The next time I woke up it was light and Harry had taken the seat Snape had occupied last night.
"Venus are you okay?" Asked Harry worriedly.
"Not really." I admitted.
My body was still shaking and I was in agony.
"Pain relief." I said gesturing to the potions on the table at the end of the bed. He passed them over.
"Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let anyone else in." He explained, "She said you wouldn't want anyone to see you like this."
"She was right."
"I'm sorry Venus."
"Sorry for what?" I sighed.
"Sorry for us becoming more distant and for not making time for you and for not seeing how bad things had got."
"You did see but I wouldn't tell you the truth."
"I should have done something last night."
"No Harry you'd have got yourself in trouble." I froze, "Harry you showed up to Snape's office in Slytherin robes, did he punish you?"
He laughed.
"What?"
"You, you get tortured and you're worried if I got detention."
"Well did you?"
"No, he was already getting ready to come to the common room but he looked at us and he just went 'Venus?' and we nodded and he told us to go back to our common room but didn't seem to want to punish us. He went really pale and looked worried too."
I sighed out of relief, at least I was the only one who suffered from last night.
"Venus what happened?"
"You saw."
"No Venus, what did Malfoy say to you when he had you pushed up against the wall?"
I shivered at the memory.
"Nothing important." I told him.
"You've said that before."
"Well he was just telling me I was a disappointment to the wizarding world and stuff like that." I lied.
He didn't seem to believe me.
"What did Snape do when he came in?"
I recounted how Snape had come in and his speech to the other Slytherins.
"And Malfoy, is he expelled?"
"He better not be."
"What, Venus, why?"
I sighed, "There are still death eaters left and if Malfoy gets expelled he will join them. It is better if he stays here and he might see that our side is better."
Harry stared at me in awe.
"But Venus..."
"Harry why were you in the Slytherin common room?" I asked, changing the subject.
"You're changing the subject!"
"So what if I am?" I snarled, "The question still stands."
He sighed, "We were looking to see if Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin."
"And?"
"He's not."
"Oh right."
"Venus what's up?"
"Just if you wanted to someone to spy in the Slytherin common room, you could have just asked me."
"Venus, I wasn't going to ask you to spy on Malfoy, I knew something was going on, I'm not stupid."
"It was that obvious?"
"Venus, you're my sister, I'm always going to know if something's up, just like you do for me."
My hand shifted subconsciously to the lily on my chest.
"I still can't believe Snape knew mum." He said quietly.
"I know, they were friends, good friends."
"It's just he was a Slytherin and she was a muggleborn."
"Not all Slytherins are bad." I said.
"Yes but you're different, you're not like the others."
"You mean I'm not pure blood that's the only difference."
"Well you're not a prat either but yeah I guess that's why you don't act like the rest of them."
"He's not pure blood, you know."
"What? Snape? Not pure blood?"
"Yes Snape, I remember him saying something about him being half blood last night when he was telling the Slytherins off. I don't think he fit in with the Slytherins any more than I do."
"Oh yeah I guess."
Just then, Snape walked into the hospital wing.
"Potter." He said coolly.
"Professor Snape." Said Harry.
"Go meet Mr Weasley, I have things I need to discuss with your sister."
Harry looked at me protectively.
"Harry go on, I'll be fine." I told him.
He still looked unsure.
"But Venus..."
"Harry, Ron needs you more now, Hermione's in the hospital wing too. I'll be fine and there is stuff I need to discuss with Professor Snape."
"Okay then, if you're sure."
"Yes Harry I'm sure."
He got up and walked out, looking over his shoulder worriedly.
"That took more than I thought." I said when he had left.
"You were exactly the same and there was nothing wrong with him." Snape replied coldly.
I shifted nervously in the bed. I was still shaking from the effects of the cruciatus.
"Anyway Sir, what did you need to talk to me about?" I said quickly.
"There are a few things we need to speak about. Firstly, I should tell you that every Slytherin involved yesterday is getting a detention and housepoints have been taken from them."
"Sir, they didn't really do anything." I pointed out.
"Without their support, Malfoy would have got nowhere. The prefects, who have had duties removed now, should have stopped him. He was only a second year, most of the students could have disarmed him and all could have told him not to do it but none of them did and they enjoyed it Potter. That is not something that should go unpunished."
"I suppose you're right Sir."
"Next we will need to sort out the dorm rooms. Usually it is precedure to split whoever has been bullying from the victim."
"Don't call me that Sir." I interrupted.
"Potter!" Snape said irritably.
"I'm not a victim." I said in a small voice.
He sighed, "Fine but in this case because the majority of your dorm room was involved, I think it is better to move you with Barbary to another dorm room away from them."
"Yes Sir." I said quietly, my hand moving to finger the lily.
"What's wrong Potter?"
"Nothing." I said, dropping my hand.
"Potter."
"Like I said nothing."
"Potter I know when you're lying to me."
"It's just I'm going to have to see them all again aren't I? I'm going to have to walk past them in the common room when they've seen me at my most vulnerable and I know what they contributed too. Who's is to say that something isn't going to happen again?"
Snape's expression softened.
"I will ensure this never happens again to any student but that does bring me onto my last point. I think that we should move from your lessons on control to lessons on to defensive magic. You copied my spell very well at the duelling club and I think you would benefit from my teaching rather than just Professor Lockhart's"
"Why me Sir?" I asked.m
He paused, "I see potential in you Potter, I also think you are going to have more need to defend yourself from other spells than most but we will not start until you are ready and of course you don't have to have these lessons if you don't wish too."
"No sir I would like to have them, thank you Sir."
"You will be staying in the hospital wing for a few days until you are completely fit. I trust Madam Pomfrey will take good care of you and ensure you are eating." He said.
He turned to leave but paused, "You are very brave Potter." He said and walked off.
I laid there feeling anything but brave as I thought of the other Slytherins and of the pain in my body but Snape must have seen something to call me brave, after all he didn't give out false compliments.
I stayed in the hospital wing for three more days. Madam Pomfrey ensured I ate at every meal despite my lack of hunger. The pain subsided a bit every day, as did the shaking. I still wouldn't allow any student but Harry to visit me. Dumbledore came to see me, asking me for details. I didn't tell him Malfoy knew about me, if it was important for the headmaster to know I was sure Snape would tell him. He also congratulated me on my idea to not expel Malfoy although he stressed that if he continued as a problem, expelling him would be the only way forward.
I was looking forward to getting out the hospital wing to see Ginny and to start my lessons with Snape. I was less excited to see my house mates. I wasn't sure whether they would be nicer or worse because of what had happened and I wasn't eager to find out which.
I was also getting rather bored of the hospital wing. I had now read all the books I had gotten for Christmas and so had nothing much left to do. Term hadn't begun again yet so it was still quiet in the hallways nearby. My only company in the hospital wing was Hermione who had used cat hair by mistake in the polyjuice potion so had gained extremely cat like features. There was also Colin and Justin but they were both petrified. It hurt that the teachers had originally thought that I'd do it but I guess it was good they now knew better. I wondered who was causing it, who could be the heir of Slytherin. There was nobody who stuck out as acting strangely except for Ginny and she wouldn't, besides that would make her whole family the heirs. It also meant one of her ancestors would have had to open it fifty years ago. I shoved the idea from my head, the Weasleys would never be evil enough to do something like that. I suppose that left me really. I was the only person who's ancestor was evil enough to have done it but I hadn't done it. Even if I was controlled or imperiused I couldn't have because when Colin was attacked, I was at the hospital wing all day and then with Dumbledore.
On my last day in the hospital wing Madam Pomfrey came over, "You can leave today, there is nothing else I can do for you, the shaking has stopped and I'm guessing the pain has too?"
I nodded.
"Good, good, you can leave whenever you wish."
I closed the curtains around my bed and got changed into clean robes. I pinned my lily onto them. I opened the curtains again and started packing my things into my trunk. Snape has brought it up and said he'd arrange to have it taken to my new dorm when I left the hospital wing.
"Potter." I heard Snape's voice say.
I whipped around.
"Yes Sir?"
"I expect you to be at every meal now that you're out of here."
I sighed, "Yes Sir."
He surveyed me, "You're scared?"
I looked away from him.
"Yes Sir, I am." I said quietly.
"Potter look at me."
I looked back at him but wouldn't meet his eyes.
"There is no shame in being scared, terrible things have happened to you. I stress this, they will not happen again, do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"But now you must tell me if anything happens, no matter how small you think it is."
"Yes sir."
"Good, I will leave you to pack and I will send a house elf for your trunk so just leave it here when you're done."
He turned and walked out the hospital wing. I finished up packing my trunk and taking a deep breath I walked out of the hospital wing.
