Overhead, the bell rang calling everyone to the Great Hall for their
evening meal. Snape groaned and pushed himself up from his armchair where
he had fallen asleep. He pulled on his boots and walked slowly out of his
room, making his way up towards the Great Hall at a shockingly slow pace.
As usual he was the last to enter the Hall and sat down next to McGonagall. To his slight surprise, he found that Rhan was not seated at the meal. Neither was Mr Longbottom.
Food appeared on his plate and he toyed with a chicken leg before taking a bite and ignoring everyone around him - his usual tack-tic. He speared one of his potatoes rather viscously, and lifted the fork to his mouth.
The Great Hall doors burst open and standing in the middle was a rather flustered looking Neville Longbottom.
"S-sir.I-its Rhan," He said, with those words everything stopped and Dumbledore stood up, followed closely by Snape.
"What's wrong with her, Neville?" Dumbledore asked with a calm air that infuriated Snape for some unknown reason.
"She's been a-attacked," He said.
"Where is she?" Snape demanded loudly. McGonagall looked at him through the corner of her eyes.
"I-in the Owlery," He said quietly before fainting.
Snape stood up and walked out of the Great hall with Dumbledore at his heels. He turned to corners automatically and nearly found himself running to arrive at the Owlery quicker.
When he pushed open the door, he caught sight of her dark hair spread over the floor, amongst the bird droppings and straw, a small pool of blood by the side of her head and matted in her hair. He bent down and felt for a pulse. Picking her up effortlessly, he followed Dumbledore to the hospital wing.
Dumbledore had alerted Poppy, who was standing there wringing her hands and ushered Snape and Dumbledore into the hospital wing. She glanced up at Rhan and ordered Snape to put down on the nearest bed, whilst she ran into her office and scurried out with an armful of different bottles and bandages.
She ordered Snape and Dumbledore out of the room. Snape opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by a look from those electric blue eyes. Instead he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
Seating himself on a chair in the room adjoining the hospital wing he began picking rather violently at the fraying arm of the chair, pulling out the weaved threads. Dumbledore sat opposite him and watched him for a moment in silence.
*What has gotten into you man?* He thought.
"Severus, what is wrong?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nothing," He said somewhat childishly and continued killing the arm of the chair.
"You are worried about her aren't you?" Dumbledore said softly.
Severus immediately stopped and glared at a pair of twinkling blue eyes. He grumbled something under his breath.
"You are allowed to be you know," Albus smiling.
"I don't have to listen to this," He replied, standing up and walking out of the room.
*~*~*
Rhan opened her eyes slowly. An immediate throbbing in the back of her head started pounding. Wincing, she slid up three plump cushions and found herself in the hospital wing.
Looking around, she saw a figure cloaked in black sitting in a chair next to her, sleeping, a book resting on his chest, his dark hair hanging over his face. She smiled at the figure and a warm tingling sensation filled her body.
The world outside the hospital wing was drenched in darkness. She stared out of the window at the twinkling stars. A bright one shone down on her. Sliding out of bed, using the wall for support she walked unsteadily over to the window and gazed up at the stars.
The brightest one twinkled down n her, radiating happiness. Her mother's words filled her head, 'Once I'm gone, look up at the stars, they will guide you. You will never be truly alone. In the darkest shadows of the world, there will be a light inside you that will never flicker and die. I will always watch over you, I will always love you.'
A tear rolled down her cheek and she rested a finger on the glass over that brightest star.
"Mum," She whispered.
Snape stirred from his slumber and glanced over at Rhan's bed. It was empty. Panic filled his mind; a sniff averted his gaze to the window. He stood up, placing his book on the table and walked over to her.
"Professor," Rhan whispered.
"Rhan," He said,
"He's coming to get me," She said, her voice shaking.
"How do you know this?"
"He told me." Rhan said taking his hand in hers and holding it tight. "He's gonna kill me,"
Snape blinked a few times and said the first thing that came into his mind. "I won't let him,"
Rhan did a double take and stared at him for a moment. He turned his face away and shifted uncomfortably.
"You don't know how much that means to me," Rhan whispered. Their faces were inches apart.
"You'd best get some sleep, else Poppy wont be happy." Snape said.
He stood up, dropping her hand, picked up his book and walked to the other end of the room.
Severus walked out of the hospital wing shaking. Rhan's words going round and round his head, you don't know how much that means to me. Did he mean something to her? She meant something to him.
*~*~*~*
Rhan was up and allowed out the next day. With no hesitation, she made her way down to the dungeons. Knocking of the Potion Master's office, a grumble came from the other side of the door and Rhan pushed it open.
The professor was sitting at his desk up to his elbows in parchment, marking end of term examinations and homework.
"Ah, Ms Mackenzie. What can I do for you?" He asked. *Why do you have to be so formal?* he thought. *Ah yes, I remember, you NEARLY KISSED HER!*
"I was, err, wondering if there was anything I could, err, do to help?" She asked, looking around the office at the shelves full of an assortment of ingredients. One of Rhan's friend's was sure that he had seen human pickled eyeballs in there once before.
"Well, no not really." He replied. *What are you doing you fool?* He thought. "Actually, you could go into the stock cupboard. There is a box full of pink jars. I think that there are about twelve of them. Bring them in here and I'll tell you what to do with them after that."
Rhan nodded and walked through one of the doors into the stock cupboard. There were indeed twelve of the jars filled with a pink substance. She brought them through and placed them on a small table and unpacked them.
"Now, we need to check to see if they are in date. If you open the lid, the substance should be soft and flexible. If it is not then it is out of date. Also if it smells like burnt toast, but it is still soft then put it in the pile as well."
Rhan nodded and a companionable silence filled the office.
"A traveller," Rhan said, "My father was." She said striking up conversation.
"Oh," Snape replied shocked by the forwardness of what Rhan had just said. "Travel far?"
"Yeah, he went around the world studying endangered animals for the ministry, then they sacked him,"
"Oh," Severus repeated, really unsure about where this conversation was going.
"That's when he turned to drink." Rhan said, her voice was beginning to shake.
"You don't have to tell me this," Snape said stopping his marking and resting his elbows on the parchment, looking into her face.
"Ma had to go out and get a job," She carried on as if she hadn't heard Snape's last comment.
"Dad didn't like this, he felt she was trying to control the house, he thought that was his job. That's when the arguments began."
Snape nodded, feeling like a bloody nodding dog on a car dashboard.
"At first, they were just small tiffs but one night Dad hit ma," Rhan said, her voice breaking slightly.
Snape stood up and walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off carrying on sorting through the jars.
"I guess h-he liked it, coz he carried on. And then he started getting angry at me." She sniffed, but picked up another jar and poked it harshly with a finger. Finding it was in date she screwed the lid on and put it in one of the two piles. "For little things, like putting too much sugar in his tea or forgetting to buy his paper at the shops."
Snape nodded. "He was obviously upset at loosing his job,"
"You don't understand." Rhan whispered. "He *liked* it,"
Severus looked at her for a moment. A tear dropped onto the desk and Rhan lifted up her top revealing her back to him. She could hear Snape gasp and she clamped her eyes shut.
Snape gasped as he saw the scars twisting and crossing over her back. The smaller ones were a lighter pink, the longer deeper ones where a darker pink. A large gash trailed from her right shoulder blade down to the middle of her spine. He could see that it had gotten infected and fragments of glass glinted in the light at him. He ran a finger around it and Rhan winced.
"A beer bottle," was all she needed to say.
An image flashed before her eyes,
*Her father shouting, her mum cowering in the corner by the couch clutching her face, blood seeping through her fingers. Her father was yelling at her to leave her mum alone, she would be fine and that she deserved it. Rhan ignored him and bent over her, trying to pry her fingers away from her face so that she could wrap a bandage around the cuts. A sudden crash, and searing pain running up and down her back causing her right arm to go numb. Alcohol stinging the cut, blood seeping through her top making it damp, her screams of pain together with her mother's weeping and her father's verbal abuse completed the memory.*
"He done this to you," Snape whispered, anger bubbling up inside him.
Rhan nodded. Snape pulled her round and embraced her tight careful not to hurt her scars and gashes. Rhan rested her head on his shoulder and cried.
"You should get that one checked out," Snape whispered into her hair,
"I know, but she'll ask questions."
"You don't have to answer them," Severus replied. "Come on," He said.
She allowed herself to be led out of the dungeons and up to the hospital wing fr the second time that day.
As usual he was the last to enter the Hall and sat down next to McGonagall. To his slight surprise, he found that Rhan was not seated at the meal. Neither was Mr Longbottom.
Food appeared on his plate and he toyed with a chicken leg before taking a bite and ignoring everyone around him - his usual tack-tic. He speared one of his potatoes rather viscously, and lifted the fork to his mouth.
The Great Hall doors burst open and standing in the middle was a rather flustered looking Neville Longbottom.
"S-sir.I-its Rhan," He said, with those words everything stopped and Dumbledore stood up, followed closely by Snape.
"What's wrong with her, Neville?" Dumbledore asked with a calm air that infuriated Snape for some unknown reason.
"She's been a-attacked," He said.
"Where is she?" Snape demanded loudly. McGonagall looked at him through the corner of her eyes.
"I-in the Owlery," He said quietly before fainting.
Snape stood up and walked out of the Great hall with Dumbledore at his heels. He turned to corners automatically and nearly found himself running to arrive at the Owlery quicker.
When he pushed open the door, he caught sight of her dark hair spread over the floor, amongst the bird droppings and straw, a small pool of blood by the side of her head and matted in her hair. He bent down and felt for a pulse. Picking her up effortlessly, he followed Dumbledore to the hospital wing.
Dumbledore had alerted Poppy, who was standing there wringing her hands and ushered Snape and Dumbledore into the hospital wing. She glanced up at Rhan and ordered Snape to put down on the nearest bed, whilst she ran into her office and scurried out with an armful of different bottles and bandages.
She ordered Snape and Dumbledore out of the room. Snape opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by a look from those electric blue eyes. Instead he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
Seating himself on a chair in the room adjoining the hospital wing he began picking rather violently at the fraying arm of the chair, pulling out the weaved threads. Dumbledore sat opposite him and watched him for a moment in silence.
*What has gotten into you man?* He thought.
"Severus, what is wrong?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nothing," He said somewhat childishly and continued killing the arm of the chair.
"You are worried about her aren't you?" Dumbledore said softly.
Severus immediately stopped and glared at a pair of twinkling blue eyes. He grumbled something under his breath.
"You are allowed to be you know," Albus smiling.
"I don't have to listen to this," He replied, standing up and walking out of the room.
*~*~*
Rhan opened her eyes slowly. An immediate throbbing in the back of her head started pounding. Wincing, she slid up three plump cushions and found herself in the hospital wing.
Looking around, she saw a figure cloaked in black sitting in a chair next to her, sleeping, a book resting on his chest, his dark hair hanging over his face. She smiled at the figure and a warm tingling sensation filled her body.
The world outside the hospital wing was drenched in darkness. She stared out of the window at the twinkling stars. A bright one shone down on her. Sliding out of bed, using the wall for support she walked unsteadily over to the window and gazed up at the stars.
The brightest one twinkled down n her, radiating happiness. Her mother's words filled her head, 'Once I'm gone, look up at the stars, they will guide you. You will never be truly alone. In the darkest shadows of the world, there will be a light inside you that will never flicker and die. I will always watch over you, I will always love you.'
A tear rolled down her cheek and she rested a finger on the glass over that brightest star.
"Mum," She whispered.
Snape stirred from his slumber and glanced over at Rhan's bed. It was empty. Panic filled his mind; a sniff averted his gaze to the window. He stood up, placing his book on the table and walked over to her.
"Professor," Rhan whispered.
"Rhan," He said,
"He's coming to get me," She said, her voice shaking.
"How do you know this?"
"He told me." Rhan said taking his hand in hers and holding it tight. "He's gonna kill me,"
Snape blinked a few times and said the first thing that came into his mind. "I won't let him,"
Rhan did a double take and stared at him for a moment. He turned his face away and shifted uncomfortably.
"You don't know how much that means to me," Rhan whispered. Their faces were inches apart.
"You'd best get some sleep, else Poppy wont be happy." Snape said.
He stood up, dropping her hand, picked up his book and walked to the other end of the room.
Severus walked out of the hospital wing shaking. Rhan's words going round and round his head, you don't know how much that means to me. Did he mean something to her? She meant something to him.
*~*~*~*
Rhan was up and allowed out the next day. With no hesitation, she made her way down to the dungeons. Knocking of the Potion Master's office, a grumble came from the other side of the door and Rhan pushed it open.
The professor was sitting at his desk up to his elbows in parchment, marking end of term examinations and homework.
"Ah, Ms Mackenzie. What can I do for you?" He asked. *Why do you have to be so formal?* he thought. *Ah yes, I remember, you NEARLY KISSED HER!*
"I was, err, wondering if there was anything I could, err, do to help?" She asked, looking around the office at the shelves full of an assortment of ingredients. One of Rhan's friend's was sure that he had seen human pickled eyeballs in there once before.
"Well, no not really." He replied. *What are you doing you fool?* He thought. "Actually, you could go into the stock cupboard. There is a box full of pink jars. I think that there are about twelve of them. Bring them in here and I'll tell you what to do with them after that."
Rhan nodded and walked through one of the doors into the stock cupboard. There were indeed twelve of the jars filled with a pink substance. She brought them through and placed them on a small table and unpacked them.
"Now, we need to check to see if they are in date. If you open the lid, the substance should be soft and flexible. If it is not then it is out of date. Also if it smells like burnt toast, but it is still soft then put it in the pile as well."
Rhan nodded and a companionable silence filled the office.
"A traveller," Rhan said, "My father was." She said striking up conversation.
"Oh," Snape replied shocked by the forwardness of what Rhan had just said. "Travel far?"
"Yeah, he went around the world studying endangered animals for the ministry, then they sacked him,"
"Oh," Severus repeated, really unsure about where this conversation was going.
"That's when he turned to drink." Rhan said, her voice was beginning to shake.
"You don't have to tell me this," Snape said stopping his marking and resting his elbows on the parchment, looking into her face.
"Ma had to go out and get a job," She carried on as if she hadn't heard Snape's last comment.
"Dad didn't like this, he felt she was trying to control the house, he thought that was his job. That's when the arguments began."
Snape nodded, feeling like a bloody nodding dog on a car dashboard.
"At first, they were just small tiffs but one night Dad hit ma," Rhan said, her voice breaking slightly.
Snape stood up and walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off carrying on sorting through the jars.
"I guess h-he liked it, coz he carried on. And then he started getting angry at me." She sniffed, but picked up another jar and poked it harshly with a finger. Finding it was in date she screwed the lid on and put it in one of the two piles. "For little things, like putting too much sugar in his tea or forgetting to buy his paper at the shops."
Snape nodded. "He was obviously upset at loosing his job,"
"You don't understand." Rhan whispered. "He *liked* it,"
Severus looked at her for a moment. A tear dropped onto the desk and Rhan lifted up her top revealing her back to him. She could hear Snape gasp and she clamped her eyes shut.
Snape gasped as he saw the scars twisting and crossing over her back. The smaller ones were a lighter pink, the longer deeper ones where a darker pink. A large gash trailed from her right shoulder blade down to the middle of her spine. He could see that it had gotten infected and fragments of glass glinted in the light at him. He ran a finger around it and Rhan winced.
"A beer bottle," was all she needed to say.
An image flashed before her eyes,
*Her father shouting, her mum cowering in the corner by the couch clutching her face, blood seeping through her fingers. Her father was yelling at her to leave her mum alone, she would be fine and that she deserved it. Rhan ignored him and bent over her, trying to pry her fingers away from her face so that she could wrap a bandage around the cuts. A sudden crash, and searing pain running up and down her back causing her right arm to go numb. Alcohol stinging the cut, blood seeping through her top making it damp, her screams of pain together with her mother's weeping and her father's verbal abuse completed the memory.*
"He done this to you," Snape whispered, anger bubbling up inside him.
Rhan nodded. Snape pulled her round and embraced her tight careful not to hurt her scars and gashes. Rhan rested her head on his shoulder and cried.
"You should get that one checked out," Snape whispered into her hair,
"I know, but she'll ask questions."
"You don't have to answer them," Severus replied. "Come on," He said.
She allowed herself to be led out of the dungeons and up to the hospital wing fr the second time that day.