Is There No Sanctuary?
By Barbara Kennedy
This is going to be a very short vignette, my very first fan fiction by
the way.
It is a short story of a possible behind-the-scene happening with
Professor Severus Snape very late one night, near the end of Goblet of
Fire, after the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Author's Note: I've decided to draw out this story to at least three
chapters, maybe four. It is also slowly getting revised as I look it over
before posting it here, so we'll just see what we wind up with at the
end. I just can't seem to leave the story alone. Poor Snape!
See replies to last chapter's reviews at the bottom of this chapter. New
reviews are nice [hint, hint].
DISCLAIMER: As usual, none of these characters are mine. I've just
borrowed them from J. K. Rowling, with many thanks.
Chapter 2 Realizations and Healing
Before anyone could react to Snape's sudden collapse, the door to Madam
Pomfrey's office opened and she stood there in her night robe and bed
cap, with a tray in her hands loaded with bottles, bandages, instruments
and a long shallow pan.
"Merlin's beard, Albus! What in the world just happened?"
She hurried over to Snape, setting the tray on the floor near his head.
Kneeling, she felt for his pulse at the point of his jaw, it was rapid
and faint. She felt him shivering and noticed that his breathing was
quick and shallow and his skin was pale and clammy. "I'm afraid he's in
shock."
Dumbledore knelt beside them, his face showing concern.
"He was just telling us that he believes he has been experiencing
multiple Transferal Charm effects of Voldemort branding the Dark Mark on
new followers, several times since midday. Apparently the latest one was
more than he could bear. He was too proud to confide in anyone earlier,
I'm afraid. You know how he can be, Poppy. He grabbed his arm and fell
from the chair just before you opened the door. His arm did not look that
bad when I saw it just minutes earlier."
"I need some light" she said, taking out her wand and pointing to a lamp
sconce on the wall nearby, "Illuminus." The lamp glowed brightly,
lighting half the room.
Dumbledore watched as Madam Pomfrey took Severus' left hand in hers and
gently examined the arm that was still seeping blood and radiating heat.
The blisters were gone, leaving a skinless raw area where his Dark Mark
still showed lightly, as if drawn in ashes on his exposed flesh.
"Poor man, hasn't he suffered enough? Oh, dear, it looks like someone
just held his arm over a bed of embers. Here, help me get him over to
this bed." She said as she got up and lifted the tray to a table near an
empty bed across the aisle from Moody, who was watching curiously from
his pillow.
Dumbledore rose nimbly from the floor and held his hand over Snape, who
gently drifted up from the floor, limp as a rag doll, and over to the
bed.
"Hold him up, please, while I remove his cloak and shirt. It will be
easier to tend him and he will be more comfortable."
She took out her wand, pointed it to his shoulders, and uttered "Vestem
Exue." Snape's dark hooded cloak, waistcoat and shirt fell to the bed,
exposing his slim frame to his waist. She quickly dropped the clothes to
the floor, kicked them under the bed and indicated he should be lowered
now. She held his arm and head and guided him onto the pillows as
Dumbledore gently lowered him.
She pointed to the pan with her wand and said "Aqua Frigida" and it was
partly filled with water. She placed the pan on the bed next to his left
side and lowered Snape's arm into it, the water turning a pink color as
it was tinged with blood. "This will stop the burning, now let's see
about his skin too" She then opened a large green potion bottle and
poured half its clear contents into the water turning it slightly milky.
A woodsy odor wafted from the pan, like a forest glen after spring rains.
"This will remove the heat and heal the damage unless he is assaulted
with any further Charms. Albus, is there anything you can do to prevent
that?"
Dumbledore nodded, "I certainly can, Poppy. You just do what you must for
him and I will prevent any further damage from occurring."
Dumbledore retreated to the foot of the bed and took out his wand.
Tracing a circle around the bed with his wand, he performed a powerful
protective charm.
"That will prevent any magical effects reaching anyone from outside the
circle, Poppy. You may still do magic within the circle however. I didn't
want to interfere should you need to use any magic on him yourself. If
you need the circle lowered at any time, please notify me, as I am the
only one who can remove it."
"Thank you, Headmaster. I don't know whether I'll need to use any magic
on him unless I have to bind him to the bed long enough to treat him. He
may be coming around soon and he is not the most cooperative person I've
ever known. I want to let his arm soak in the healing potion for a bit
longer before I bandage it. I think he will recover from this attack. I
was more worried about him being in shock, but he is recovering from that
now that the pain is lessening. He isn't breathing as shallow and he has
just about stopped shivering. What is left may be due to the ice water I
put in the pan he's soaking in. When he does come around, a dose of
Pepper-up Potion should take care of any lingering effects."
Well, in that case Poppy, I will leave our esteemed Potions Master and
your other patients" he said as looked around the hospital wing, "in your
capable hands and toddle off to bed myself, perhaps after a cup of hot
chocolate." Turning to the other side of the room, he saw Alastor Moody
still awake. "Goodnight Alastor, I will see you in the morning. You
should go back to sleep yourself. There are many things I would like to
discuss with you in the morning about the new Death Eaters that Voldemort
has apparently recruited. I'd like to hear more about your little
adventure as well."
Moody gave a gravelly chuckle, "I suppose I had better, Albus, before
Madam Pomfrey pours a sleeping potion down my throat as well. She was
threatening to do so when you and Snape came in and I do believe she
meant it. Ye know, Albus, I don't think she appreciates my company."
"I won't have you possibly waking anyone else. I have a lot to do
tomorrow. I have more than you to care for. So if you don't settle in and
go back to sleep you will take a sleeping potion, ex-Auror or no." Madam
Pomfrey stated in a no-nonsense tone, hands on her hips.
Moody's good eye was glittering with a touch of humor and his scarred
face showed a bit more color than it had when he was taken from his
imprisonment in his own trunk. His wild grey hair had been trimmed to
even it out somewhat. His wooden leg with the clawed foot carved at the
end of it still sat on the stand next to his bed.
"I guess this is one battle I'd better not fight, eh, Albus? You go on to
bed and I will try to sleep. I hate to admit but I'm still not quite
ready for a fight yet. I'll see you after breakfast then? Goodnight." He
reached up to his face and with a squelching pop, removed his magical eye
and put it in the water glass next to his wooden leg on the stand. He
then turned over and pulled the covers up to his shoulders.
On his way out of the hospital wing, Albus Dumbledore took a brief look
behind the partition at the boy asleep on the bed there. A deep sadness
showed on his face as he gazed at the sleeping figure. He sighed and
turned to leave, dabbing at his eye with a linen handkerchief he brought
out of a pocket in his robe.
Moody was soon asleep and lightly snoring across the aisle.
Madame Pomfrey had removed Snape's shoes and was lifting the covers from
the foot of the bed and covered him, leaving his left arm and the pan
uncovered, when he groaned and started to show signs of waking.
"Hush, Severus, be still." She said, as she steadied the pan of potion
and placed her gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving.
"Don't go thrashing about or you'll be lying in a wet bed."
He took a long shuddering breath and slowly opened his eyes. "I am aware
that you have my arm in a pan, Madam Pomfrey, I will be still. You may
release my shoulder." He looked at the ceiling as he spoke.
When she had moved, he looked around at where he was.
"How long have I been here?"
"Not very long, Severus, not quite an hour, I think. The Headmaster has
gone to bed and left you in my care."
She opened another bottle from her tray and poured a generous measure of
a potion into a glass. "Here, drink this, you were in shock and this will
help. I still need to bandage your arm and you should stay here for the
rest of the night, at least. The Headmaster himself placed a protective
charm around this bed so you will not be tortured any longer while you
are here"
"I appreciate your concern, Madam Pomfrey. I will let you bandage my arm,
but then I am going to my own rooms. I have to go out again tomorrow. It
will do no good to argue. I am going." Poppy was clearly annoyed at him
as she handed him the glass.
He quickly downed the glass of potion and steam wafted from his ears.
"Ridiculous side-effect." he muttered as he lay back on the pillow.
Madam Pomfrey recognized Snape's stubborn expression. She may as well try
to reason with a stone gargoyle. At least the gargoyle wouldn't
interrupt. Figuring that it would probably do more harm than good to
argue with him, she agreed.
"Where are my clothes and my shoes?"
"They are on the floor under your bed, at the moment. I haven't had a
chance to do anything else with them yet."
She was gently lifting his arm from the pan by his left side. She moved
the pan off the bed one-handed and spread a towel under his arm.
She began to examine the area where his Mark had been so raw before. The
skin was still an angry red, but it was no longer looking like a piece of
undercooked meat. There was a thin layer of new skin where it had been
open wound just minutes earlier. "It looks much better. I don't think
you will be able to tell it was so bad in a few days. Let me dab it dry
and spread this ointment on it to keep it from itching. You don't want to
damage the new skin by scratching or it will scar."
"I am aware what their functions are, as I do make some of these potions,
you will remember." Snape said irritably and rolled his eyes.
Madame Pomfrey's eyes blazed and she pursed her lips. "Very well Severus,
you just hold still then and I will finish this as soon as I can so you
can leave for your dungeon and potions and I can finally get some rest
too!"
In spite of her harsh tone, her hands were gentle as she took a pad of
gauze and dipped it into a jar of a gel-like cucumber-green clear salve
and covered the new skin in a thin layer.
Snape closed his eyes and was surprisingly quiet while she worked. As she
closed the jar of ointment, Snape turned his face and looked at her. His
eyes held a hint of sadness. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have spoken like
that, but I really must go. I have an important potion brewing that needs
attention by morning. It is why I returned tonight. I appreciate all that
you and our Headmaster have done for me. It is probably more than I
deserve."
Madam Pomfrey was taken by surprise at his words. She had never heard him
apologize to anyone but Albus Dumbledore before. Her expression softened
again and she returned her gaze to his arm.
"That is not true Severus. You deserve to be treated with respect and
consideration as well as anyone. You've earned the trust of Albus
Dumbledore. That says a great deal about you to me. Now hold your arm up
like this while I wrap it."
She reached and got the roll of bandages from the tray and began winding
it around his arm in snug, but not too tight, spirals from his wrist to
just below his elbow.
"There you are. It should not be visible under your sleeve now. I know
you wanted anything about this to be secret. At least come back and let
me see how it is healing sometime tomorrow before you leave. Let me get
your clothes. Oh dear, I'm afraid I'll need to repair them. I removed
them in a hurry."
She leaned down and got his clothing from the floor and drew her wand.
"Reparo, Reparo, Reparo."
She placed the pile of clothes on the bed and said "Let me help you on
with these."
"No," he said quickly, "I can manage by myself quite well, thank you." He
pushed off the blankets, sat up and quickly drew on his shirt, slipping
his bandaged arm into the sleeve first.
As he dressed, Madam Pomfrey observed him as she bustled around. She
returned the tray to her office and disposed of the pan of potion,
magically cleaning it and placing it away for future use. She also put
out the candle still burning by Moody's bedside before returning to
Snape, who was just finished with putting on his shoes.
"Do you know if it will be safe for you to leave the protective circle
that Professor Dumbledore put up for you?"
"I won't know until I leave it now, will I?"
TO BE CONTINUED....
Spell descriptions: [* my creation]
*Illuminus - creates a bright source of light equal to fluorescent
lighting.
*Vestem Exue - literally "remove the clothes," can be targeted to
specific areas or articles of clothing.
Reparo - repairs damage. (I wasn't sure if it was the right spell to fix
clothes, but couldn't find anything else to work.)
Answers to first chapter reviews -
Darkhorse7 - Thank you for being my first reviewer on this site! Yes, the
story will continue, at least for a couple more chapters. It is a
vignette, meaning short. It was originally meant to be a one-chapter
story only. The story has already been written, but I keep revising it.
I like to get a few reviews before I post the next chapter. I do plan on
writing a few more stories eventually, but I do as more reading than
writing, so it is slow.
Ilmare2, AmajoS, and Moofegurl - Thank you for your kind words and
encouragement. I'm a Severus Snape fan [and Alan Rickman fan] and it
shows in my stories.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter too.
By Barbara Kennedy
This is going to be a very short vignette, my very first fan fiction by
the way.
It is a short story of a possible behind-the-scene happening with
Professor Severus Snape very late one night, near the end of Goblet of
Fire, after the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Author's Note: I've decided to draw out this story to at least three
chapters, maybe four. It is also slowly getting revised as I look it over
before posting it here, so we'll just see what we wind up with at the
end. I just can't seem to leave the story alone. Poor Snape!
See replies to last chapter's reviews at the bottom of this chapter. New
reviews are nice [hint, hint].
DISCLAIMER: As usual, none of these characters are mine. I've just
borrowed them from J. K. Rowling, with many thanks.
Chapter 2 Realizations and Healing
Before anyone could react to Snape's sudden collapse, the door to Madam
Pomfrey's office opened and she stood there in her night robe and bed
cap, with a tray in her hands loaded with bottles, bandages, instruments
and a long shallow pan.
"Merlin's beard, Albus! What in the world just happened?"
She hurried over to Snape, setting the tray on the floor near his head.
Kneeling, she felt for his pulse at the point of his jaw, it was rapid
and faint. She felt him shivering and noticed that his breathing was
quick and shallow and his skin was pale and clammy. "I'm afraid he's in
shock."
Dumbledore knelt beside them, his face showing concern.
"He was just telling us that he believes he has been experiencing
multiple Transferal Charm effects of Voldemort branding the Dark Mark on
new followers, several times since midday. Apparently the latest one was
more than he could bear. He was too proud to confide in anyone earlier,
I'm afraid. You know how he can be, Poppy. He grabbed his arm and fell
from the chair just before you opened the door. His arm did not look that
bad when I saw it just minutes earlier."
"I need some light" she said, taking out her wand and pointing to a lamp
sconce on the wall nearby, "Illuminus." The lamp glowed brightly,
lighting half the room.
Dumbledore watched as Madam Pomfrey took Severus' left hand in hers and
gently examined the arm that was still seeping blood and radiating heat.
The blisters were gone, leaving a skinless raw area where his Dark Mark
still showed lightly, as if drawn in ashes on his exposed flesh.
"Poor man, hasn't he suffered enough? Oh, dear, it looks like someone
just held his arm over a bed of embers. Here, help me get him over to
this bed." She said as she got up and lifted the tray to a table near an
empty bed across the aisle from Moody, who was watching curiously from
his pillow.
Dumbledore rose nimbly from the floor and held his hand over Snape, who
gently drifted up from the floor, limp as a rag doll, and over to the
bed.
"Hold him up, please, while I remove his cloak and shirt. It will be
easier to tend him and he will be more comfortable."
She took out her wand, pointed it to his shoulders, and uttered "Vestem
Exue." Snape's dark hooded cloak, waistcoat and shirt fell to the bed,
exposing his slim frame to his waist. She quickly dropped the clothes to
the floor, kicked them under the bed and indicated he should be lowered
now. She held his arm and head and guided him onto the pillows as
Dumbledore gently lowered him.
She pointed to the pan with her wand and said "Aqua Frigida" and it was
partly filled with water. She placed the pan on the bed next to his left
side and lowered Snape's arm into it, the water turning a pink color as
it was tinged with blood. "This will stop the burning, now let's see
about his skin too" She then opened a large green potion bottle and
poured half its clear contents into the water turning it slightly milky.
A woodsy odor wafted from the pan, like a forest glen after spring rains.
"This will remove the heat and heal the damage unless he is assaulted
with any further Charms. Albus, is there anything you can do to prevent
that?"
Dumbledore nodded, "I certainly can, Poppy. You just do what you must for
him and I will prevent any further damage from occurring."
Dumbledore retreated to the foot of the bed and took out his wand.
Tracing a circle around the bed with his wand, he performed a powerful
protective charm.
"That will prevent any magical effects reaching anyone from outside the
circle, Poppy. You may still do magic within the circle however. I didn't
want to interfere should you need to use any magic on him yourself. If
you need the circle lowered at any time, please notify me, as I am the
only one who can remove it."
"Thank you, Headmaster. I don't know whether I'll need to use any magic
on him unless I have to bind him to the bed long enough to treat him. He
may be coming around soon and he is not the most cooperative person I've
ever known. I want to let his arm soak in the healing potion for a bit
longer before I bandage it. I think he will recover from this attack. I
was more worried about him being in shock, but he is recovering from that
now that the pain is lessening. He isn't breathing as shallow and he has
just about stopped shivering. What is left may be due to the ice water I
put in the pan he's soaking in. When he does come around, a dose of
Pepper-up Potion should take care of any lingering effects."
Well, in that case Poppy, I will leave our esteemed Potions Master and
your other patients" he said as looked around the hospital wing, "in your
capable hands and toddle off to bed myself, perhaps after a cup of hot
chocolate." Turning to the other side of the room, he saw Alastor Moody
still awake. "Goodnight Alastor, I will see you in the morning. You
should go back to sleep yourself. There are many things I would like to
discuss with you in the morning about the new Death Eaters that Voldemort
has apparently recruited. I'd like to hear more about your little
adventure as well."
Moody gave a gravelly chuckle, "I suppose I had better, Albus, before
Madam Pomfrey pours a sleeping potion down my throat as well. She was
threatening to do so when you and Snape came in and I do believe she
meant it. Ye know, Albus, I don't think she appreciates my company."
"I won't have you possibly waking anyone else. I have a lot to do
tomorrow. I have more than you to care for. So if you don't settle in and
go back to sleep you will take a sleeping potion, ex-Auror or no." Madam
Pomfrey stated in a no-nonsense tone, hands on her hips.
Moody's good eye was glittering with a touch of humor and his scarred
face showed a bit more color than it had when he was taken from his
imprisonment in his own trunk. His wild grey hair had been trimmed to
even it out somewhat. His wooden leg with the clawed foot carved at the
end of it still sat on the stand next to his bed.
"I guess this is one battle I'd better not fight, eh, Albus? You go on to
bed and I will try to sleep. I hate to admit but I'm still not quite
ready for a fight yet. I'll see you after breakfast then? Goodnight." He
reached up to his face and with a squelching pop, removed his magical eye
and put it in the water glass next to his wooden leg on the stand. He
then turned over and pulled the covers up to his shoulders.
On his way out of the hospital wing, Albus Dumbledore took a brief look
behind the partition at the boy asleep on the bed there. A deep sadness
showed on his face as he gazed at the sleeping figure. He sighed and
turned to leave, dabbing at his eye with a linen handkerchief he brought
out of a pocket in his robe.
Moody was soon asleep and lightly snoring across the aisle.
Madame Pomfrey had removed Snape's shoes and was lifting the covers from
the foot of the bed and covered him, leaving his left arm and the pan
uncovered, when he groaned and started to show signs of waking.
"Hush, Severus, be still." She said, as she steadied the pan of potion
and placed her gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him from moving.
"Don't go thrashing about or you'll be lying in a wet bed."
He took a long shuddering breath and slowly opened his eyes. "I am aware
that you have my arm in a pan, Madam Pomfrey, I will be still. You may
release my shoulder." He looked at the ceiling as he spoke.
When she had moved, he looked around at where he was.
"How long have I been here?"
"Not very long, Severus, not quite an hour, I think. The Headmaster has
gone to bed and left you in my care."
She opened another bottle from her tray and poured a generous measure of
a potion into a glass. "Here, drink this, you were in shock and this will
help. I still need to bandage your arm and you should stay here for the
rest of the night, at least. The Headmaster himself placed a protective
charm around this bed so you will not be tortured any longer while you
are here"
"I appreciate your concern, Madam Pomfrey. I will let you bandage my arm,
but then I am going to my own rooms. I have to go out again tomorrow. It
will do no good to argue. I am going." Poppy was clearly annoyed at him
as she handed him the glass.
He quickly downed the glass of potion and steam wafted from his ears.
"Ridiculous side-effect." he muttered as he lay back on the pillow.
Madam Pomfrey recognized Snape's stubborn expression. She may as well try
to reason with a stone gargoyle. At least the gargoyle wouldn't
interrupt. Figuring that it would probably do more harm than good to
argue with him, she agreed.
"Where are my clothes and my shoes?"
"They are on the floor under your bed, at the moment. I haven't had a
chance to do anything else with them yet."
She was gently lifting his arm from the pan by his left side. She moved
the pan off the bed one-handed and spread a towel under his arm.
She began to examine the area where his Mark had been so raw before. The
skin was still an angry red, but it was no longer looking like a piece of
undercooked meat. There was a thin layer of new skin where it had been
open wound just minutes earlier. "It looks much better. I don't think
you will be able to tell it was so bad in a few days. Let me dab it dry
and spread this ointment on it to keep it from itching. You don't want to
damage the new skin by scratching or it will scar."
"I am aware what their functions are, as I do make some of these potions,
you will remember." Snape said irritably and rolled his eyes.
Madame Pomfrey's eyes blazed and she pursed her lips. "Very well Severus,
you just hold still then and I will finish this as soon as I can so you
can leave for your dungeon and potions and I can finally get some rest
too!"
In spite of her harsh tone, her hands were gentle as she took a pad of
gauze and dipped it into a jar of a gel-like cucumber-green clear salve
and covered the new skin in a thin layer.
Snape closed his eyes and was surprisingly quiet while she worked. As she
closed the jar of ointment, Snape turned his face and looked at her. His
eyes held a hint of sadness. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have spoken like
that, but I really must go. I have an important potion brewing that needs
attention by morning. It is why I returned tonight. I appreciate all that
you and our Headmaster have done for me. It is probably more than I
deserve."
Madam Pomfrey was taken by surprise at his words. She had never heard him
apologize to anyone but Albus Dumbledore before. Her expression softened
again and she returned her gaze to his arm.
"That is not true Severus. You deserve to be treated with respect and
consideration as well as anyone. You've earned the trust of Albus
Dumbledore. That says a great deal about you to me. Now hold your arm up
like this while I wrap it."
She reached and got the roll of bandages from the tray and began winding
it around his arm in snug, but not too tight, spirals from his wrist to
just below his elbow.
"There you are. It should not be visible under your sleeve now. I know
you wanted anything about this to be secret. At least come back and let
me see how it is healing sometime tomorrow before you leave. Let me get
your clothes. Oh dear, I'm afraid I'll need to repair them. I removed
them in a hurry."
She leaned down and got his clothing from the floor and drew her wand.
"Reparo, Reparo, Reparo."
She placed the pile of clothes on the bed and said "Let me help you on
with these."
"No," he said quickly, "I can manage by myself quite well, thank you." He
pushed off the blankets, sat up and quickly drew on his shirt, slipping
his bandaged arm into the sleeve first.
As he dressed, Madam Pomfrey observed him as she bustled around. She
returned the tray to her office and disposed of the pan of potion,
magically cleaning it and placing it away for future use. She also put
out the candle still burning by Moody's bedside before returning to
Snape, who was just finished with putting on his shoes.
"Do you know if it will be safe for you to leave the protective circle
that Professor Dumbledore put up for you?"
"I won't know until I leave it now, will I?"
TO BE CONTINUED....
Spell descriptions: [* my creation]
*Illuminus - creates a bright source of light equal to fluorescent
lighting.
*Vestem Exue - literally "remove the clothes," can be targeted to
specific areas or articles of clothing.
Reparo - repairs damage. (I wasn't sure if it was the right spell to fix
clothes, but couldn't find anything else to work.)
Answers to first chapter reviews -
Darkhorse7 - Thank you for being my first reviewer on this site! Yes, the
story will continue, at least for a couple more chapters. It is a
vignette, meaning short. It was originally meant to be a one-chapter
story only. The story has already been written, but I keep revising it.
I like to get a few reviews before I post the next chapter. I do plan on
writing a few more stories eventually, but I do as more reading than
writing, so it is slow.
Ilmare2, AmajoS, and Moofegurl - Thank you for your kind words and
encouragement. I'm a Severus Snape fan [and Alan Rickman fan] and it
shows in my stories.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter too.