Severus Snape stood very still and straight, his arms folded over his chest. He looked at Kate who was now lying asleep in the large hospital bed. Now she had been properly treated, she looked much more like herself- but there was still a certain quality about her, something he hadn't seen very often.
He looked harder for a moment. It came out at him suddenly- she looked so vulnerable, like the slightest touch would shatter her. Looking at her, he was struck by how young she was. Behind Kate as a student, Kate as a Prefect and Kate as a Quidditch player, there was a little girl who had been hurt. A little girl, who, lying in a hospital bed, would probably be haunted by nightmares for a long time to come.
Severus shook himself. His thoughts were leading off in a direction that was unnerving. He didn't often feel a great deal of compassion to anyone- it was not an emotion he was familiar with. He found the emotion a hard one to express, but as he looked at Kate, he did feel it. Gone from her, for the moment, was the strength, the sense of humour, the youthful exuberance. She looked so young, innocent and fragile.
He looked impatiently up at the clock. For Merlin's Sake, how long was he supposed to hang around here? He had much to prepare before the start of the new school year. He began to pace again, before hearing the door softly open and then shut. He turned towards it. "Headmaster."
"Ah, Severus. I thought that I might find you here." Albus Dumbledore sat down in one of the comfortable chairs next to Kate's bed. He motioned to Severus.
"I would prefer to stand, thank you." Severus stopped pacing and stood still about a foot away from Kate's bed. "Was there something in particular that you wanted, Headmaster?"
"Actually, Severus, there was." Dumbledore looked up into the dark eyes of the younger man. "Young Katharine, when she wakes, will remember something of what has happened tonight. Something; but not everything. You are the one who rescued her, Severus. You are the one who must tell her what you did for her tonight. Not me, not Molly Weasley, but you, Severus."
"With respect, sir, Miss Johnson will be very emotional when she wakes. I would prefer it if I did not have to be the first to speak to her."
"Severus, I know you find these things difficult, but this is something you must do. Katharine will have suffered things unimaginable to many people during the past week. You rescued her from a horrible situation, and so you will be one of the few people that she will trust for the next few days. You were able to enquire at the nurses' station about her, and you were able to come up here. I think you will be capable of talking to her."
"Sir, why must I be the first to speak to her? Surely she should see her parents or even Molly Weasley first? They will be able to offer comfort in a way that I know I will not." Severus really did find Albus Dumbledore infuriating at times.
"Severus, you know her parents are in hiding. It will take time to get them to come out, even with news of Katharine's rescue. Molly Weasley will be along in a day or two; it is the soonest she will be able to make it. The duty of telling her falls to you, Severus." Albus held up a hand as he saw Snape about to object. "Your protests will fall on deaf ears, dear boy."
"When is she expected to awake, Headmaster?" Severus seemed resigned to what Dumbledore had planned.
"Mid-morning, most probably; however, it could be at anytime within the next twelve hours. You would do well to get a little rest before you talk to her, Severus. Good night." Albus Dumbledore silently swept from the room.
Severus Snape stood and stared at Kate for a few minutes. He didn't know what he was going to say to her. It was a ridiculous feeling, he knew. He had been a Death Eater, he had lied to Lord Voldemort... but, perhaps, that was it. It was the type of thing he would have done- he could have been involved in the torturing of Kate himself had he not left those ways and been given a second chance.
He shook himself. His thoughts were going in a direction he didn't want them to for the second time that night. He spotted his cloak, draped over a chair. Someone had thought to clean it. He pulled it one, and wrapped it around him. His thoughts still turbulent, he swept from the room.
