change what?"

"Out of your clothes."

"What for?"

"I'm a doctor and I need to look at you."

"Can't I just get a jab and this'll be done?"

"I need to look at you before I know what medicines you need. You can get sick if I give you the wrong medicine."

"I don't want any then."

"That's not an option, Severus. Come on."

To Mrs. Evans, Severus asked, "How undressed do I need to get?"

"They have something for you to change into. The doctor needs to be able to see your limbs, and then put the thing to listen to your heart and lungs on your chest and back."

"My back? No."

"It doesn't hurt, Severus. It only listens to what's inside."

"No."

"You have to," Mrs. Evans insisted. Lily never mentioned anything about Severus' back.

"What if I don't? Can I go to jail instead?"

"Jail?"

"Since the police brought me here. They can put me in jail instead of getting undressed?"

"You don't want to go to jail, Severus. There's mean people locked up there. You don't want to be with them."

Severus shrugged, "So it's like school."

"Just do what the doctor tells you. You won't be the one in trouble. And we won't laugh or anything. This is serious. Due to the amount of time your house was closed, diseases could have built up and you'll be very sick. Didn't you see them wearing those suits?"

"I get in trouble for everything, Mrs. Evans."

"You won't. Your parents may have done some bad things, but that's not your fault."

"Bad things? I thought they died from breathing smoke."

"Not that. Before … to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Whatever has you afraid to let a doctor look at you."

"I was at school. How can they blame my parents?"

"I think we are discussing two different things, Severus. Just go in and do what the doctor tells you."

"Are you going home now?"

"No, I'll wait here for you."

Severus wished Mrs. Evans would leave now. It was nice she waited with him, but she could get into trouble. He didn't know how, but trouble was always waiting for him and right now, he felt it was going to pounce and try to rip him to bits. His parents were gone, and Severus didn't even know what they did with their bodies, or if they even shut the door when they were done picking them up. Everything he had was in a trunk in Hogwarts, except what his wand and what he was wearing. He couldn't perform any magic right now since he was in a muggle hospital. No one else was dressed like him. Maybe he could find out where they kept those white robes and take one to sneak out. Then muggles would be looking for him. They knew his name. Where the house in Spinner's End was. Who Mrs. Evans was and where she lived.

When Severus stood rooted to the spot, Mrs. Evans urged him, "Go head, Severus. I'll be right here."

Despite rumors to the contrary, Severus was not a bad person. He still liked Lily. He liked her mother too. Mrs. Evans was not here right now wasting her day when she could be taking care of her house, if she didn't want to be. Despite her fib earlier about Severus writing to her. Since he had no plan on how to get out of here, it would be premature to follow in Kettleburn's footsteps and make a run for it.

He cooperated with Dr. Hirsch's examination. It was worse than he thought it would be. The doctor asked questions, but Severus hoped that at some point someone at Hogwarts would come back for him, so he could not answer any questions. If he was expelled, no one would come for him. They'd probably keep his trunk to be spiteful. It wasn't valuable, but when one has so little, even that was a lot.

The police detective came back. At least this doctor was smart enough not to blame his parents, like Mrs. Evans suggested earlier. The werewolf wounds were cursed and still gaped so they thought it happened recently at school, rather than last spring.

Severus was skeptical when Dr. Hirsch explained sutures or stitches. Muggles did not have cursed wounds so he could not say why he did not think it would work. Severus was not sure how they would not heal since pulling both sides of the skin together to heal faster and cleaner made sense, in an odd muggle fashion, but when had he ever gotten a break and surprisingly something good happen to him?

Mrs. Evans was starting to suspect something was wrong. She could see the door to the examining room from where she sat. The doctor went in, a while passed, and he came out. He talked to a nurse, talked on the phone, went back in for a bit, then came out again. One nurse brought a cart of items that he looked over, and then wheeled into the room. The police detective returned, and the two of them stood in the hallway talking, before the two of them went in. She glanced around and scooted to a chair closer to the door, she couldn't even hear a murmur from where she was.

Another nurse arrived, and Mrs. Evans saw she had a camera. If Severus' parents abused him, were they just taking a photo for the file to show it was investigated? There was no one left to bring up on charges. Stupid bureaucracy. That's why every now and then, she heard about poor children starved, beaten or dead. They only acted like they did something way after the fact to make their numbers look good.

While she sat fuming, the police detective came out and headed right for her. Good. She had a few thing to say. "Hello again, Mrs. Evans. Earlier today, you said your daughter attends the same school as Severus?"

"Yes, but ..."

"What is your understanding of their corporeal punishment policies?"

"But Severus ..."

"He already told me he is frequently in trouble. I'm not alluding that your daughter's behavior is equal, worse or better than his."

"But … I don't understand the question. I'm sorry."

"What permission have you given that school to discipline your child?"

"Discipline? Lily's mentioned boys getting detention in her letters."

"And what happens at those? I realize that back in our day rulers, pointers, and switches may have been the norm, but those should be phased out with modern methods, especially when you have students like these who cannot explain what happened."

"Can't explain …?"

"I believe his honesty since he confessed he gets in trouble. Rather than the usual teenage or boyhood denial that they did nothing wrong. He will not say how he is punished. It's clear that food is withheld. He's been severely beaten in the past, and he currently has a number of open, serious wounds that need medical treatment, rather than the home remedy that was applied to them. That's why I am asking about the school and what methods were described to you as appropriate discipline. I also want to know more about this infirmary and what kind of medicine they are giving the children, based on their curative to bind ground herbs to open wounds with bandages. Dr. Hirsch did look up yarrow, but this is the twentieth century. Antibiotic ointment is readily available at any chemist's for a modest price."

Couldn't they cure things with magic and potions? Lily had mentioned an interest in that, but if it was some hocus pocus about leaves, how was that any comparison to a doctor? Not understanding, Mrs. Evans asked, "Severus had injuries under the leaves and bandages?"

"Yes, that's what I'm saying. They're going to stitch them up, once they're cleaned out. Dr. Hirsch thinks Severus was telling the truth about cornstarch to stop them bleeding too."

"He needs stitches," Mrs. Evans stated, trying to understand but failing. "Can I speak to Severus?"

"So you know nothing about what goes on that school?"

"I guess not. Today was the second time I met a teacher, and this one was nothing like the one that visited our house years ago."

"You've never visited the school?"

"Um, no, it's not close but it's a specialty school."

"I guess you can talk to him, if he wants. He's face down because the stitches are needed on his back and side. Looks like he was mauled by some animal." With a condemning shake of his head, he added, "People are the worst sort."

Mrs. Evans swallowed and stood. Severus would tell her. Maybe once everyone was out of the room, in case it was some magic thing that he couldn't talk about. They could come up with something if they put their heads together. They shouldn't be beating children at school, even if Severus did get into trouble. He needed stitches for pete's sake, not a plaster or leaves or whatever nonsense about cornstarch. She vaguely remembered something about cornstarch, but that was for itchy rashes, wasn't it?

The detective knocked on the door, and received a reply. He opened it, and stood aside for her. She stepped into the room. Severus was laying face down, and the back of the hospital gown was untied, with the one side pulled open for the doctor to work. The sheet was pulled up to his waist, covering everything beneath it.

Mrs. Evans suddenly felt faint. There were four parallel, nasty wounds that started from under Severus' arm somewhere and that crossed over onto his back as they headed downward to his bottom. His ribs were protruding,even on his back, and his shoulder blade stuck out in an obscene fashion. His spine was all knobby. The boy's skin color was a horrible yellow against the white sheets and there were marks from previous injuries underlying the current mess.

The detective got his attention by saying, "Severus."

Mrs. Evans had initially noticed his eyes were closed before her own feasted on the miserable sight of his body. He opened them but did not move since Dr. Hirsch told him not to earlier. This sewing was painful, but not unbearable.

She shifted where he could see her, and said, "Is it alright if I come in here to keep you company, Severus? I was told this could take a while."

"Alright," he muttered. Severus had not imagined something like this when she cajoled him into this examination, but maybe she had. This might be normal, everyday muggle treatment.

She shifted a chair nearer to the head of the bed so she could see Severus' face. He had his hand under his face and was holding his wand in it. Perhaps he told them some story about it, or they just let him hold onto a stick as some nervous condition?

Unable to resist, she asked, "You were hurt at school?"

"Yes."

"Can you say how?"

His eyes focused on hers and he replied, "I'm not allowed to, Mrs. Evans. I was threatened with expulsion if I ever talked about it."

"But this has become a police matter. You can tell them."

"What can they do?"

"We can shut the bloody school down," encouraged the detective.

Mrs. Evans saw Severus' mouth quirk in amusement, but he did not respond. Muggles shut down Hogwarts? People like Dumbledore answered to no one. They did as they damned well pleased. If he ended up dead, the school would still be open. What were a couple cursed scratches? Some lazy ass piece of rubbish that got his job thanks to Slughorn would mutter 'tsk, tsk, tsk' over tea with the two of them. If he was a smarter sort, he might get a little money out of Black.

The detective repeated, "So you were threatened with getting expelled?"

"Yes."

"Wouldn't that be better than all the pain you've undoubtedly gone through?"

"Maybe. I have less than two years to go. It might be better to stay where I am for now. I don't know any other schools that would have me."

Something wasn't right. For a student that supposedly had trouble understanding real things from imaginary, he seemed clear enough on the importance of school. Was it the beatings? That was an antiquated belief in getting a message through to a lad, beat it into him. Obviously this young man had plenty of lessons administered. There was something in his detective course work too about a victim feeling helpless. That might be why he was afraid that there were no other schools that would enroll him as a student.

After Severus was stitched up, Mrs. Evans was informed they would be keeping him at hospital for now. At sixteen, without knowing of any relatives, he would normally not get assistance from the government, but the complication regarding the mental illness might qualify him for a program.

Mrs. Evans returned home not liking any of this.