Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the characters within this fanfic, but I do own Eileen Pierce and her kneazle Mephistopheles so don't steal them! That is all, you may continue...

Chapter Ten

Eileen drifted down the stairs of her spacious country cottage, looking around at the empty walls and wondering why there had never been happy pictures of her family there. But this did not matter to her as she heard screaming in the living room and hurried to investigate.

As she reached the landing, a half-strangled voice shouted, "No, Eileen, go back upstairs!"

She didn't understand, why was her father holding her mother by the neck? It didn't look like she was enjoying it and it made her angry.

"Father, stop...you're hurting her." She spoke weakly, afraid she would fall prey to the same fate as her mother but not wanting to stand idly by while it happened.

He glared at her with the most savage hatred she had ever seen as he said, "I wish I'd never had you, you ungrateful freak!"

"Father..." Eileen looked horrified by his remark. He threw her mother onto the floor roughly, not caring if he broke her neck in the process as he stormed across the room toward Eileen, yelling, "Don't you DARE call me that! It's 'Master' and nothing else, do you understand?"

"But...but fa-" She whimpered as he towered over her shaking form.

"I said - " He raised his hand into the air, screaming, "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

The world spun as she crashed to the floor, feeling as though he had punched her eye right out of its socket but not screaming in agony. Her mouth gaped at the unbearable feeling stabbing at her entire skull and she felt like she could have died right then, but the feeling of her father grabbing a chunk of her hair and wrenching her head back brought her out of her stupor.

"Look at your mother, do you want to be like her so desperately that you'd defy my orders?" Her father hissed into her ear before throwing her back to the floor where her nose cracked and let loose a stream of hot blood.

"Leave her alone, she's only a child!" Her mother ran across the room to fight him off but he hit her square in the stomach, knocking her to the floor again unceremoniously.

"You are the one that turned her into this...this...ABOMINATION!" He turned his attention toward her and began slapping her, calling her things that even Eileen didn't understand.

"M-mother..." Eileen whimpered, trying to get up despite the torture it caused her.

"No, Ei...leen..." He mother begged her not to defend her but Eileen staggered to her feet, saying in a shaky voice, "Stop it...stop it or I'll..." Whipping his head around viciously, her father glared up at her and spat, "You'll what, use your voodoo on me? You don't have your bloody stick to wave at me! You have some nerve threatening me, I'm the man of the house and I decide what will happen in it!"

"Not anymore." She stared defiantly at him with her right eye, feeling anger and loathing seething through her, filling her with a desire to cause him great harm.

"How dare you..." He hissed, quickly standing and stepping toward her with his hand raised again but this time, she screamed and it felt like the whole house felt it. Her father let out a cry of pain as his blood flew everywhere, painting the walls and Eileen with his very essence. His limp and severely slashed body fell with a great thud to the floor, blood pouring out in all directions as he continued to writhe in anguish.

The sound of sirens filled the air as Eileen stared down at him in surprise, not wishing to have gone so far. Falling to her knees next to his twitching body, she began to scream, "Mother! Mother, what have I done, he's going to die! Mother, do something, please!"

Suddenly, she looked at her father and found that it was not him at all but Snape, staring at her emptily.

"Is that how you treat the people you love, Eileen?" He said, his voice resounding in her head as it felt like splitting open.

"No, I didn't mean it! Please, I'm sorry, don't hate me!" She begged desperately.

"It's too late...I could never love you, you're too much of a freak."

"No please, I'll change! I'll stop doing magic, I'll forget everything I've learned, just don't hate me! Father, please! Father! FATHER!"

"Miss Pierce, wake up!" Eileen let out a blood-curdling scream before her eyes finally opened and stared wildly up at the face of a very frightened Professor McGonagall.

"I thought she was dying!" She heard a girl say next to her.

"My goodness, you gave us all a terrible scare! Are you quite alright?" McGonagall asked, letting her own heart calm down as Eileen gasped for air.

She sat bolt upright and exclaimed, "MASTER!"

"Master? Oh, was she having one of those dreams?" Pansy muttered, standing next to her roommate who looked dreadful, having been up all night unable to sleep.

Turning to the professor, Eileen grabbed at her robes and said frantically, "Professor Snape, he's hurt!"

Looking a little worried, McGonagall glanced to the pile of uniforms at the foot of Eileen's bed, still stained with blood. Hesitantly, she responded, "No, dear, it was just a dream...a very bad dream, at that."

"No! He's very weak; you have to help him, ma'am! Please, I'm telling the truth, you have to believe me!" She sobbed, her eyes pleading with McGonagall's as they looked quite sympathetic.

"Miss Pierce, calm yourself, Professor Snape is just fine. He's downstairs, as a matter of fact, he came to get me when he was told of your ceaseless nightmare. As you well know men are not allowed into the girls' dormito-Miss Pierce, where are you going!"

Eileen had leapt out of her bed and was bounding down the stairs, her lacey nightgown billowing behind her like great wings. Hitting the bottom step, she ran straight toward a gloomy figure wearing a gray dressing gown covered by a black cloak, tackling him into a nearby couch with a flurry of fabric.

"MASTER, I thought you were going to die!" Eileen sobbed, her petite arms wrapped tightly around his middle as he looked greatly disturbed by being attacked by a midget, clutching desperately at the couch as his leg hung over the back of it.

"What on earth..." He fought to regain his dignity, trying to pry her off of him but finding it unexpectedly difficult.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...please don't hate - " She began to beg again but Snape cut her off.

"I already told you, I don't hate you, Miss Pierce. Now...get off of me." Snape muttered as students came down to investigate the disturbance.

She slowly slid off of him and onto the floor where she knelt clutching at his robes with her face buried in them.

"I...I dreamt that I hurt father but...but it wasn't him, it was you and...and you said you could never love a freak like me." She murmured, her voice muffled by the robes and only heard by Snape who looked frustrated with her.

"You are not a freak, Miss Pierce, but you are making a scene. Please go back to bed, I think we could all use some sleep." Snape groaned, feeling his body now protesting to the dramatic hug.

"You...don't think I'm an abomination, do you?" Her blue eyes swam with tears as she stared up at him hopefully.

"No." He sighed, but she grimaced and sobbed, "You're lying."

"Miss Pierce, please..." Snape was growing more uncomfortable now as McGonagall came down to see where Eileen had gone.

"You're never going to tell me the truth, are you?"

"Miss Pierce..."

"Please, I beg you, don't lie to me...it hurts too much...in my heart."

Snape's eyes stared at her, a sudden feeling of guilt washing over him, the likes of which he rarely ever felt for anything he had done. But somehow, lying to her, causing her pain...it caused him pain as well. He swallowed hard and whispered, "Eileen...I don't hate you, please understand that. I have never hated you..."

She stared up into his eyes and for the first time saw that he was telling her the complete and honest truth about his feelings toward her. Just how much above hatred she was she could not guess but anything is better than what her father felt for her. With a gasp, she buried her face in his robes again and began to sob heavily and uncontrollably.

Not sure how to respond, Snape merely let her get it out and remained quiet, watching her with great remorse that he hid behind his usual poker face.

Standing at the landing of the stairs, McGonagall watched in awed silence, having been quite sure that Snape would push her away or tell her she was being childish. Perhaps there was more to Snape than met the eye, but she was sure there was a lot to him that no one knew or could ever hope to know. She didn't feel it was her place to interfere at the moment, since it was Snape's house and she had no real reason to stay, but somehow she felt he wasn't in any condition to return to his room alone if Eileen's uniform was any indication.

"Oi, look at her crying all over him, what a baby." Draco had ambled down from his room, rubbing his eye sleepily as he witnessed the scene with his hooligan flunkies.

"Heh, she's a wimp after all, huh, Draco?" Goyle chimed in with a chuckle.

Snape suddenly realized just how many people were watching and he shouted, "All of you, back to bed! If I see even a toe in ONE MINUTE, whoever it belongs to will find themselves in detention for a MONTH!"

A great sound of hurrying and stumbling rung out as students pushed past each other to get back to bed and pretend to be asleep. Within seconds, all was quiet except for Eileen's soft sobbing and Snape let out a sigh as he said, "Alright, Eileen, now it's time for you to - "

"Go to bed, I know. Do I have to?" Eileen didn't remove herself from his robes and he blinked down at her.

"Yes, of course, you can't sit there crying on me all night." Snape said, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

She looked up into his eyes and finally noted how pale he was, most likely from losing so much blood in his office. Her feeble hand found its way to his cheek and he looked startled by this sudden bodily contact, about to protest when she said, "Oh no, it was real...I did hurt you!"

"Miss Pierce, I'm perfectly fine." Snape whispered, trying to get up.

"No, stay still!" She threw her weight into him again and he collapsed flat on his back on the couch, looking quite distraught. Whipping out her wand, she made to cast a spell but Snape said, "No, don't - "

"Shh!" She said sternly and he stared at her, wondering where she got the nerve to be so rude to him. She closed her eyes, her soft voice slowly filling the common room with a beautiful song as she passed her wand over and over his body, bathing him in a bluish glow.

Both teachers watched in silence, amazed by the level of magic she was able to use, her chanting becoming quite soothing to the ear. They began to wish it would never end when finally, she stopped singing and said, "You should be back to normal now, sir, try sitting up."

Cautiously, Snape sat up and felt no fatigue or numbness and the scars left by the previous spell had vanished completely. He stared at her, disbelief in his voice as he said, "How...?"

"Mother was always a good healer, she taught me how to take care of myself after father - " She stopped mid-sentence, realizing McGonagall was listening intently in the corner and saying, "...after father left."

"Your mother was a skilled witch then, as are you, such a spell is hard to master. You definitely have great potential, Miss Pierce." McGonagall spoke up, crossing the common room to the couch where she looked down at Snape and said, "Are you well?"

"Yes, quite well." Snape rose and looked down at Eileen who had cast her gaze into her lap, brooding over the past again. Expressionless, he held his hand out to her and said sternly, "It is far past your bedtime, Miss Pierce, I suggest returning to your room and going back to sleep."

Looking up at his hand in wonder, she placed her hand in it and he gently lifted her to her feet, releasing her and pulling his robe up around his dressing gown.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Eileen said, "Restful sleep to you, sir. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you both, I hope you will not hold it against me in the future."

"My dear, we are here to help you, not punish you for having bad dreams." McGonagall placed a hand on her back and steered her toward the stairs, "Try not to dwell on the past, it's best to focus your thoughts on the future and keep your spirits up."

"Thank you, ma'am, restful sleep to you as well. Goodnight, professors." Eileen bowed her head to them as she ascended to her room like a real ghost, silent and smooth as if a gentle breeze was carrying her.

McGonagall waited until she heard the door click shut before leaving the dorm with Snape. As they walked down the hallway she turn to Snape and said, "I saw her robes, Severus, they're soaked in blood. I managed to clean them before anyone else saw them but it still concerns me, what really happened?"

"It was an accident, nothing more." Snape replied, sounding as if he didn't wish to discuss it.

"She could have killed you, you do realize that?" McGonagall frowned, her voice concerned.

"Yes...I do." The reality of that was quite clear to him.

"We should tell Dumbledore of this, she could prove a danger to the other students."

"I have it under control, there is no need to trouble the headmaster with this."

"But Severus - " McGonagall gazed at him in surprise.

"She is my student and my responsibility." Snape replied shrewdly, back to his usual spiteful self.

Raising her chin to glare down her nose at him suspiciously, she replied, "If you feel you can handle it. Keep a close eye on this one, Severus, she has powers that not even she can comprehend."

"The Dark Lord would have wanted her in a heartbeat." Snape mused as he turned a corner and headed toward his room.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing he was defeated, I would hate to see her turn to such evil." McGonagall sighed as she shook her head. Snape remained quiet as they eventually went their separate ways to return to their beds for a few more hours of sleep before school started in the morning.

OoOoOoOo

Eileen woke to find the room abandoned and she wondered if she had slept in late again but the clock told her she still had 45 minutes until her first class: Potions. She didn't seem fond of seeing Snape again so soon but she was used to life throwing her curveballs. Dressing and informing the hungry kneazle eyeing her that she'd return with breakfast, she rushed out the door with her book bag securely over her shoulder, hopping down the stairs and coming to a stop in the common room where a smattering of whispering groups hovered around chairs and couches. The sound ceased upon seeing her and she knew immediately that they had been recalling the night's events, most likely exaggerating much of it.

Instead of running and trying to avoid being seen, she marched boldly past the judgmental glares and went right out the entrance without a second glance. She felt good ignoring them and hurried up to breakfast where she found herself sitting with the Gryffindors again, sandwiched between the Weasley twins as they asked her about last night.

"We heard you tried to kill Snape! How did it go?" Fred asked cheerfully, stuffing some eggs into his mouth.

"Where did you hear that?" Eileen asked, daintily stirring her porridge before eating a small spoonful.

"It's been filtering over from the Slytherin table but we think it's been a bit...filled out." George explained.

"I don't think you managed to morph your cat into a dragon to ravage Snape, though that would be pretty wicked." Fred said, obviously envisioning this fondly.

"And I doubt that you snogged him on the couch afterward either." George noted, looking least convinced by this.

"Snogged?" She looked confused, furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, made out." Fred said.

"Sucked face." George added.

"Kissed." They said in unison.

"What? I...I did no such thing! That's...well..." She began to stir her breakfast viciously, wishing death to all the Slytherins that had spread such a rumor.

"Gross?" Fred suggested.

"Appalling?" George mused.

"Sickening?"

"Atrocious?"

"Foul?"

"Repulsive?"

"Unlikely." Eileen said, narrowing her eyes at them.

"I wouldn't bad mouth Snape, guys, unless you have a death wish." Ron interrupted, seeing the same look arriving in her eyes that she gave Ron when he insulted Snape at the duel.

"Blimey, then you do like him?" George seemed completely dumbstruck at the prospect of someone being attracted to the potions master they all loathed with a passion.

"I admire and respect professor Snape." She responded plainly.

"Then why did you almost kill him? Not that I'm complaining..." Harry also joined the conversation.

"I...it wasn't my fault, I didn't mean to." Eileen looked mortified and Harry blinked in surprise, saying, "You mean...you cast a spell unintentionally?"

"I'm sure you think I'm some freak now..." She hung her head.

"No! I've had the same thing happen to me too! I once let a snake out of it's enclosure at the zoo without meaning to." Harry admitted.

"And when I was 4, Bill says I made a stack of dishes fall off the counter cause mom made me wash them and I didn't feel like it." Ron said, wishing he could remember that.

"We've made stuff hit Bill and Charlie without really intending to." The twins admitted together, though they probably had fully intended to do it but didn't want to be left out.

"I...I made an entire bookshelf fall to the floor cause I wanted a book at the top." Hermione blushed.

They all laughed and Eileen seemed quite surprised as she said, "So you mean..."

"It's perfectly normal for things like that to happen, it just means you haven't been trained to control it yet." Hermione said smartly, trying to make up for her little embarrassment.

"Even...even if you cause harm to others? Is that...normal?" Eileen asked and they seemed to quiet down.

"What exactly did you do to Snape, anyway? I've heard a lot of things but I wanted to know the true story." Fred said, watching her intently as if expecting a grand story.

"I...I don't think I should...he didn't seem happy about it." Eileen nervously shoveled more porridge into her mouth.

"So?" George cocked an eyebrow.

Eileen glared at him and he was taken back as she stood quickly, saying, "I said I respect professor Snape, which means if he wishes others not to know about private matters then I won't speak of them. Frankly, I don't want anyone to know about it either, it...causes hostility. I have to feed Mephi before class, goodbye." Pausing to snatch a pile of ham off a tray, she stormed out of the hall and left the group feeling rather ashamed.

Hermione stood next and said, "Honestly, do you two have to be so nosy? She was opening up so nicely and you had to go and make her mad! Im going to class." She too stormed off and all the boys exchanged baffled and lost looks.

"What is with girls?" Ron asked, shaking his head, "One's mad, they're all mad!"

"Blimey, I never thought anyone would take to Snape like she has...poor girl." Fred said.

"Why are you sorry for her?" Harry asked, though he had the same thoughts swimming in his own head.

"Do you honestly think he'll ever return the sentiment? This is Snape were talking about...she's in for a lot of letdowns." George responded for his brother as if their thought waves were the same.

"I think she's used to it." Ron said suddenly and they looked at him curiously, "From what I can tell, her family life sucked big time. I feel sorry for her..."

OoOoOoOo

Eileen managed to find the courage to muster enough self control not to look upset when she entered potions class just in the nick of time, taking a seat at the back of the room instead of her usual spot right up front.

Snape had his back to the class as he thumbed through a textbook, waiting until he thought it was time to turn around and see who was MIA. Finally, he snapped the book shut and whirled around, looking the class over and barely registering Eileen's seating adjustment.

"Pop quiz, let's see who has been listening to my lessons so far this year: Who can tell me what asphodel is?" Snape asked, looking over the faces of the startled students, completely caught off guard as their fingers itched to grab their text books and look it up. Upon seeing no hands, Snape said, "Come now, have you all been daydreaming? I mentioned this a few days ago."

"Sir?" Eileen slowly put her hand in the air and everyone seemed to turn and stare at her, it had been a long time since she'd spoken up in class.

"Yes, Miss Pierce?" Snape seemed glad that at least someone took a chance.

"Asphodel is a plant that is most commonly associated with the afterlife because the powdered roots of the plant are used in the Draught of Living Death." Eileen responded simply.

"Very good, 10 points to Slytherin. Now, who can tell me what knotgrass is?" Snape began to patrol the class and another student raised their hand and answered surprisingly correctly.

On and on went the quiz and it became obvious to Eileen that he had made up the pop quiz as a result of not being prepared for the lesson that day. This was fine by her because she enjoyed being dared to think rather than do what she already knew. She answered a few other questions when the rest of the class seemed stumped, wanting to give them a fair chance and not wishing to appear haughty about her knowledge. The class went over well in her mind and she was sad when it came to an end because for the first time in a while, she was on normal, non-hostile speaking terms with her head of house and this, to her, was very good indeed.

As the class filtered out of the room, she ended up last to leave and heard her name called quietly behind her. Turning, she saw Snape staring at her from across the room, leaning against the desk with his hands resting on the edge.

"Sir?" She blinked, wondering what he was going to ask her now.

"Good work in class today...I expect more participation out of you in the future." He said in a hushed voice as if he was afraid someone would hear him encouraging her and think ill of him. With a soft smile, she said, "It would be my pleasure, sir."

"And...about last night..." He seemed uneasy about mentioning this and she said quickly, "Professor, I would never speak of it to anyone, even if asked incessantly by a pair of redheaded boys."

Apparently he had been watching her at breakfast this morning because he smirked.

"You don't have to defend me all the time, Miss Pierce, I'm fully capable of doing that for myself." He said in a soft voice.

"I know...it's just a built in response, I can't help wanting others to think more of the people I admire."

"Admire?" He blinked as he stared at her smiling face, seeing it flush slightly.

"Yes...I must hurry or I'll miss my next class, good day to you, sir!" She said quickly, turning and leaving the classroom before Snape could argue this statement.

He stayed half-sitting on the desk for several minutes, her words swimming through his mind before he was able to set his thoughts on more immediate things, like giving random people detention.