Thank you for the reviews! xD Here are some kittens: http: /3. .com/_FGhipZH7DII/SurFEAG2IJI/AAAAAAAAC7Y/ppghST5Uj2c/s320/bournemouth-echo. jpg [just take the spaces out and put in an extra / before the /3]

Burnedx2: I like writing a softer side of Snape...I think he would be in this case. I mean, he can't really be his usual snarky self! ;-)

eternal vampire: See above 3 Thank you. *blushes* I haven't written a lot, but I've read a ton and I think kind of figured out what to do/what not to do. I thought of her asking for Prof. McGonagall, but then I couldn't see her actually talking to her. Plus, Madam Pomfrey can fix her up AND help her mom, so kind of a win-win.

So here's the next chapter!

Chapter Ten: Hermione in the Hospital Wing

Hermione tumbled through the Floo connection, coughing on a bit of soot that had stuck itself in her lungs. Snape unfolded himself smoothly after her, not a hair or thread out of place. She gave him a small, resentful look as Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office.

"Severus? Miss Granger? What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise, smoothing her apron. Hermione looked helplessly at her Potions professor. Now that they were here, she couldn't actually speak up.

"Miss Granger needs a full medical check-up, Poppy," Professor Snape told the plump Mediwitch.

"Well, all right, if you're sure, Severus," Poppy cast an uncertain look at the trembling fifth-year. "Come with me, Hermione," she added kindly. "Here behind this curtain. And change into this."

Hermione obediently changed into the hospital gown, still shaking. Her mind had gone curiously blank. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Why was she doing this? Oh, right, because if she didn't, her only other choice seemed to be Dumbledore. Given the choice between the kindly-faced Mediwitch and the impossibly old, oddly-twinkling Headmaster, she'd pick Madam Pomfrey every time. Maybe Harry felt himself able to confide in Albus, but she couldn't even picture it. It was beyond comprehension. It had been bad enough telling the Potions Master. She was still amazed at that, to be honest.

Soon enough, Hermione came out and lay stiffly down on the bed, her arms by her sides. It reminded her of the time she'd been Petrified in second year. That had felt odd. She honestly hadn't felt any time pass between the time the basilisk Petrified her and the time the Restoring Draught woke her up. She'd almost been ready to rush off and tell Harry that there was a basilisk loose in the pipes until Madam Pomfrey told her and the others what had happened.

"Full check-up, Severus?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "History and everything?"

"Yes," Snape nodded, looking a little bored. Hermione hoped that was a mask to prevent Madam Pomfrey from worrying. She'd be worrying all too soon, Hermione thought bitterly, striving to keep herself from digging her nails into her palms.

The wand flashed above her. Blue, white, and yellow lights danced around the tip. Madam Pomfrey frowned to herself then gasped, her mouth dropping open in shock.

"You poor child," she murmured. Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. Please, spare the dramatics, she thought in irritation.

Madam Pomfrey tapped the wall twice with her wand and several lines of writing scrolled onto the wall.

"There," she said. "Hermione's full medical history. I presume that the last few paragraphs is what you really wanted to discern, wasn't it?"

"Of course," Professor Snape admitted, moving closer so he could read it. Interested, Hermione sat up on her elbows, straining to look at the wall.

Areas of Concern:

Past History:

Age 4: sustained third-degree burn on left hand

Age 7: first sustained mild bruising and tearing of vaginal area

Age 9: first sustained mouth bruising and tearing; throat swelling

Age 11: traumatic injury to vaginal area; sustained bleeding

Hermione couldn't read anymore. She looked away, blinking rapidly. Her throat felt tight, like she couldn't swallow. How could a few bloody waves of a stick of wood dredge up all her secrets? She was glad that it focused solely on physical injury, though. She couldn't imagine how it would look if it took into account her mental state.

"Hermione?" Madam Pomfrey's soft voice dragged her out of her reverie. "Are you in pain now, honey?" Hermione shrugged, a listless movement of her shoulders. To be honest, the moment she had fully sat up, a throbbing pain had begun between her legs. But she didn't care right now. In fact, she almost welcomed it.

"Here," a vial full of light blue fluid was handed to her. She drank it without protest, although the slimy taste made her stomach cramp. After a few moments, the pain lessened appreciably and she took a deep breath.

"Hermione, could you tell me why you've had so many injuries to your private areas?" the Mediwitch asked quietly. "Professor Snape doesn't have to be here if you don't..."

"No, he's fine," Hermione interrupted, speaking a little too fast in panic. She wouldn't be able to talk if Snape left. She knew that much.

"My father abused me," she said baldly, staring straight ahead at a clear patch of wall. She heard Madam Pomfrey gasp from a long way away. "He still does, to be perfectly truthful. And my mother's sick. No one in the Muggle world can cure her. Can you help her get to St. Mungo's?" Hermione turned then and fixed the Mediwitch with a pleading stare.

"Of course, Hermione," the nurse reassured her, patting her hand. Hermione flinched away. "I'm sorry," Poppy apologized. "I should know better, I'm just...surprised, I guess would be the word! Does the Headmaster know?"

"No!" Hermione nearly yelled, sitting bolt upright, her muscles knotted in tension. "And he's not going to know, either, please, Madam Pomfrey, don't tell him. Professor Snape promised he wouldn't tell if I went to you and I did, so please...the Headmaster doesn't need to know."

Madam Pomfrey looked doubtfully at Professor Snape, who nodded slowly.

"Miss Granger is quite correct," he said in his silky, drawling voice. "I did indeed inform her that I would not tell the Headmaster, if she promised she would tell someone else, and she has. I would not go back on my word." His cold stare suggested that Poppy agree with him.

"Well, Hermione, you need to stay in the Hospital Wing for a bit," Madam Pomfrey assured her, every bit the professional nurse. "There's some tearing I don't like the looks of, and some general malaise you could use a rest to cope with. Professor Snape, would you like to come back in, say, three hours?"

"If Miss Granger agrees," he said. Hermione shrugged then nodded miserably. She blinked, her eyes swimming. No, she refused to cry in front of the Mediwitch.

"Then it's settled," Madam Pomfrey drew another curtain around Hermione's bed. "I'll just give you another pain reliever, dear, and then a sleepy potion."

Hermione looked up desperately, wildly, just in time to lock eyes with her Potions professor before the curtain drew completely shut.

She was alone.