Author's Notes: Following his outburst, the professor has a change in
demeanor. He managed to release some of the anger that he had built up
inside of him, but at what price?
The fall term goes out with a bang, leaving the students and faculty abuzz with shock and speculation. Somebody gets a special Christmas gift, and our friend, Mira, drops a bombshell.
Disclaimer: None of the characters from the books and movies belong to me.
Chapter 19: A Welcome Gift and a Big Surprise.
The next morning, the Gryffindor trio was very surprised to see Professor Snape sitting at his desk when they arrived for Potions class. They were sure that he had been hauled away to St. Mungo's in a straitjacket. They warily took their places and waited for class to begin. There was no actual potion making that day, just taking notes about common plants that grow wild in England, which can be used to brew very simple, but effective potions. The mood in class was very low key; Snape gave no detentions, nor took away any house points. Instead of his usual sarcastic wit, he seemed merely weary. Harry found himself feeling sorry for the professor, which he found profoundly disturbing.
No mention was ever made about the professor's breakdown, and by the next week, the upper level students were continuing on with Potions classes in a newly refurbished laboratory. Snape remained distracted, and didn't seem to care any more about giving detentions, taking away house points, or even harassing Potter and Longbottom in class. Most students welcomed the change in the professor's demeanor, and enjoyed the respite from their usual Potions class experience. Hermione, Ron, and Harry however, knew that the professor was suffering. Hermione pledged to find out what she could about the woman in the hospital ward. The following week passed without event.
Hermione came running into the Gryffindor common rooms one evening after spending a couple of hours hanging out with the Hufflepuff girls in the great hall after supper. "Harry, Ron! Come quickly! I know who she is!" The boys abandoned their game of wizard's chess and followed Hermione to the owlery under the pretense of sending a letter home.
They arrived, and made sure that they were alone before Hermione started to talk. "I found out who the woman in the infirmary is. Do you remember a Hufflepuff girl named Tricia Treadle? She was a first year last year, and she didn't return for classes this year."
Harry shook his head no, but Ron's face lit up with recognition. "Yeah, I remember her. She was a friend of Ginny's. Ginny said that her family lived in Hogsmeade, but her mother wanted her to go to Hogwarts instead of the day school."
Hermione looked at Ron and smiled. "Right, anyway, the woman is Tricia's aunt. Well, not really her aunt, her mother's cousin."
"So, how did you find all of this out Hermione?" Asked Harry.
"Simple. I was sitting with some of the Hufflepuffs, and I overheard one say that she had tried to get an owl to Tricia but it came back as undeliverable. Another girl said that her mother told her that Tricia's mother and her mother's cousin had been attacked by Death Eaters. Tricia's family packed up and went into hiding, and the cousin was being treated for her injuries in an undisclosed location for her own protection. I knew she looked familiar. Think Harry, where have you seen her before?"
Harry shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. She does look familiar, I know I've seen her before, but I don't know where."
"Ron, do you remember where you met her?"
"No Hermione, I mean, like Harry said, she looks familiar, but I don't remember her."
"She lives in Hogsmeade. She works at Tricia's family tailor shop." She's who my parents ordered my dress robes from."
"I didn't get my robes at Treadle's, and mum didn't get Harry's there either, she got them in Diagon Alley."
"But you have seen her in Hogsmeade, haven't you?"
Harry shook his head. "Yeah, now I remember her. I've seen her in passing."
Ron shook his head. "Me too. Never spoke with her, but I've seen her in Honeyduke's buying sweets to send to her niece at Hogwarts."
Hermione looked at both of them smugly. "So, now we know who she is. Professor Snape must have met her in the village and started to fancy her before she was attacked."
Harry commented: "He must have done more than just fancy her Hermione, judging from the reaction he had over her being sick in the infirmary. You don't go mad like that over somebody you just have a crush on."
Ron turned to Hermione and said: "He's right you know. Snape must be in love with her, although I just can't imagine that great black bat feeling anything remotely like love. I never figured him to you know, be a normal man or anything. He always seemed to be either angry or disgusted, never happy or sad."
The trio silently returned to their house dormitory, silently contemplating this information, that their Potions professor was really human after all and actually had feelings. Harry actually felt bad for Professor Snape; he knew how much it hurt to have somebody you cared for harmed by evil forces. His opinion of the man changed a little. Instead of contempt, Harry felt a little bit of empathy for his professor.
The days continued to pass by without incident, the students having fallen into their normal routines. Everything went smoothly until one morning in mid November. News of the night's events spread through the school like wildfire. During the wee hours, a team of Aurors had arrived with ministry officials and arrested three faculty members who were accused of conspiring together as sympathizers of You Know Who, and plotting against Dumbledore. The guilty parties were Professors Vector and Sinestra, as well as Pince the librarian. With McGonagall already taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes this term, Professor Binns took Vector's classes, and Professor Flitwick took Sinestra's. The library was kept running by the assistant librarian.
Everybody was on edge, waiting for the Christmas holidays to arrive. Some students said that they wouldn't be returning for the spring term. Others said that they wanted to stay at the school, where at least it was safer than their homes. Hermione's parents were taking her to spend the holidays in Switzerland, to give her a change of pace from England and the troubles in the wizarding world. They generously offered to bring Harry and Ron along with them, and once Ron confirmed that Viktor Krum was history and would not be joining them as well, he was enthusiastic about the trip. Sirius was more than happy to send permission for Harry to get out of the country for a while and away from the growing tensions of the wizarding world. They would be traveling by muggle train, under the English Channel to France, and then on to Switzerland after changing trains in Paris. Ron had never traveled by muggle train and was especially excited.
The excitement grew as the holidays approached. On the final day of classes, Dumbledore arranged for a large going away feast in the great hall. The hall was decorated with enormous Christmas trees, covered in sparkling and shimmering ornaments. Huge garlands of evergreen were strung beneath the enchanted ceiling of the great hall, the snow seeming to disappear before reaching them. There were Christmas crackers, and fancy puddings at every place at the house tables.
The professors were enjoying the start of the holidays as well. If not for the three conspicuously empty chairs at the head table, it would have been like any other Christmas feast. The only person at the head table not getting into the holiday spirit was Professor Snape, who was absentmindedly twirling a large Christmas cracker around in his hand while staring off into space.
At first, nobody noticed the hospital ward assistant, Mademoiselle Lowrey, enter the hall and approach the head table. She leaned in to say something to Headmaster Dumbledore, and Professor Snape dropped the Christmas cracker and leaned over the table, trying to see what was going on.
"Harry, Ron! Look!" Hermione gestured to the head table with a candy cane.
"I wonder what's going on? You don't think it has anything to do with the lady in the infirmary do you?"
"What else could it be?" Answered Harry.
Dumbledore looked at the young woman and smiled. She crossed over to where Professor Snape was sitting, his hands on the table, on the edge of his seat. She whispered something into his ear, and turned and hurried back out the door. Snape looked quickly towards Dumbledore, and the older man smiled and nodded his head, gesturing towards the door. Snape rose from his chair, his face briefly broke out into a nervous sort of smile, and he hurried out the side entrance of the great hall.
"Bloody Hell!" Exclaimed Ron. "Did you see that? Professor Snape SMILED! It was only for a second, but I swear, I saw him SMILE!"
The professor's very out of character expression was not lost on the rest of the student body and faculty. The entire hall was soon abuzz with speculation of just what was going on.
"I tell you, he's gone mental!" Said Ron to nobody in particular.
Professor Snape ran through the corridors, to the hospital wing. He felt relief and even happiness, an emotion he had not felt in many, many years. Lowrey had said that Mira regained consciousness. She was still disoriented and confused, but she was awake.
He arrived in the hospital wing, and was met by Madame Pomfrey.
"She's awake professor, but she needs a few minutes to get her bearings. She asked for a change of clothes, and I sent Lowrey to inform you and the headmaster that she was awake, and then to go find some robes for her. Once Lowrey returns and helps Mira get changed and cleaned up, you can see her. But right now she needs some breathing room. She's very confused and a little frightened."
Snape sat down on a cot, nervously ran his fingers through his hair, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Lowrey returned to the infirmary, carrying a bundle of clothing in her arms, followed shortly thereafter by Headmaster Dumbledore.
The older man approached the professor and said with an impish grin: "I must say Severus, you have caused quite a deal of confusion among your students and colleagues. I can't remember having seen you smile about anything since your days as a student here at Hogwarts. The most popular opinion is that somebody slipped a mood altering potion into your mulled mead, followed closely with somebody having placed the Imperius curse onto you."
"Albus, I know I said that I didn't know if I could ever look her in the eye again, but none of that matters now. I'm just relieved that she's okay. Now that she's recovered, we have to get her to a safe hiding place."
"Is she not safe here, Severus?"
"She can't stay. We can't expect her to remain here, locked up in the school. What happens the next time I'm summoned? After the incident with Malfoy in the alleyway, and venting my anger at him on his son the first week of class, I won't make it back alive. I'm sure Malfoy has tried to convince Voldemort that I set Vector, Pince, and Sinestra up for capture. If not, he'd have no qualms about taking matters into his own hands to get rid of me."
"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Right now, you should concentrate on your lady friend. Make the best of the time that you have with her Severus, because it may truly be all too short."
Pomfrey and Lowrey emerged from behind the screen. "She's ready to see you now. But remember, she doesn't know where she is, or how she got here. She's quite confused and afraid. Do try and not say anything that could upset her, she's still quite fragile and any little upset could put her over the edge and send her into shock."
Dumbledore nodded to Snape, and he got up and went to Mira. She was sitting, propped up against a pile of pillows, sipping a mug of steaming tea. Her hair was freshly washed and combed back off of her face. She looked a little tired and weak, but the color had returned to her cheeks and she was awake. She looked up at him with a confused look on her face as he entered the partition.
"Professor. What are you doing here? And where is here? The nurses told me that I was attacked and brought here to recover, but they haven't told me anything else."
Snape sat down in the chair at Mira's bedside took the tea from her, set it down and took her hand in his. "Mira, the night we went flying, after I left you at the store, you were abducted by Death Eaters and attacked by Voldemort and his followers. You were taken to an alley, and narrowly escaped with your life. I found you, and brought you back to Hogwarts. You've been unconscious for quite some time. It's Christmastime Mira."
She looked at him strangely, and then a look of recognition came over her face. Followed closely by a look of fear.
"No! Professor! My cousin! They took Suzie too! Tricia? What happened to Suzie and Tricia?"
"It's okay Mira, please, it's okay. They let Susan go, and her husband took she and Tricia into hiding. They're safe and sound Mira. It's okay."
She looked at him and let the information sink in. Then she turned a ghostly shade of white, gasped, and pulled her hand out of his and brought them both to her mouth. Her eyes grew large with panic and her hands started to tremble.
"Mira, what is it? What's wrong?"
"The church. I remember a church. And a horrible looking man, and men in masks, and."
She recoiled back into the pile of pillows and screamed.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! The man with the ring! The man with the wand! The curse! Oh my God! I thought it was a nightmare, it was real!
She grabbed his hands. "Professor, it was real! The man on the altar! The men in the masks! The man with the ring! The man with the wand! The alleyway!"
She buried her face in her hands and started to cry. "NO! NO! NO! Oh God it was REAL!" She began to tremble and started to hyperventilate.
Pomfrey came rushing into the partition. "What's happened professor?"
"Poppy, she remembered what happened to her the night she was brought here. She thought it was a nightmare, but she's remembering every last bit of it."
"Professor, I must ask you to give me room to work. I need to calm her before she has a complete and irreversible breakdown. Go fetch Lowrey, tell her I need the strongest soothing potion we have in stock, NOW!"
Snape stumbled back out from behind the partition, and grabbed Mademoiselle Lowrey by the hand. "Please hurry, the strongest soothing potion!"
Lowrey ran to the supply room. Mira's cries behind the partition grew more panicked and loud. Pomfrey desperately tried to calm her, but there was nothing she could do to stop the horror of what happened that night from rushing back into Mira's consciousness.
"LOWREY! Bring me that potion NOW!"
Lowrey ran from the supply room, tears streaming down her face, with a bottle of violet liquid in her hands.
Snape started to follow her, but Dumbledore grabbed him by the arm. "No Severus. Stay here and let them work."
He started to pace, nervously running his hands through his hair, and casting fearful glances at the partition every time Mira's cries grew louder.
"Mira, drink it love! You have to drink the potion! No! Mira, please! Drink the potion! LOWREY! HOLD HER STILL!"
From behind the screen, there came a gagging noise, then choking. After that, Mira's cries were less panicked and turned into soft whimpers and sobs. Eventually there was silence. Lowrey fled to the supply room with the half empty potion bottle, stifling back tears. Pomfrey emerged looking pale and shaken.
"I had to get Lowrey to hold her down so I could force it down her throat. She's still conscious, but not very alert. It takes a little while for the potion to reach its full effects. I need to rest for a little bit, this has taken a lot out of me. I haven't treated such a serious case in years. Both of you go and sit with her. She'll sleep for a while, but when she wakes up, she will be much calmer after having gotten over the shock of how she got here."
Snape looked up at Dumbledore. "I can't go back in there, Albus. I can't face her knowing what I've done. She has no idea. She's looking to me for comfort and she has no idea that it was me who put that curse on her. How can I go to her knowing what I've done to her?"
Dumbledore placed his hand on the professor's shoulder. "You will go in there and see her because you cared enough about her that you were willing to go to such great lengths to try and save her. Don't think for a moment that I am unaware of the effect it has had on you. You did not refurbish your potions lab for the fun of it Severus. I was very concerned for you that night. I was convinced that you'd either rush out and do something foolish and get yourself killed, or that you would sink further into despair and never recover. She has awakened something within your spirit that had been given up for dead many years ago. You will go to her now, because everything you are trying to deny that you feel is telling you to."
Snape looked at the headmaster. "Thank you. Thank you Albus for everything you have done for me."
Dumbledore patted him on the shoulder, and gestured towards the screened area.
Snape rose, straightened his robes, and went to Mira's bedside, followed closely by Dumbledore. Mira was lying down, her hair sweaty and tangled, violet stains from the potion on her pillow. Her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell with deep rhythmical breaths.
He sat and watched her for what seemed like hours before she awoke. She drowsily opened her eyes, turned her head and looked at Snape.
"Professor?"
"Yes Mira, I'm here."
"I want to sit up. Can you help me up?"
Snape picked up the extra pillows from the floor, and reached around Mira's shoulders and pulled her forward as the headmaster tucked the extra pillows behind her back. She settled back against the stack of soft pillows and looked at Dumbledore.
"Thanks. Who is that man?"
Dumbledore took her hand and patted it. "I'm Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the Hogwarts School."
"So, I was brought here after the attack?"
"Yes. Severus found you outside of an alleyway. You had been badly hurt. He brought you here to the school and we have been nursing you back to health for the past several weeks."
She looked up at the older man's kind face.
"Oh God headmaster. It was horrible. I thought it was a nightmare, but it was real."
"It's okay Mira. You're safe here with us. Your cousin and her family are safe too. It's over. You survived it, and you're going to be okay."
"But why? Why me? Why did they do this to me?"
Snape took her hand and sat down beside her.
"They thought you had a magical artifact that they wanted. They thought that it had been traced to you, and they were prepared to go as far as necessary to get you to tell them where it was, what it was, and how it worked."
Mira sank back into the pillows and let her focus wander as the professor continued talking.
"But you didn't know anything about it, they were mistaken."
Mira took a breath and let out a deep sigh.
"That's not entirely true." She said as she turned her face towards Snape.
The two men exchanged surprised looks, and Snape leaned in close to her. "What do you mean, not entirely true?"
"I lied to them."
Snape stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "What do you mean, you lied to them, Mira?"
"Just what I said. I lied to them. I know what it is, where it is, and what it does. It's been in my possession ever since my parents' death."
Snape sat down and looked at Mira with a shocked look on his face.
"Sweet Merlin." Said Dumbledore. "This certainly complicates things."
The fall term goes out with a bang, leaving the students and faculty abuzz with shock and speculation. Somebody gets a special Christmas gift, and our friend, Mira, drops a bombshell.
Disclaimer: None of the characters from the books and movies belong to me.
Chapter 19: A Welcome Gift and a Big Surprise.
The next morning, the Gryffindor trio was very surprised to see Professor Snape sitting at his desk when they arrived for Potions class. They were sure that he had been hauled away to St. Mungo's in a straitjacket. They warily took their places and waited for class to begin. There was no actual potion making that day, just taking notes about common plants that grow wild in England, which can be used to brew very simple, but effective potions. The mood in class was very low key; Snape gave no detentions, nor took away any house points. Instead of his usual sarcastic wit, he seemed merely weary. Harry found himself feeling sorry for the professor, which he found profoundly disturbing.
No mention was ever made about the professor's breakdown, and by the next week, the upper level students were continuing on with Potions classes in a newly refurbished laboratory. Snape remained distracted, and didn't seem to care any more about giving detentions, taking away house points, or even harassing Potter and Longbottom in class. Most students welcomed the change in the professor's demeanor, and enjoyed the respite from their usual Potions class experience. Hermione, Ron, and Harry however, knew that the professor was suffering. Hermione pledged to find out what she could about the woman in the hospital ward. The following week passed without event.
Hermione came running into the Gryffindor common rooms one evening after spending a couple of hours hanging out with the Hufflepuff girls in the great hall after supper. "Harry, Ron! Come quickly! I know who she is!" The boys abandoned their game of wizard's chess and followed Hermione to the owlery under the pretense of sending a letter home.
They arrived, and made sure that they were alone before Hermione started to talk. "I found out who the woman in the infirmary is. Do you remember a Hufflepuff girl named Tricia Treadle? She was a first year last year, and she didn't return for classes this year."
Harry shook his head no, but Ron's face lit up with recognition. "Yeah, I remember her. She was a friend of Ginny's. Ginny said that her family lived in Hogsmeade, but her mother wanted her to go to Hogwarts instead of the day school."
Hermione looked at Ron and smiled. "Right, anyway, the woman is Tricia's aunt. Well, not really her aunt, her mother's cousin."
"So, how did you find all of this out Hermione?" Asked Harry.
"Simple. I was sitting with some of the Hufflepuffs, and I overheard one say that she had tried to get an owl to Tricia but it came back as undeliverable. Another girl said that her mother told her that Tricia's mother and her mother's cousin had been attacked by Death Eaters. Tricia's family packed up and went into hiding, and the cousin was being treated for her injuries in an undisclosed location for her own protection. I knew she looked familiar. Think Harry, where have you seen her before?"
Harry shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. She does look familiar, I know I've seen her before, but I don't know where."
"Ron, do you remember where you met her?"
"No Hermione, I mean, like Harry said, she looks familiar, but I don't remember her."
"She lives in Hogsmeade. She works at Tricia's family tailor shop." She's who my parents ordered my dress robes from."
"I didn't get my robes at Treadle's, and mum didn't get Harry's there either, she got them in Diagon Alley."
"But you have seen her in Hogsmeade, haven't you?"
Harry shook his head. "Yeah, now I remember her. I've seen her in passing."
Ron shook his head. "Me too. Never spoke with her, but I've seen her in Honeyduke's buying sweets to send to her niece at Hogwarts."
Hermione looked at both of them smugly. "So, now we know who she is. Professor Snape must have met her in the village and started to fancy her before she was attacked."
Harry commented: "He must have done more than just fancy her Hermione, judging from the reaction he had over her being sick in the infirmary. You don't go mad like that over somebody you just have a crush on."
Ron turned to Hermione and said: "He's right you know. Snape must be in love with her, although I just can't imagine that great black bat feeling anything remotely like love. I never figured him to you know, be a normal man or anything. He always seemed to be either angry or disgusted, never happy or sad."
The trio silently returned to their house dormitory, silently contemplating this information, that their Potions professor was really human after all and actually had feelings. Harry actually felt bad for Professor Snape; he knew how much it hurt to have somebody you cared for harmed by evil forces. His opinion of the man changed a little. Instead of contempt, Harry felt a little bit of empathy for his professor.
The days continued to pass by without incident, the students having fallen into their normal routines. Everything went smoothly until one morning in mid November. News of the night's events spread through the school like wildfire. During the wee hours, a team of Aurors had arrived with ministry officials and arrested three faculty members who were accused of conspiring together as sympathizers of You Know Who, and plotting against Dumbledore. The guilty parties were Professors Vector and Sinestra, as well as Pince the librarian. With McGonagall already taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes this term, Professor Binns took Vector's classes, and Professor Flitwick took Sinestra's. The library was kept running by the assistant librarian.
Everybody was on edge, waiting for the Christmas holidays to arrive. Some students said that they wouldn't be returning for the spring term. Others said that they wanted to stay at the school, where at least it was safer than their homes. Hermione's parents were taking her to spend the holidays in Switzerland, to give her a change of pace from England and the troubles in the wizarding world. They generously offered to bring Harry and Ron along with them, and once Ron confirmed that Viktor Krum was history and would not be joining them as well, he was enthusiastic about the trip. Sirius was more than happy to send permission for Harry to get out of the country for a while and away from the growing tensions of the wizarding world. They would be traveling by muggle train, under the English Channel to France, and then on to Switzerland after changing trains in Paris. Ron had never traveled by muggle train and was especially excited.
The excitement grew as the holidays approached. On the final day of classes, Dumbledore arranged for a large going away feast in the great hall. The hall was decorated with enormous Christmas trees, covered in sparkling and shimmering ornaments. Huge garlands of evergreen were strung beneath the enchanted ceiling of the great hall, the snow seeming to disappear before reaching them. There were Christmas crackers, and fancy puddings at every place at the house tables.
The professors were enjoying the start of the holidays as well. If not for the three conspicuously empty chairs at the head table, it would have been like any other Christmas feast. The only person at the head table not getting into the holiday spirit was Professor Snape, who was absentmindedly twirling a large Christmas cracker around in his hand while staring off into space.
At first, nobody noticed the hospital ward assistant, Mademoiselle Lowrey, enter the hall and approach the head table. She leaned in to say something to Headmaster Dumbledore, and Professor Snape dropped the Christmas cracker and leaned over the table, trying to see what was going on.
"Harry, Ron! Look!" Hermione gestured to the head table with a candy cane.
"I wonder what's going on? You don't think it has anything to do with the lady in the infirmary do you?"
"What else could it be?" Answered Harry.
Dumbledore looked at the young woman and smiled. She crossed over to where Professor Snape was sitting, his hands on the table, on the edge of his seat. She whispered something into his ear, and turned and hurried back out the door. Snape looked quickly towards Dumbledore, and the older man smiled and nodded his head, gesturing towards the door. Snape rose from his chair, his face briefly broke out into a nervous sort of smile, and he hurried out the side entrance of the great hall.
"Bloody Hell!" Exclaimed Ron. "Did you see that? Professor Snape SMILED! It was only for a second, but I swear, I saw him SMILE!"
The professor's very out of character expression was not lost on the rest of the student body and faculty. The entire hall was soon abuzz with speculation of just what was going on.
"I tell you, he's gone mental!" Said Ron to nobody in particular.
Professor Snape ran through the corridors, to the hospital wing. He felt relief and even happiness, an emotion he had not felt in many, many years. Lowrey had said that Mira regained consciousness. She was still disoriented and confused, but she was awake.
He arrived in the hospital wing, and was met by Madame Pomfrey.
"She's awake professor, but she needs a few minutes to get her bearings. She asked for a change of clothes, and I sent Lowrey to inform you and the headmaster that she was awake, and then to go find some robes for her. Once Lowrey returns and helps Mira get changed and cleaned up, you can see her. But right now she needs some breathing room. She's very confused and a little frightened."
Snape sat down on a cot, nervously ran his fingers through his hair, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Lowrey returned to the infirmary, carrying a bundle of clothing in her arms, followed shortly thereafter by Headmaster Dumbledore.
The older man approached the professor and said with an impish grin: "I must say Severus, you have caused quite a deal of confusion among your students and colleagues. I can't remember having seen you smile about anything since your days as a student here at Hogwarts. The most popular opinion is that somebody slipped a mood altering potion into your mulled mead, followed closely with somebody having placed the Imperius curse onto you."
"Albus, I know I said that I didn't know if I could ever look her in the eye again, but none of that matters now. I'm just relieved that she's okay. Now that she's recovered, we have to get her to a safe hiding place."
"Is she not safe here, Severus?"
"She can't stay. We can't expect her to remain here, locked up in the school. What happens the next time I'm summoned? After the incident with Malfoy in the alleyway, and venting my anger at him on his son the first week of class, I won't make it back alive. I'm sure Malfoy has tried to convince Voldemort that I set Vector, Pince, and Sinestra up for capture. If not, he'd have no qualms about taking matters into his own hands to get rid of me."
"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Right now, you should concentrate on your lady friend. Make the best of the time that you have with her Severus, because it may truly be all too short."
Pomfrey and Lowrey emerged from behind the screen. "She's ready to see you now. But remember, she doesn't know where she is, or how she got here. She's quite confused and afraid. Do try and not say anything that could upset her, she's still quite fragile and any little upset could put her over the edge and send her into shock."
Dumbledore nodded to Snape, and he got up and went to Mira. She was sitting, propped up against a pile of pillows, sipping a mug of steaming tea. Her hair was freshly washed and combed back off of her face. She looked a little tired and weak, but the color had returned to her cheeks and she was awake. She looked up at him with a confused look on her face as he entered the partition.
"Professor. What are you doing here? And where is here? The nurses told me that I was attacked and brought here to recover, but they haven't told me anything else."
Snape sat down in the chair at Mira's bedside took the tea from her, set it down and took her hand in his. "Mira, the night we went flying, after I left you at the store, you were abducted by Death Eaters and attacked by Voldemort and his followers. You were taken to an alley, and narrowly escaped with your life. I found you, and brought you back to Hogwarts. You've been unconscious for quite some time. It's Christmastime Mira."
She looked at him strangely, and then a look of recognition came over her face. Followed closely by a look of fear.
"No! Professor! My cousin! They took Suzie too! Tricia? What happened to Suzie and Tricia?"
"It's okay Mira, please, it's okay. They let Susan go, and her husband took she and Tricia into hiding. They're safe and sound Mira. It's okay."
She looked at him and let the information sink in. Then she turned a ghostly shade of white, gasped, and pulled her hand out of his and brought them both to her mouth. Her eyes grew large with panic and her hands started to tremble.
"Mira, what is it? What's wrong?"
"The church. I remember a church. And a horrible looking man, and men in masks, and."
She recoiled back into the pile of pillows and screamed.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! The man with the ring! The man with the wand! The curse! Oh my God! I thought it was a nightmare, it was real!
She grabbed his hands. "Professor, it was real! The man on the altar! The men in the masks! The man with the ring! The man with the wand! The alleyway!"
She buried her face in her hands and started to cry. "NO! NO! NO! Oh God it was REAL!" She began to tremble and started to hyperventilate.
Pomfrey came rushing into the partition. "What's happened professor?"
"Poppy, she remembered what happened to her the night she was brought here. She thought it was a nightmare, but she's remembering every last bit of it."
"Professor, I must ask you to give me room to work. I need to calm her before she has a complete and irreversible breakdown. Go fetch Lowrey, tell her I need the strongest soothing potion we have in stock, NOW!"
Snape stumbled back out from behind the partition, and grabbed Mademoiselle Lowrey by the hand. "Please hurry, the strongest soothing potion!"
Lowrey ran to the supply room. Mira's cries behind the partition grew more panicked and loud. Pomfrey desperately tried to calm her, but there was nothing she could do to stop the horror of what happened that night from rushing back into Mira's consciousness.
"LOWREY! Bring me that potion NOW!"
Lowrey ran from the supply room, tears streaming down her face, with a bottle of violet liquid in her hands.
Snape started to follow her, but Dumbledore grabbed him by the arm. "No Severus. Stay here and let them work."
He started to pace, nervously running his hands through his hair, and casting fearful glances at the partition every time Mira's cries grew louder.
"Mira, drink it love! You have to drink the potion! No! Mira, please! Drink the potion! LOWREY! HOLD HER STILL!"
From behind the screen, there came a gagging noise, then choking. After that, Mira's cries were less panicked and turned into soft whimpers and sobs. Eventually there was silence. Lowrey fled to the supply room with the half empty potion bottle, stifling back tears. Pomfrey emerged looking pale and shaken.
"I had to get Lowrey to hold her down so I could force it down her throat. She's still conscious, but not very alert. It takes a little while for the potion to reach its full effects. I need to rest for a little bit, this has taken a lot out of me. I haven't treated such a serious case in years. Both of you go and sit with her. She'll sleep for a while, but when she wakes up, she will be much calmer after having gotten over the shock of how she got here."
Snape looked up at Dumbledore. "I can't go back in there, Albus. I can't face her knowing what I've done. She has no idea. She's looking to me for comfort and she has no idea that it was me who put that curse on her. How can I go to her knowing what I've done to her?"
Dumbledore placed his hand on the professor's shoulder. "You will go in there and see her because you cared enough about her that you were willing to go to such great lengths to try and save her. Don't think for a moment that I am unaware of the effect it has had on you. You did not refurbish your potions lab for the fun of it Severus. I was very concerned for you that night. I was convinced that you'd either rush out and do something foolish and get yourself killed, or that you would sink further into despair and never recover. She has awakened something within your spirit that had been given up for dead many years ago. You will go to her now, because everything you are trying to deny that you feel is telling you to."
Snape looked at the headmaster. "Thank you. Thank you Albus for everything you have done for me."
Dumbledore patted him on the shoulder, and gestured towards the screened area.
Snape rose, straightened his robes, and went to Mira's bedside, followed closely by Dumbledore. Mira was lying down, her hair sweaty and tangled, violet stains from the potion on her pillow. Her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell with deep rhythmical breaths.
He sat and watched her for what seemed like hours before she awoke. She drowsily opened her eyes, turned her head and looked at Snape.
"Professor?"
"Yes Mira, I'm here."
"I want to sit up. Can you help me up?"
Snape picked up the extra pillows from the floor, and reached around Mira's shoulders and pulled her forward as the headmaster tucked the extra pillows behind her back. She settled back against the stack of soft pillows and looked at Dumbledore.
"Thanks. Who is that man?"
Dumbledore took her hand and patted it. "I'm Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the Hogwarts School."
"So, I was brought here after the attack?"
"Yes. Severus found you outside of an alleyway. You had been badly hurt. He brought you here to the school and we have been nursing you back to health for the past several weeks."
She looked up at the older man's kind face.
"Oh God headmaster. It was horrible. I thought it was a nightmare, but it was real."
"It's okay Mira. You're safe here with us. Your cousin and her family are safe too. It's over. You survived it, and you're going to be okay."
"But why? Why me? Why did they do this to me?"
Snape took her hand and sat down beside her.
"They thought you had a magical artifact that they wanted. They thought that it had been traced to you, and they were prepared to go as far as necessary to get you to tell them where it was, what it was, and how it worked."
Mira sank back into the pillows and let her focus wander as the professor continued talking.
"But you didn't know anything about it, they were mistaken."
Mira took a breath and let out a deep sigh.
"That's not entirely true." She said as she turned her face towards Snape.
The two men exchanged surprised looks, and Snape leaned in close to her. "What do you mean, not entirely true?"
"I lied to them."
Snape stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "What do you mean, you lied to them, Mira?"
"Just what I said. I lied to them. I know what it is, where it is, and what it does. It's been in my possession ever since my parents' death."
Snape sat down and looked at Mira with a shocked look on his face.
"Sweet Merlin." Said Dumbledore. "This certainly complicates things."