Gumby

Chapter 9: Happier Halloweens

To Severus' immense relief, October slipped away without further incident or hitch. While Samara was still her usual, new self, trying to smile bravely at the world and fool it into believing that she was happy when really she was drying inside, Severus was glad that she didn't precede the matter which she'd asked him of any further. Instead, she rather seemed to try and avoid his gaze, and Snape guessed that she was bashful to have revealed such a weakness in her character.

Severus cast a brief glance around the hall, which was decorated so very nicely by Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall for the Halloween feast. Slowly, his glance slipped across the Jack-o-lantern- lit Great Hall to the Slytherin table. He knew what he was searching for before he'd ever even decided to look up from his plate.

Samara was sitting slumped over her meal, smiling weakly at what her friends were all boisterously speaking about around her, while picking at her food. His mind flashed to the previous years he'd been teaching there. He'd seen Samara a couple of times before during the Halloween feast and she always seemed just as energetic as her friends.

The happy sparkle in her eyes positively danced with joy and the happiness radiated from her was akin to the warmth from a large bonfire. However, as he sat there watching her, he could see that there was something dampened about her. Before she shined as bright as the sun, and now it was as though she were permanently eclipsed by a moon, or blotted out by heavy rain clouds that would not cease to torment.

"Poor thing," Severus looked up to see that Madam Pomfrey had followed his gaze and was also staring at the young girl. "You know, she broke down in front of me just yesterday, told me that a man had broken her heart over the summer."

It took a moment for Severus to process this. He guessed that would explain for much, including the question she'd asked that he'd not found the ability to answer. Am I… someone a man wouldn't be able to love? The question had tormented him endlessly. He grimaced to think that someone as great as Samara would allow a foolish moron to undermine her self-esteem and confidence.

"Miss Green, break down?" Severus asked, trying to focus on something other than the anger he felt towards the man who had dared break Samara's heart. He wanted to altogether ignore the reasons that he felt overly-protective of her and decided that he should only pursue this with the interest required of him as her Head of House.

"I'd never seen it before and it shocked me; she's such a very strong girl, but yes. I suppose something triggered a painful memory of him and she could no longer keep it all in," the matron responded, worriedly gazing at Samara. Severus watched the Healer, wondering if she would take much notice if he used Legilimens to see what exactly had happened.

"What happened?" Severus asked, not sounding too greatly interested and turning his attention to his food, which he no longer had the stomach for, to keep from seeming too involved. Madam Pomfrey sighed. She had to tell Severus the whole truth, she guessed as he was the girl's Head of House and was best apt to keep an eye on her and make sure that the girl did not harm herself.

"I was allowing her to treat a seventh year Hufflepuff with minor injuries, and I suppose she saw the girl with her boyfriend. The poor thing started to shake all over. I couldn't get her to stop crying for over an hour and it was a little hard to understand the story," Madam Pomfrey explained, matter-of-factly and yet with a worried tint in her tone. "She fell for her gymnast instructor, rather fast and hard. The man simply used her and than told her that she was simply not what he thought she was, that she was naive."

Severus gritted his teeth as he glared down at his meal. Yes, he'd once stated that Samara was naïve and he supposed it to be true if she'd allowed herself to believe that this man had loved her. However, there was nothing wrong with the fact that she was naïve, it wasn't even really naivety but innocence and that innocence should have been protected and adored! Not to be exploited for their own personal ends!

"What do you propose should be done?" Severus asked, looking up at Madame Pomfrey, who turned her wizened eyes to him. She guessed that as Severus had only been teaching at Hogwarts for five years now, that this was the first time he had to deal with one of his students in a depression. Understanding his lack of experience in the field, she smiled kindly at him.

"Well, Samara is young. Time should heal her wounds; after all, how many of us really know what love is, especially in our teenage years? Perhaps she'll realize that it wasn't love and find another, perhaps she won't recover for a long time, all we can do is watch and make sure she doesn't worsen," Madam Pomfrey said, slowly turning her gaze to the Slytherin table.

Severus turned away from the Healer and followed her gaze. Samara continued to pick at her food, smiling very weakly. For a moment, he felt a strong connection to her, as he was sure that anyone who'd ever had a bad experience their first time in love would understand. Everyone had gone through it, most were strong enough to surpass that first love and learn from it. He hoped with all his might that she was one of those people.

TBC…

A/N: All right, I hope you all liked the chapter! Please review!