Author's Notes: I'm really sorry I had not updated this sooner. And I have no excuse for that…I was just too lazy, and had too many fics to read. Thank you to all my reviewers…for not ganging up to murder me for not updating sooner! I shall attempt to finish the whole fic before OotP comes out, to prevent any discrepancies that may occur. Until then, enjoy…
A Fallen Angel
By chibi_tenshi
It was a few days after the horrifying revelations about Harry Potter's life. Once he had ensured that Potter's condition had stabilized and that he was in no immediate danger, Severus Snape had moved back into his cool (if a little drafty) dungeons, claiming that he had some Important Matters to attend to.
Dumbledore had a damn /twinkle/ in his eyes when he had tried to make a dignified sweep out of the Infirmary. (A/N I /swear/ he uses magic to do that!) Pomfrey had just arched her eyebrows and lifted her lips in a slight smile, giving him an infuriating knowing look! Of course, no one would believe that he was retreating back into his haven because of work. After all, he did not even believe himself, as good an excuse as he had thought it was when he first came up with it.
A little of it had been because of his aching joints and bones. His back had been killing him for staying in that restrictive and most uncomfortable Chair for such extensive periods of time. He was not as young as he once was, though he would rather die than to admit that to anyone…he could just /hear/ Black gloating about it.
Another (more obvious) reason – which his brain had been trying to shy away from for quite some time – was that he was getting too close to Potter for his comfort. It was one thing to share a kind of understanding with and tentative care for the boy, but it was another thing altogether to feel protective urges for no apparent reason, and to have to overcome the urges to pull the boy into his embrace whenever he had on that vulnerable look!
So, he left the Infirmary, just to get his bearings back if nothing else…
Presently, he was comfortably engulfed by his high-quality leather couch, complete with enhanced softening charms. He was staring contemplatively into the middle of nowhere when he heard a loud shriek originating from the fireplace to his right. "SEVERUS!"
Snapped out of his ponderous mood, he swirled around (dramatically, even when seated) and snarled, "Poppy…I would appreciate it if you try not to pop in through my fireplace without any prior notice, and if you would kindly refrain from screaming into my eardrums the moment you…" He trailed off, taking in her flustered look.
"There's no time for verbal sparring Severus! Harry is caught in some kind of nightmare, and I can't shake him out of it!" Here, Pomfrey's voice started to take on a hysterical note, "And he is scratching at his scalp with his hands! I have him under restraints at the moment, but he started convulsing. I need the key to your stores. I've run out of calming potions and pain relievers. Could you please try to wake him? He seemed most receptive to you when he was lucid…"
Snape tried not to scowl at that. He had been avoiding the Hospital Wing /precisely/ because of that! And Potter cannot be normal for once. He was sure that he was faking it…he had probably anticipated the results and was laughing at the drama unfolding right now. Impertinent, attention-seeking whelp!
Still, Snape decided to humor him, in case it turned out to be real. But if he ever found out otherwise, /somebody/ was going to die a slow and painful death!
He undid the clasp of the chain around his neck and slid the key free. Passing it to Pomfrey, he snatched up as handful of floo powder with his free hand and flooed of to the Infirmary ("Hogwarts Infirmary! Jellybeans!") (A/N as with practically everything else with Hogwarts, you need a password to get somewhere. And since Dumbledore sets the passwords, did you really expect it to be any more…/mature/? *laughs*)
*****
What Pomfrey had said was still not enough to prepare him for the sight that met him when he entered Potter's private partition. Nightmares? Convulsions? He had never came across such understatements in his life!
Potter had his back arced off the bed, even with the magical lines of force restraining him around his waist. He looked like he was having a seizure, with spasms and convulsions running around his body. It would be similar to an epilepsy patient with ten cruciatus curses cast on him simultaneously when he had a fit. His face was raw and bleeding, especially around his forehead. His lips were shaped in a silent scream while his hands struggled to break free of his bounds to reach his head.
Rushing forwards to the bed, Snape held Potter's hands down, then using his weight to pin him down on the bed. This seemed to have a negative effect though, since Potter flinched away and trashed about even more wildly, attempting to throw him off, though the restrains prevented that.
Cursing Pomfrey and himself for their idiocy, he quickly loosened his grip, removed the bonds and gathered the still-convulsing boy in his arms. Gradually, the stiff body began to relax in his embrace, once the sleeping boy realized, sub-consciously, that his professor was not trying to harm him, and he drifted into a deeper, more peaceful sleep…
That was how Pomfrey found them when she returned: Harry, cradled in Snape's arms…
*****
Snape laid the sleeping boy gently back onto the bed, careful not to make any sudden movements that may jar him awake. He waited impatiently for Pomfrey to finish her ministrations before beckoning her out of the room. Once he was certain that they were safely ensconced in Pomfrey's office, with the dozens of silencing and locking charms he had put in place with a discreet flick of his hand, he turned to Pomfrey, and started speaking in a low, quiet and deceptively calm voice, "Poppy, I had assumed that with the years of experience as a Mediwitch behind you, you would have had at least /some/ idea on how to handle an abuse patient."
When Pomfrey attempted to interrupt heatedly, face flushed indignantly, he held up his hand to stop the anticipated tirade before it even began. "The first thing you should have learnt," he continued smoothly, "would have been the fact that one /never/ tries to restrain an abused patient, no matter how he seemed to be hurting himself at that moment. Calming potions would have sufficed, and when that was not available, calming /charms/ could be a perfectly viable substitute!"
At this, Pomfrey bowed her head, looking properly like a child in disgrace, though she was probably older than Snape himself. Now that Snape had pointed this out, she wanted to hit herself for not having thought this through earlier on. Granted, she had panicked because she had never treated an abuse case as severe as Harry's was before, and complied with the stress from having to look after the Golden Boy of the Wizarding World, seeing him so vulnerable, frail and hurt after years of thinking that the Boy-Who-Lived would always pull through everything to save the day…it had made her lose control of her thoughts and emotions. Still, a Mediwitch should /never/ falter, /never/ make such careless mistakes, for all these could cost a patient's life!
*****
Snape was fuming inwardly, how could that fool of a witch forget one of her most basic classes at such a crucial moment? If he had arrived any later, Harry may have gone /insane/! That was not a thought he wanted to entertain. Abuse victims, especially those that had gone through rape, were prone to avoid any form physical contact. This was why Potter's body had rebelled so violently against the bonds places on him…because memories about bonds in the past had never been pleasant.
Evidently, Pomfrey was not competent enough to ensure that Potter receives proper care and therapy, and he told her so, in that blatant and sarcastic way he was so famous for.
Pomfrey spluttered for a moment, trying to regain her bearings at this obvious insult. Then, she smirked and voiced out, "If you are so capable, Severus, why don't you take care of him yourself? I am sure you would be able to accomplish what I could not, with your advanced potion skills and the great people skills!" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm
Snape, being one that /never/ backs down from a challenge, accepted it without much thought.
It was only when he was safely cocooned in his warm dungeons again when he realized what he had gotten himself into…
*****
TBC
(1419 words)
A/N *blushes* Hope that was okay. I do realize it is kind of short…but there's more to come soon! Like I've said, I'm rushing to complete this before OoTP does! Did you enjoy it?
Please, REVIEW!!!
Dyan – oh dear god! I hope I haven't dug up any unpleasant memories for you! I do hope your stepfather has at least been imprisoned! Urgh! I detest cowards that find pleasure in abusing people. As for why my story is the way it is…I find that it is necessary for people to endure hardship before they learn to treasure what they have. Also, the more they suffer, the more they'll be wary against things around them, and it would be infinitely harder to earn their trust, which is why Harry's love would be so much more precious to Sev. I'm not sorry for what I've written…I would be lying…I do apologize if I had caused you any trauma from reading this, but I won't change it no matter what anyone says…
White Wolf5 - I /did/ mention that there's abuse! Read chapter five! I quote: "This also happens to be an abuse fic, complete with whipping, bondage and rape." And there were more before that particular chapter! That was /before/ when all the graphic stuff took place! It wasn't /my/ fault that you ignored me and continued reading now, was it? Never mind…I have replaced that with a longer and much more detailed one. I don't think there will be any more abuse scenes from now on…none that I know of anyway, so you should be safe to read on…
semirhage – I don't know if I had mentioned it or not, but I'm not going to let Harry get into a relationship until he's at least 16…and I still haven't decided what to do with Ron and ' Mione…
nobody special – From your review, you probably hate Ron too! *grins* But, I still haven't decided what to do with him, nor Draco, so that'll have to wait…and I think that Siri and Remy /belong/ together, and I won't object to a SB/RL/HP threesome…
Frankie the Wonder Wiener Dog – interesting…I'll check out the site…thank you. and l've read the ordinary world too…I thought it was lovely…
As for what I'm doing with the Dursleys…they are under custody…/no one/ can kill them…at least, not yet…there /will/ be a trial…it would be traumatizing for Harry, yes, but it may also act as a kind of closure…we'll see…
Anyway, thank you again to all my reviewers! Till the next chapter…REVIEW more! *grins*
