Chapter 3
Meanwhile, Ashley was still asleep with her uncle sitting by her bedside. Severus was very worried. His niece was a strong person, so this reaction was something he wasn't expecting.
'Maybe this is the break though you needed to get over your parent's death,' he thought to himself.
"How is she, Severus?" Lupin's voice floated form the fireplace.
"She is asleep, Lupin. Do you know what happened?" Severus was rougher than he meant to be.
"Only that she is in the Hospital Wing, I have Harry, Ron, and Hermione here in my office."
"I'll talk to you in private about it later, Lupin."
"Fine, Severus. If you need a break, let me know, I'll sit with her," Remus offered.
"Thank you."
When Severus looked back at Ashley, she was thrashing around on the bed. Severus knew she was having a nightmare about something. He tried to wake her up, but he wasn't able to.
"Professor Snape! What are doing?" Pomfrey snapped, coming into the room.
"She is having a nightmare. Did you give her a dreamless sleep potion?"
"Yes, I did, Professor, but she may be immune to it like most werewolves," Poppy said. "Try to wake her."
"I'm trying to," he said as he continued to hold his niece.
She finally woke up after ten minutes of trying to wake her. She was sweaty with tears running down her face. She looked at Severus and launched herself into his arms. He held her close as she cried. She was too distraught to speak right then.
After all of her pent up emotions burs out, she calmed down to an occasional sniffle, but she stayed in her uncle's arms. She soon fell asleep in his arms, curled up like she was four years old.
The headmaster came into the infirmary and smiled to himself. Despite the grave news he had, he was touched at how much the Potions Master had changed when Ashley came into his life.
"Severus?" the headmaster quietly interrupted the Potions Master's soft crooning.
"Yes, headmaster," Snape softly answered.
"You ought to know what Mr. Malfoy said in his defense," Dumbledore reported. "He stated that he was in the library working on the Potions research project you had given his class. Madame Pince corroborated his statement."
"So, someone is running around, using Polyjuice Potion, attacking innocent students," Snape said, placing Ashley back down on the bed. He then stared to pace the room.
"Looks like it, Severus. I would like to know is why? Why was Ashley targeted? Or, if there were other attacks, why weren't they reported?"
"I don't know, but I want her to be safe. What can we do?" Snape asked.
"Well, let's give her time to rest. You need to go take care of your class, so I'll sit with her," Dumbledore offered.
"Okay, headmaster, but she is immune to the Dreamless Sleep potion and she has been having some nightmares," Snape explained to him. "She may not calm down, if she doesn't, let me know."
"Go on and teach your class, I'll take care of her."
Dumbledore sat with Ashley for about a half an hour before she started to thrash around again. Dumbledore tried to calm her down, but she didn't calm down. He was just about to send for her uncle when Ashley woke up.
When she finally woke up, Ashley yelled out for her parents. When Dumbledore put his hand on her shoulder, she looked at him and realized where she was and what happened during the summer. She then looked around for her uncle, not seeing him.
"Professor, where is Uncle Severus?" she asked in a small voice.
"He is teaching his class, child. Would you like him here?"
"Yes, sir. I want to make sure he still wants me. All I ever seem to do is cause trouble for him," she stated with tears in her eyes.
"You are wanted, but I'll go get him. I'll let your uncle talk to you. I'm gonna go take over his class so he can come to you."
He left the infirmary and Ashley laid thinking, about what she was feeling and the dreams that she had. She was dreaming about the night her parents were killed. She was feeling that she shouldn't stay to cause her uncle trouble. She seemed to make his life harder. Her life was becoming too hard to handle.
After about ten minutes, Snape walked into the room and sat down at Ashley's bedside. He grabbed her hand and just stared at her. He was relieved to know that she was awake.
"Ashley, I know what you told the headmaster. I want you here, no matter what happens," he said without preamble. "I hope you finish out your schooling here at Hogwarts."
"Why do you want me? I'm nothing but trouble. Everyone treats me like scum," she said, not looking at him.
"Ashley, don't worry, they'll see you as the warm person you are, not the cold person I am," he rebutted. "I don't think you're trouble, just the opposite. You made my life better, gave me a purpose to live."
"Uncle, you may not tell my class," she started, but held up her hand to quiet him down when he started to argue. "I will. If we can find the reason why I pass out, I may feel more comfortable."