"Ouch, woman," she heard a voice say gruffly, and she waited for more before she felt it safe to reveal herself.
"What in the name of Nimue have you done? What is this in thing in you? Something metal?" another voice, that she recognised as the one of Poppy Pomfrey, asked.
"It's called a bullet, Poppy, now stop putting your insensitive finger in my wounds and heal them."
"Into the teachers' wing with you, Severus," she ordered wryly at his tone.
"No, here will do."
"Lie down, then, you grouchy pain in the arse," the nurse said. If she was surprised by Snape's decision to be treated in Miss Granger's presence, she didn't show it. It was easier for her to heal him here, as it was closer to her potions; it had always been him that had requested total privacy.
Hermione smiled weakly at their banter and heard the sound of feet moving towards her. She finally opened her eyes and was met by the sight of a limping Professor being led to the bed next to her.
Snape groaned quietly as he climbed rather elegantly onto the cot, only to hiss when Poppy inspected a wound on his shoulder.
"Who shot you?" Hermione asked quietly and two heads swivelled towards her.
"You're supposed to be fast asleep; I gave you a Sleeping Draught," Poppy said perplexed.
Hermione didn't reply and steadily watched the fidgety man nearby.
"Who? Where have you been?" she whispered, deep down knowing the answer, but needing to hear his confirmation. Bullets were only found in the Muggle world, everyone knew.
He waited for the irritation to set in at being asked such an invasive question from a student, but it would not come.
"They will never hurt anyone ever again," Severus ground out, finding his choice of words horribly cliché.
No immediate reaction came from the young woman, and he wondered if she hadn't understood his meaning. He had to look away from her impassive face, feeling suddenly immature for his revenge on her abductors. What had he been thinking? It had nothing to do with him, and he let himself get shot, willingly taking the pain as if it would make her feel better.
Poppy bustled off to get some potions, wondering if Snape had done what she thought. It wasn't unlike him to take revenge for something, but to do it for Miss Granger was utterly unexpected. She needed to have another talk with Albus, or Severus if he was willing, but she needed to know everything about Miss Granger's abduction and rescue.
When she came back, she saw Severus watching the young woman with a frown, and as she got closer she understood why he did so. Miss Granger was still lying in her earlier position, but now thick tears were pouring steadily from her closed eyes. She didn't make a single noise and it looked as if she was crying while being fast asleep.
The normally stern woman tenderly brushed the girl's hair aside and stroked her cheek. Still no reaction, other than a mild flinch.
"Hush, girl," she crooned and pulled the blanket higher up to her chin.
"If you could tend to my wounds sometime tonight, I'd be ever so grateful," Severus snarked.
Poppy bustled over to him with an aggrieved sigh. "I don't think you know how to express gratitude. Or is the lack of hissing and spitting your idea of saying thanks?" the nurse said dryly. A soft brush of his hair took the sting out of her words, but that didn't mollify him.
He looked over to Hermione, daring her to laugh, but saw that her tears had stopped and only their wet tracks were still visible. Her mouth was parted slightly; she seemed to be asleep.
"She's got a lot of recovering to do," Poppy said, as if reading his thoughts. "Where have you been tonight?" she asked while administering a pain reliever before starting with his treatment.
"You heard what I said," he said shortly and licked the potion's remains off his lips.
"It seemed as if you've killed the people who had taken Miss Granger."
He hissed softly at the slight pain in his shoulder, and Poppy poured some anaesthetic ointment on the wound to aid the pain reliever.
Severus didn't bother denying anything, especially after having Albus' permission to hurt the men. "You have seen her injuries," he began, "but you have no idea how depraved those men were. If you think Death Eaters are animals, you would be shocked to the core at how beastly those Muggles were."
"What do you know about her injuries?" she asked surprised, wondering how much he knew. She had never talked about them, as her oath of confidentiality didn't allow her to. Not even Albus knew any details.
Severus turned tortured eyes towards the matron. "Everything," he rasped. "Sometimes Legilimency is a curse!"
Poppy pinched her lips, really not wanting to know every detail of what the poor girl had to go through – seeing the results on the young body had been enough. She had no words and silently finished healing Severus' injuries.
"Stay the night," she told her younger colleague, handing him the two bullets she'd found in his body. He stuffed them into his trousers pocket and turned onto his side, heeding Pomfrey's advice with no complaints, always watching Hermione until his lids closed.
As a nurse, she has seen her fair share of maladies, and it was only natural to acquire one or the other injury in a magical school. But she absolutely disliked the idea of harming anyone deliberately, and it had made her blood boil to see the tragic injuries Hermione was suffering from after being abused.
She didn't support the idea of revenge either, but in this case she couldn't help but feel nothing but pride in Severus, who had done what he did for a student, a Gryffindor he'd never felt anything more than annoyance for.
Many people might have wished to make those men pay, but only Severus had the balls to actually do anything, even if it meant trouble for him or the cruel reproach from others.
Poppy watched with fascination as Hermione's hand rose once again, as if trying to reach out to someone. What was even more interesting was that Severus' upper body strained towards that hand at the same time. She didn't believe in coincidences and walked into her quarters with a thoughtful mien.
XXXXX
When Poppy went to check up on her patients the next morning, she found Snape's bed empty and wasn't surprised. That he had stayed the night without a grumble had been close to a miracle.
Hermione woke to the noises of rustling bed linen, and pushed herself up, watching Poppy straighten out the empty bed next to her.
"Good morning, dear. What would you say to using the toilet today? A bath wouldn't be remiss, either."
Hermione grimaced at the uncomfortable topic, but nodded; she had quite enough of bed pans and wet sponges.
After a small breakfast and her potions, Hermione slowly climbed from the bed, clinging desperately to Madam Pomfrey's strong arm.
"How does a nurse get so many muscles?" she asked and was rewarded with a laugh by the woman.
"Caring for protesting Potions masters and keeping them still will turn your muscles into this," she explained with a conspiratorial smile, that Hermione copied shyly.
Her legs were still weak and wanted to buckle under her weight, despite being over eight kilos lighter than before her abduction. It was obvious that she had not just lost body fat, but a good amount of muscles. The bath looked inviting and she said nothing as Poppy peeled her out of her gown.
Being naked in front of strangers had lost its nobility, and she climbed carefully into the tub. Once in the clear and wonderfully warm water she couldn't help but look at the many scars that covered her body. Poppy had done all she could, but the healing balm could only do so much, and should have been applied right after sustaining an injury.
Shifting uncomfortably, Hermione peered between her legs, as this was the only area that still stung. What she saw there shocked her, and she made a mew of revulsion.
"Ah, yes, I believe we have to talk," Poppy said with sad eyes, hating the defeated look on Hermione's face as she stared at the mutilated mess that was her vagina.
XXXXX
At the Head Table, Severus had to hear similar words from the Headmaster. "Severus, we need to talk. Come to me during the lunch break."
Not responding with more than a grunt, he continued eating, feeling his shoulder throb with pain. It wasn't happy with being used so early after getting shot. He had only wanted to get out of the infirmary that morning, and asking for a measly pain potion would only have delayed him.
Giving up eating, he stood and made his way to his classroom, promising himself to take something against the pain when he got there. His thigh protested the long walk, as well, and he was glad when he could sit down.
To his dismay, his first class was the seventh year Gryffindor-Slytherin class and he was in no mood for their childish squabbles. It didn't help that Miss Granger's place was still empty.
He kept his head down to be spared the sight, and only looked up at the first of Longbottom's customary whimpers.
With a mean smile, he stared at the boy who almost fainted at being watched so closely. His hands shook and he fought tears.
"You are seventeen years old, Longbottom, might as well start acting like it," Snape spat. "You cannot rely on Miss Granger's help for the rest of your life!"
With an irritated swish of his wand the ruined potion vanished and Neville slumped dejectedly over his desk. He missed Hermione. He had no idea that his teacher shared the same sentiment.
Snape wanted her back in his class; the only bright spot in an otherwise torturous teaching career, despite the bothersome hand-waving. As soon as he realised what he was thinking, he hit his desk with a fist. His shoulder ached even more then, and he deducted points of each house for staring at him when they should be working.
He couldn't wait for this class to end. Finally it did, and sooner than he wanted he had to meet the Headmaster.
"Rhubarb pie," he said and jumped onto the moving staircase. He knocked once and entered without waiting for an invitation.
"Sit, Severus," Albus greeted him, quite used to having Snape barge into his office in this manner. "I'm sure you know why you're here."
"Because you told me to come," Severus said sourly, not willing to play into Albus' hands, but the old man merely smiled at his behaviour.
"Let's cut to the chase, my boy. Shacklebolt informed me of the gruesome demise of three French men, and we all know that it was you."
"How come they know about the death of three worthless scumbags just hours after it happened, but they knew nothing about the Granger's fate?" he snapped waspishly.
"Because Tonks and Shacklebolt are now investigating officially," Albus said with a sigh.
"But why the questions? I remember you telling me that I could use whatever means I see fit to retrieve her."
"Yes, to retrieve her," Albus said with some bite. "It was clear that the men died only yesterday, meaning you returned there to kill them after rescuing Miss Granger, and killing them didn't help you with your rescue plan." He held up a hand when Snape tried to defend himself. "I want to know why." He purposely didn't tell his Potions master that he wouldn't be in any trouble for killing the men, but he knew Severus wouldn't be very forthcoming if he knew that fact. A little pressure was all Albus needed.
"You have no idea how badly she was hurt, Dumbledore. I saw it in their minds, and I saw the testimony on her body." He agitatedly paced through the office. "They have mutilated her, and I won't go into details. And do you want to know why they did it?"
Albus didn't need to nod; the answers were practically flowing from Snape's mouth, as unstoppable as lava from an erupting volcano.
"They were thieves and only wanted the Granger's technical equipment. They killed them for their fucking television!" True, there had been more stolen things; just about every thing that one could turn into money, but it hardly mattered. "They have moved across the country for years, stealing and killing when someone got in their way. If the Muggle police are too incompetent to apprehend them, than it's time we did!"
"And why had they taken Miss Granger?"
Severus stopped mid-stride and turned away from his employer. "Slave market. They had the quick idea of selling her as a… sex slave," he said monotonously, stumbling slightly over the word sex. "They had no idea how to go about selling her, and they quickly abandoned the idea, using her for themselves," he spat. "She might not have made them any money, but she was good enough to serve as their entertainment."
He recalled the memories of her frightened yet fierce attempt to fight her abductors he had seen in the French guys mind. He could still see the look on her face, when she'd lost her wand; the moment when realisation set in that she'd just lost her only chance of getting through this alive and unharmed. Her demeanour had changed then, and she had screamed in impotent rage as her parents died in front of her eyes. One shallow cut across her throat, and she numbly accepted her defeat.
Then he straightened. "When are Aurors coming to arrest me then?" he asked stiffly, not feeling the slightest regret over what he'd done.
A still stricken Dumbledore collected himself. "Don't fear my boy, I will straighten everything out."
Severus knew that he was dismissed and left in a flurry of robes, angry all over again, as his words brought back the atrocities the men had done to Miss Granger. He couldn't understand his strong reactions for the student he had mistreated himself for many years.
Mind you, his verbal attacks had been nothing compared to what she had suffered in France. Gods, he wanted to resurrect the bastards and kill them all over again!
In his rage, he didn't notice Minerva walking in the opposite direction. She had raised her hand to make him stop, but upon seeing his dangerous expression she was glad when he walked past her without seeing her.
"Merlin protect the poor things that have lessons with him this afternoon," she prayed and kept walking.