Tirza continued to sob as Lupin carried her to the hospital wing. "It's alright, he won't hurt you again. Madame Pompfrey will make you better," he told her softly. "I'm scared," she whispered. "I'll make sure he's expelled, and formerly charged as well; I'm sure your father will feel the same." Tirza nodded and Lupin stepped inside the infirmary. "Madame Pompfrey?" he called. The nurse came bustling out from her office. "My favorite little patient! What has happened?" "I'm pretty sure that her wrist and maybe even her arm are broken," Remus told her. Poppy turned to look at Tirza. "Have you been flying brooms in the hallways again?" Tirza continued to cry and shook her head. Lupin filed that statement away to ask her about later. "No, she was attacked." Poppy gasped. "By whom?" she asked as Remus gently set Tirza down on a bed. "I recognized him from class, but I don't remember his name. He's sitting in the teacher's lounge, where he will stay until I've taken the body bind (is that the petrificus totalis spell?) off." Poppy nodded and sat down beside Tirza. "Want my daddy," she repeated. "I'll go get him right now," Remus said, turning to leave. "Better bring the headmaster too; he'll want to know exactly what happened," Poppy added. Remus nodded and left the room.

Snape growled when he heard a knock on the door of his chambers. The only person that should be here right now was Tirza and she knew the password. The knocking persisted and Snape reluctantly got up from his comfortable chair; he opened the door to find Remus Lupin. "What do you want?" he sneered. "It's your daughter..." Remus started. "What have you done with her?" Snape shouted. Remus frowned. "I haven't done a thing to her. She was attacked and she's been hurt, I took her to the nurse." Snape slammed the door behind him and ran through the hallways, with Remus heading for Dumbledore's office. Snape slammed open the door of the infirmary and went straight to Tirza's side. He wrapped his arms around her, being careful not to move the arm that Poppy was working on. "Baby, what happened? Are you alright?" Tirza just leaned against him and cried into his shoulder. As soon as Poppy had fixed Tirza's broken arm and wrist, Snape sat on the bed and pulled Tirza onto his lap. "Shhh, baby, it's alright. Daddy's here," he whispered. Remus and Dumbledore entered and stood off to the side, wanting to give Tirza time to calm down. Snape gently rocked her in his arms, whispering comfortingly to her; he suddenly noticed that Lupin was in the room. "You can leave," he hissed. Remus shook his head. "I am sure that Albus will want me to give a statement, and I'd like to make sure she's alright." Snape scowled at Remus, and then stood up, with Tirza clinging to him for dear life. He cradled her in his arms and walked towards the door. "Is she free to leave, Madame Pompfrey?" The nurse nodded, not sure what to make of all that was happening. "I need to give her her potion or she'll make herself sick. Perhaps we could come to your office Albus, in say twenty minutes?" Dumbledore nodded. "Of course; take as much time as you need Severus." He nodded at the old wizard and exited the room with Tirza still in his arms.

"Her potion?" Remus inquired as he walked back to the office with Dumbledore. Albus sighed. "Tirza has a special potion that she uses in place of muggle pills; I do hope she'll be able to take it before she gets sick." "Muggle pills for what?" the younger wizard prodded. "Well, it's not really my place to tell all the details, but Tirza has an anxiety problem; when she gets extremely upset, she gets violently sick. She nearly passed out in the lavatory not to long ago," Albus replied. Remus thought of what he had seen in the little girl's eyes; pain and fear, naturally from what had just happened, but there had been something else. "A ten-year-old with anxiety problems?" he mused. "Yes; she has a difficult time of things, many things she's trying to work through. Too many things at her age to deal with caused the problem," Dumbledore said. "Anymore information then that, I am really not at liberty to give. If you wanted to ask her about it, I do believe that she might tell you." "Yes, I'll have to do that sometime," Remus mused. "But the first priority is getting that boy out of here! Imagine, attacking a child!"

Tirza didn't get the potion in time to stop the first wave of nausea; she threw up all over Severus, herself and the dungeon hallway. Thankfully a simple and quick spell took care of the mess in the hall. He rushed her into their chambers and gently placed her on the couch while he got her potion. "Here, drink this quick," he instructed, handing her an eighth of the vile. She downed the small amount of purplish liquid; within ten seconds her stomach calmed, but she was still crying almost hysterically. He carried her to her room and got out a fresh set of pajamas. "Can you change while I go change? And then we'll go talk to Grandpa?" Tirza nodded and he reluctantly closed her door and went to his own room to change into a clean robe. When he returned, he found her redressed, curled into a ball on her bed, squeezing Molly tight. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but several tears continued to roll down her cheeks as she sniffled. "Baby, you're going to be alright. Whoever did this will never touch you again; in fact the person will be lucky to leave this school with all limbs attached when I am done." At that, a small smile escaped onto her face. "Is your stomach feeling better?" She nodded and Severus stroked her hair. "What can I do to make you feel better?" He didn't know what all had happened, but was very concerned at Tirza's injuries and reaction. "I'm scared daddy," she whispered. He wrapped his arms around her again. "You'll be alright; he can't hurt you again. I'm here." She nodded. "It was scary; I thought he was gonna do bad things to me too." Severus kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry baby." Tirza wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you daddy," she whispered. "You won't let Marcus hurt me no more, right?" "He'll be out of this school by the morning at the very latest, I promise you that. I will have him punished to the full extent of what the school and the laws allow," he promised her as he rubbed her back. "Are you ready to go talk with Grandpa?" Tirza nodded and Snape scooped her up in his arms and carried her from their chambers.

Snape entered Dumbledore's office with Tirza in his arms, and Molly in Tirza's arms. Remus sat in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk; he and Albus both had worried looks on their faces. "How is she?" Albus asked. "I think she'll be alright," Snape replied as he sat and placed Tirza in his lap. Dumbledore came around from behind his desk and sat in the chair beside Snape. "Now, I need you to tell me everything that happened sweetheart. Don't be afraid; your father, Remus and I are all here to protect you. So you just take your time and tell us." "Okay," Tirza whispered. With several tears, she related what Marcus had done to her and how scared she had been. "And then somebody pulled him away and took his wand and told me he'd come right back. It was him," Tirza said, pointing to Remus. "He made Marcus stop hurting me and then took me to see Poppy." Severus' blood was boiling with rage at Marcus, that arrogant bastard! To top it all off to have Lupin of all people rescue Tirza? He reminded himself to stay calm as Tirza had started to yawn and was just about to doze off in his arms; he could be angry later. "I heard crying from inside the teacher's lounge; at first I thought it was Peeves just being annoying, but he stops if you ignore him and it didn't. I decided to investigate," Remus began telling his part of the incident. "I saw a boy in Slytherin robes dragging someone down the hallway; I followed him and recognized Tirza. He said he had a special dark arts potion that was used for torture and did not have the antidote. When he pulled out a vile, I pulled him away from Tirza and put a body bind on him and dumped him into the teacher's lounge, where he is still. I have the vile with me," Remus said, pulling it out of his pocket. He handed it to Dumbledore who examined it and then passed it to Snape. "What do you make of that Severus?" Snape carefully opened the vile and peered at the liquid. He breathed in the scent of the liquid and recognized it immediately. "This is the Organ Disintegrating Potion (so I made it up, LOL!)," he told Albus. All three men knew of that potion; it had been a favorite among Voldemort and his followers. It was administered to a victim, causing great pain and after a minute passed, slowly began eating away at the internal organs. The antidote had to be given no longer than one minute after the first was administered, otherwise it would attack the organs. "Are you certain?" Dumbledore asked. The look in Severus' eyes confirmed the conclusion.

"I am going to give that boy a caning he will NEVER forget. And I want formal charges brought against Flint! And I want him expelled!" Snape shouted. Tirza, half asleep in his arms, whimpered at his yells. Snape leaned down and kissed her cheek; poor thing she was so worn out from the whole thing. "I'm sorry baby." A smile fought to be released on Remus' face at how sweet Snape and his daughter looked, but he kept it hidden, not wanting to provoke anything from Severus at the moment. "It is perfectly within your right Severus to cane him, but I suggest waiting until morning, so that no charges are brought again you," Dumbledore replied seriously. "As for the charges, I will send an owl to the Ministry of Magic and have someone sent right away in the morning to take statements and arrest Flint. He will be expelled, and not just for the year. He will not be allowed to return to this school again. This is very serious and I will not have him bring dark arts into this school and be a threat of injury to those who reside here. His parents will be notified, but not until after his arrest." "I'm going to kill him," Severus growled. "I understand how angry you are; we all are. But I cannot allow you to beat the boy to death; if you truly want to cane him, you will have to be calm, perhaps even use a calming potion if you have too." A wicked smirk spread over Snape's face. "Oh, don't worry, I'll use the potion, but it won't make things any easier for him." Remus nodded his agreement; it was a strange feeling to agree with Snape about something, but he wouldn't mind caning the boy himself and Tirza wasn't even his daughter! What that boy attempted disgusted him! "Is there anything else that you need to have Albus? It's been a stressful night for Tirza and I want to get her to bed," Severus asked. Tirza yawned, her eyes still closed. "I'm not tired," she told him. Despite the gravity of what had happened earlier, all three men chuckled; one thing that would never change about children was that they would never admit when they were tired! "Yes, that is everything for tonight; of course the Ministry people will wish to speak with her and Remus in the morning; I will let you know as soon as they arrive," Dumbledore replied. Snape nodded and stood up, still holding Tirza. "Goodnight Tirza," Dumbledore said. Tirza yawned. "Put me down daddy, I wanna give grandpa a hug." Snape set her down and she opened her eyes and went over to Dumbledore; she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a big hug. "Night Grandpa, love you." Dumbledore leaned down and kissed her head. "Goodnight sunshine, sleep well." She went back to Snape who picked her up; he turned to look at Lupin. "I would like a word with you, privately, in the hallway."

Remus followed Snape and Tirza into the hallway. "What can I do for you Severus?" Snape adjusted Tirza in his arms, and then looked at the other man closely. "I... appreciate what you did for Tirza tonight." Remus was dumbfounded for a moment, then chuckled. "Was that a thank you?" Snape scowled, and then nodded. "My daughter is very precious to me Lupin; we are both grateful for your actions." Remus smiled slightly. "Does this mean we can call a truce?" he asked as they walked down the hallway. "Perhaps you should be the one to call truce; I certainly never started the war between your little friends and myself," Severus retorted. Remus sighed. "Alright, I will admit that we picked on you. We weren't trying to be mean; we wanted to help you lighten up a bit. We would have been friends with you Severus if you hadn't been such a stick-in-the-mud-can't-associate-with- Gryffindors; you had a good sense of humor when you wanted to. You would have been an asset to the marauders." Snape was silent for a moment. He had never thought of it that way before... were they really trying to bring out a side of him that they knew existed, such as Tirza had? "You understand of course that I rather think you're full of it," he retorted. Lupin chuckled. "Come now Severus; we're adults here. Can't we put the events in the past, whatever the motives, aside?" Severus groaned. "I suppose you're right." A huge smile broke out on Remus' face. "Now that is something that I never thought I'd hear from you; you've certainly changed since school Severus." Snape looked down at the little girl in his arms. "Perhaps I have; for the better I hope. And if I have, it has been for her." Remus nodded. "I hope she'll be alright. She must be very attached to you; when I found her she kept telling me to go and get you, before she even went to the nurse." Snape smiled down at Tirza. "And I don't think she's the only one who's become attached," Remus added. Snape glared at Remus, and then his look softened slightly. "You always were too smart for your own good."

The men stopped walking. "I appreciate your giving statements tomorrow; as well as the invitation for a truce. Perhaps I have misjudged you; but enough of that for now. I have a sleepy princess to put to bed." Remus nodded and bid him goodnight. "Wait daddy," Tirza said, opening her eyes. "Put me down for a minute," she asked. Snape complied and Tirza walked slowly over to Remus; she suddenly threw her arms around his waist. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered. Remus awkwardly patted her head. "No trouble at all," he told her. "I hope you and daddy will be friends so I can hang out with you sometimes, cuz you're really cool." Remus smiled at her. "I think that would be very nice." Tirza said goodnight and went back to Snape, who picked her up at her insistence. Remus watched Snape carry her down the hallway. "I'm afraid to sleep, can I sleep with you?" he heard Tirza ask. Remus bit back a chuckle; Severus let Tirza sleep with him? Tirza certainly had high hopes! "Of course," Snape replied. Remus shook his head in wonder; this was definitely a new Snape, and as far as he thought, a much improved Snape as well.

Three members of the Ministry of Magic appeared at Hogwarts the next morning before breakfast. One was the Wizarding Justice (again made up!) and the other two had come to test the potion and confirm Snape's conclusion of what kind of potion it was. Things were looking very bad for Marcus. "I believe that there is sufficient evidence for a trial against Mr. Flint, unless he is wise and confesses. Hogwarts can make charges, as well as the victim, Miss Shelby," the Justice told them. "Snape," Tirza said loudly. The Justice, a Mr. Vic Advokit (joke among lawyer types; victim's advocate). "Forgive me, Miss Snape," he replied and made a note of that on his parchment. "And you are bringing the charges on Miss Snape's behalf Professor Snape, as her father and legal guardian?" Severus nodded and Mr. Advokit again scribbled on the parchment. "And what action as the school decided to take, Headmaster Dumbledore?" "Mr. Flint will be caned and expelled, never to set foot on these grounds again," Dumbledore replied. "All punishments given by the school must be done before we can arrest him. Miss Snape and Professor Lupin may be required to testify at a trial if there is no confession." Snape frowned. "I do not wish anymore stress upon my daughter; would it be absolutely necessary that she testify if there is a trial?" Mr. Advokit nodded. "I can appreciate where you are coming from, but unfortunately if would be necessary, though we could clear the courtroom and leave just the Wizarding attorneys, myself and the jury; that might make it easier if need be."

It was decided that breakfast was to be enjoyed by all those involved in the teacher's lounge, putting off punishments and arrest until after wards. Marcus had been moved from the lounge to an unused office with adjoining lavatory, with many complicated spells and wards placed on him and the room to ensure that he stayed there. After breakfast, he was escorted to the headmaster's office, where Remus, Dumbledore and Lupin, as well as the Wizard Justice waited to tell him his fate. "I wasn't in this alone!" he protested. "Malfoy was too!" He was informed that the possibility of Draco as an accomplice would be checked out, but that certainly would not alleviate the charges against him. "There are very strict rules in both this school and in the wizarding world about Dark Arts and premeditated assault, particularly on a child, is not appreciated either. There is no excuse for this horrifying display of violence," Mr. Advokit told him. "You are being expelled, Mr. Flint, as we will not tolerate this to anyone who lives in this castle, whether teacher, class mate or guest. But first, you will receive a caning from the head of your house," Dumbledore spoke up. For the first time since he had been brought into the office, Marcus starting feeling scared. Expelled? His parents would kill him! Caned by Snape? Snape would kill him! "Now Miss Snape, do you wish to witness this as is your right?" Mr. Advokit asked. She nodded and went to sit beside Remus as her father stood up. She silently watched the first two of the fifteen strokes; even though she hated him, it was hard for her to watch. "Can I hold your hand?" she whispered to Remus. He nodded and took her tiny hand in his, giving it an encouraging squeeze. By the fifth stroke, she was turning green as Marcus yelled and cried. Snape paused and saw the look on Tirza's face. "Would you take her out?" he asked Remus. Not the first person he would have chosen, but at the moment he had no choice. Remus nodded and gently led her from the room as the caning continued.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked as they entered the hallway. "They're hurting him," she whispered, her face still slightly green. Remus felt confused. "It's my fault." He patted her shoulder. "You didn't cause this, he did. He made a choice to hurt you, knowing the consequences he would face if caught. If he had done this to someone else, he'd be getting the same thing." She nodded and rubbed her eyes. "But I don't like it when people hurt and that HAS to hurt." Remus wondered if she was truly Snape's daughter, having compassion for someone that could have and likely would have killed her. "Don't you worry about it; Dumbledore wouldn't allow something that he thought was unfair to be done even to someone like Flint." "Yeah," she decided. "That's true. But his poor ass is gonna hurt like hell!" She clapped her hands over her mouth and Remus smiled. "What?" he asked. "I'm not supposed to swear; don't tell my daddy or I'll get my mouth washed out with soap again," she begged. "I won't," he assured her. "I'm trying to give it up cuz daddy wants me to, but it's hard. I'm kinda like on the wagon, 'cept I don't drink booze. I did one time though and oh my god it felt weird," she told him. Remus fought the urge to laugh; Tirza was a funny little kid. Just then, Mr. Advokit led Marcus, crying and rubbing his bottom, from the office. Tirza watched them leave the school and sighed. "Are you alright?" Severus asked, coming to stand beside her. She nodded. "Ya know, he really did deserver that," she decided. "Cuz he's a meanie-moe." Severus put his arm around her shoulders. "I already told Isabel you would be late; do you feel like school or would you like the day off so you can rest?" "I'll go I like school; will you bring me though?" Snape nodded. "Bye Mr. Lupin!" Tirza yelled as she and Snape walked down the hallway.

"Alright, I'm going to walk you to grandpa's office now before I go," Snape told Tirza as he entered the sitting room. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "Are you gonna wear that?" Snape was in his usual black robes. "Get dressed up daddy!" Snape rolled his eyes. "We're not going to a beauty pageant." Tirza giggled. "Well... yeah!" He sighed. "Do you really think it's necessary to wear something else?" Tirza nodded and Snape went back to his room, shaking his head, with Tirza close behind. The end result, at Tirza's insistence, was an outfit much resembling something a muggle would wear; a pair of black pants, with a nice shirt and jacket. "Much better," Tirza announced. After walking Tirza to Dumbledore's office, Snape nervously went to Isabel's quarters and knocked on the door. Isabel opened it and smiled at him. She was wearing a knee length, blue flowered skirt and white sweater; it was simple, but beautiful. Snape cleared his throat. "You... look... beautiful," Snape slowly said. Isabel blushed prettily. "Are you ready to go?" "Yes," she answered. Isabel took a bit of initiative and linked her arm through Severus' as they left the school. Just outside the gates, they apparated.

An owl flew into Dumbledore's office and dropped a letter onto the desk. The old wizard opened it and looked it over; it was from the Ministry of Magic. They were requesting his presence at a meeting of the higher level members of confidential matters (not regarding Marcus). He sighed; this presented a problem. He had agreed to watch Tirza while Severus was out and would have to find someone to cover for him. The meeting was one he had to attend; the Ministry was considering amending one of the by-laws that he had been involved in making. He thought of whom he could ask; Minerva was doing the detentions in the dark forest, Filch was out of the question, Poppy had a patient from the earlier quidditch game and Severus hated Hagrid's animals around Tirza. The only person he could think of that he himself would trust was Remus. "Tirza?" The little girl looked up from her coloring book. "I am needed at the Ministry immediately. How would you feel if Remus Lupin watched you until I or your father returned?" Tirza smiled. "I don't mind, he's nice... but daddy might be mad." "Don't your about your father, I'll make sure he doesn't get upset over it. Gather your things and we shall go find Remus and ask him."

"Of course I can; you don't think Severus will kill me, do you?" Severus hadn't been as nasty as usual since Remus had saved Tirza, but hadn't said whether or not she was to be around him. "I'll take care of Severus when I return, I'm sure you and Tirza will have a nice evening," Dumbledore replied. "Bye grandpa," Tirza said as the headmaster left. She turned to Remus and smiled, then plopped into a large stuffed chair. "So tell me a really cool story about when you were in school; I already heard the one where daddy turned you guys into girls." Remus chuckled as several good stories came to mind.

A/N: What will Snape do when he finds out Remus has been babysitting Tirza? And what will Tirza and Remus do for fun? And what about Isabel and Severus' date? You'll just have to stay tuned... the next chapter will include the date and investigations into Draco's involvement in what Marcus did to Tirza. Tirza's sweet, she has a good heart, feeling bad for how much Marcus' caning had to hurt even though he deserved it. I'll try really hard to get the next chapter up by tomorrow night (late), but if not, then definitely Saturday afternoon.

Lady-Snape: Well, I am trying to make the characters like they are in the books (except Sev cause he needed to get kinda soft!) and use things that are in the book, like invisibility cloak, etc, but kind of on my own timeline. Sirius will come as a friend of Remus' and Harry won't know yet until that time (which will be during Christmas holidays, before Snape and Tirza leave for New York City). Hope that answers your question!

Lady Knight Nick: Thanks for your compliments! It is because of my reviewers that I keep posting, or this story would never have come so far. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Potter-Snape: Sirius, Remus and Tirza will have a lot of fun together during Sirius' visit!

LostSoul: Thanks for the email! I hope things turned out good!

Harriet Potter: Always love to see your reviews! And Sirius, along with Remus, will help Tirza get away with a little bit more of revenge!

CraJure: It may take Sevvie a while, but he'll be nicer to Remus eventually. Especially since he and Tirza will be very good friends after he baby-sits her.

AlexGray: Constructive criticism is good; everyone needs it from time to time! I think a lot of moms or grandmas invented cinni-sugar toast! It was always a fav of mine when I got sad, and still is. There will be a lot of surprises about the new Snape for Lupin; it's a pretty drastic change from the way he used to be, at least in how soft and gentle he is with Tirza or whenever she is around.

AngelsCreation: Yes, there will be a prank against Malfoy specifically, but when that will come I cannot say, but it won't be too far in the future.

Kenomee: You are absolutely right! Tirza does deserve a bit of revenge from time to time! I'm going to use Alrick's idea of Snape sitting Draco and Tirza down and telling them to calm the pranks or the next person to initiate one will be spanked in front of the other; that may bring a bit of peace for poor Sev for a few days at least, LOL! If they're smart, it will be a while before the next prank, but then that wouldn't be any fun, would it? Marcus is so definitely gone, never ever to return... if he ever did, God help him if he ran into Snape!! As much as I love Sevvie and have my own temper and stubbornness, he is one person I think would scare me into listening if I was a kid in his class! I am definitely a Slytherin at heart, too. I even got a Slytherin back pack off ebay and have been dragging it around! LOL! I love fun little things like that; besides, that was the present Aaron gave me for my surgery (since I have a hard time with allergies and flowers!) as well as a couple stuffed animals! He was so good about bringing my bunnies to me too, since I was afraid to lift them (they are all about six pounds, except for the baby, Mikey (who I base Jinn Jinn on) and he is a mini-lop, so he's only about two and a half pounds). I was very spoiled ( On the subject of Snape and Isabel becoming permanent, I really can't make up my mind cuz they both would have good storylines, so I might just put it to a poll for all my readers to vote and I'd base my decision on that.

MissLKid: Yet another fan of cinni-sugar toast! Maybe it's an international fav or something, LOL! I'm glad that you don't really have expectations for the chapters, that makes it easier for me, but I try to give myself expectations sometimes.

Raclswt: I don't think Snape will have much choice but to give in to let Tirza hang around with Lupin; after baby-sitting they'll be good friends and Tirza would go anyways, knowing her! It may just take some time for him to regard Lupin as a friend. Never understood the telephone thing either... go figure!

Alrick: I am definitely going to have Snape threaten Draco and Tirza with your suggestion; the next one to play a prank gets a spanking while the other one watches! That ought to keep them in line for a little while anyways, but of course it won't last long. Then the question is, who will start it again and who will be the first to get caught, LOL! Awesome idea about cramps or some sort of pain at the sleepover and Snape having to be a good guy... he'll be so upset about ruining his reputation of being horrifying, LOL!

Padfoot1979: Oh don't worry; Lupin will get in on the action! It's really not a fair match, Draco against Tirza. He can use his wand and such and Tirza doesn't have that. And she's entitled to a little bit of prank playing without getting caught from time to time!

Luinthoron: Excellent idea of accidental magic; I'll have to have some pop up in the next couple chapters. Any suggestions of scenarios using it?

Venus: Flint is lucky that Dumbledore didn't let Snape go to town and tear him apart! He better hope he never meets Sev in a dark alley, LOL!

SugarPrincess: I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of Snape's wrath either; unless it was something I was very passionate about, I think I'd just be good. Then there's the other side of me, the more Slytherin side that would try very hard to get detention with the potions master, LOL! Tirza will start to call him Uncle Remus in the next chapter and Uncle Remus will come in handy for some future prank playing.