Chapter Five: Where have you been?

Severus felt Hogwarts' protection shift. Was he on duty tonight? Damnit! He groaned as waved his wand, the aurora's showing that someone was near the gates. "Probably drunkards" He stood up, slamming his glass down on the coffee table before grabbing his cloak. Severus took his time getting to the gates and in that time whatever was banging on the cold steel gates had not bothered to leave...yet.

Before he had even reached the gates, he could smell something. The thick scent of copper intertwined with vomit hit his nostrils as he approached the lone figure clinging to the gates as if it were there only life-line.

Wrapping his cloak tighter round himself as he held his wand out.

"Reveal yourself?" He held the wand near the gate and watched as the lone figure trembled back but their pale and scratched hand never left the bars of the gate. "Prof-..." He heard a quivering woman's voice.

"Granger?" He lit his wand towards her face causing the girl to flinch. He was taken back by her face. She was covered in bruises and scratches.

"Granger is that you?"

"I-" She looked taken aback, almost shocked and at the same time scared to see him before she ended up in a coughing fit. She tried to pull herself away from the bars but her left hand was frozen. She ended up hunching over instead, pulling her right hand into her stomach as though she were in a terrible amount of pain.

"I- I- Aah. Professor. Help! Please, I-I need your help...PPPlease" She begged, her words slurred. Severus was taken back by her pleas of desperation. Something was definitely wrong, this wasn't normal or her, even in a stressful situation. Severus flicked his wand towards the gate. "Are you injured?"

"Whatt- d-do you think?" She snapped before falling face first into the mud, the gate opening away from her reach. He rolled his eyes watching the girl struggle hopelessly to get out of the mud, "gravely injured, Girl" He grabbed the back of her collar before pulling her up. "Can you stand?" She winced in agony, gritting her teeth before she collapsed in pain, barely able to keep weight on her legs at all. "S-Stop!" She yelped as Severus let her go and she fell to her knees. "Ahh!" She rested her head on the ground, trying to stop herself from balling into a heap.

"What the devil is wrong with you, Granger?" He gritted his teeth in anger. It only lasted a second before he heard her sobs. Something definitely was not right. He immediately grabbed the girl in the mud and heaved her into his arms. Great! He thought. His clothes becoming soiled with each step he took with her pressed up against his body. "Stay still, we need to get you out of here"

"Y-You're helping me?" She scrunched her face in agony as every bump along the path aggravated her injuries.

"Obviously. However,"

There was always a catch.

"Once the life-debt is resolved you will remove yourself from my person at once" She froze for a second before nodding. Whatever was going to get her through the night and into the next day.

"I want to speak to the Headmistress"

"You are not dragging her into your own mess, girl and if you haven't forgotten Granger, you are wanted for murder" She glared up at him with anger, tears threatening to spill down her face. "Y-You're one to talk" Her voice quivered with exhaustion.

"I would watch what you say to the one currently rescuing you, Miss Granger unless of course you would prefer I call the Aurors to have you arrested" Severus felt her tense before becoming quiet.

"Please don't. You don't know what they will do to me" Her voice was hoarse and desperate. He nodded, "no, I can't imagine what they would do to you either" he whispered.

She quietened down after that, deciding to rest her head on his shoulder as she held her right shoulder. Severus watched as her eyes began to roll back and finally drift off to sleep. Severus tried to coax her awake but her body was struggling to remain conscious. He had made it through the front door and down the hallway before he finally managed to take a decent glance at her.

"Granger?" He stopped.

"Miss Granger?" He pulled at her chin noticing her state of delirium. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something tap his foot. He pushed his foot to the side and moved back to see drops of blood slowly dripping from the girl's arm.

What the hell?

"Granger?" He tried to push her back and forth in his arms but nothing helped. Shit! He had to do something fast. Waving his hand, he quickly disappeared the blood on the floor before making a run for it.

Surprisingly, he didn't meet anyone along the way other than a few random elves and painting who were busy with their own things. He could feel her head resting against his shoulder as he adjusted her weight noting how very light she felt and how sickly her face actually looked. He entered his rooms and deposited her on the couch before shaking her awake again. Luckily, she was complaint and tried to stay awake despite her exhaustion.

He rustled through his personal lab for everything he would need to treat someone who had been imprisoned in Azkaban. Once he had gathered his supplies, he came back into the room to find the girl curled into the settee, her body still running on adrenaline as she struggled to remain awake. "Miss Granger" She flinched, her body shuddering in pain.

He placed his first aid kit on the table before pushing the fallen locks out of her face. It had surprised him for a second when he was finally able to see her face clearly now. Her face was badly cut up with bruises and several large gashes that lined her face diagonally. She also had a split lip and eyebrow not to mention broken nose and likely broken teeth along with it. "Have you taken any potions or medication recently?"

She licked her bottom lip before slowly nodding, "A numbing potion, a pain potion a few hours ago maybe. Pretty strong ones" She muttered hoarsely.

"Your kidneys will not thank me but if you can stomach it, I will provide you with another strong pain killer" Severus handed her a vial. Hermione gulped it down immediately before he grabbed a few other potions including two blood replenishes and an anti-inflammatory potion. She skulled the rest down before leaning back on the couch and closing her eyes. He couldn't help but noticing the large amount of bruising over her face and neck. The scratches, the swelling, her red and sunken eyes...Merlin she looked awful.

"You will have to remove the rest of your attire if I am to appropriately treat your wounds, Miss Granger"

She nodded lazily and began to unbutton her shirt, however had difficulty stopping her tremors from the cold. Her blue lips arching in anger as she battled a hopeless fight with the top button. Severus quietly slipped his wand into his hand and made short work of the button allowing the light cloak to slide from her shoulders. "Why do you not use your other hand, Ms Granger?" Her professor asked simple as she struggled to remove her left arm from her sleeve. He pulled her torn shirt over her shoulders before helping her slip her arm out.

"What other hand?" It was quiet but he heard her. It filled him with dread the second she had removed her other arm from her sleeve and all that appeared was thick, tattered strips of cloth that had been wrapped round the stump of her right hand. Severus swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared at the woman opposite him, tears streaming down her face as she mourned silently for the loss of her limp. Taking in her appearance was...

"You weren't at Azkaban were you?"

It would make sense if she wasn't. How could she of possibly escaped with one hand anyway? And her clothes? They were the same ones she had worn on a normal day to day but now they were tattered to shreds. He could even see the dirt and gashes underneath her bra and pants.

Hermione shook her head, tears streaking down her face before she began to speak, "n-no, they didn't take me there".

Severus leaned back in his chair. His eyes on her clutched arm and the shoulder that was now sliding with blood. "Merlin!" He immediately stood up and grabbed a bottle of dittany before ripping the rest of her shirt apart. He could see where she had splinched herself. Bloody girl, "why did you not mention this before?".

"I-I can't feel it. I can't feel my arm" She turned her face away as the potion was poured onto it and began to smoke and sizzle. "Where else are you injured?" He demanded to know. Hermione could only stare at him as if to say 'everywhere'. He breathed out before he grabbed his wand an cast a quick examination spell on her body.

"Merlin Granger. It is no wonder you are still with the living" She scrunched her face in pain.

She couldn't help but agree though there were several times in the last fortnight she wished she were dead.

"C-can you fix it, please!" She asked her voice shaking again. He couldn't help but stare back and forth between the list of her injuries and the doe eyes she was sending his way. "I will be able to mend most of your major injuries - Broken bones will have to be re-set, including your leg, foot, arm, fingers and nose, your ribs should be alright with just skelegrow; they don't appear to be displaced" She nodded.

"Any lacerations and bruising can be healed quiet simply with dittany, your body appears to be fighting some major infections" He stated so clinically.

"And my arm?"

He paused at her question, tears spilling down her face. "Will need a specialist at this stage. I will admit I am unsure as to how to fix it as of yet"

"B-But you can try right?" She tried to pull her amputated appendage into her body but it only caused her further agony to pulse through her forearm. "I-It f-feels as though it's on fire"

"Likely the inflammation. I suggest we get you cleaned up first and then we may start healing as many of your wounds as possible" She couldn't help but feel relived that he was helping her. It was nice knowing that she was at least safe...for now or at least until he kicked her out. "Would it be possible to have a bath, Sir? I haven't been able to have one in weeks and I feel disgusting".

He nodded and helped her up from her seat. Very slowly he wrapped his arms around her and took her to the bathroom. Severus now being as gentle as possible with her knowing how bad her injuries truly were. "You have to keep your eyes open, Miss Granger" She only nodded, struggling to even lift her head. Severus helped her sit on the toilet as he filled the bath with warm water before depositing several potions into the bath and waving his wand over it. This will help keep ease some of the infections. I have added several anti-inflammatory properties to it" He helped her with her shirt buttons again.

"Thank you, Sir" He nodded before helping her remove her shirt only for him to pause as he properly saw the wounds and lacerations over her chest, stomach and shoulders. Whip wounds. Large ones. Ones big enough to tear chunks from your body. He dropped her shirt from the shock of her injuries. Who on Earth could have done this to a young woman who only set out to help the world. It was disturbing. He thought the world was over this. Torturing and maiming people for the sake of what?

He felt her attempt to grab his arm so she can stand, now clad in nothing but her bra and pants. He grabbed hold of her as carefully as possible and helped her move over to the bath before assisting in removing her pants. Surprisingly, he didn't feel uncomfortable with her. He knew it was his student but it was also someone that he had had intellectual conversations and arguments with in the past. Who had needlessly invited him to parties and saved his behind when he was close to being thrown in prison. "Do you require assistance with your bandaging?" She tucked her arm into her chest and shook her head. "I can't stand to look at it. Not right now" Severus nodded and grabbed a nearby towel. I will disparate your bra and underwear and place a towel over you. It will give me a proper opportunity to examine and clean your injuries without too much hassle. Sound alright?"

She nodded and relaxed back. He flicked his wand at her underwear and made it disappear before passing her a towel. He could tell by her sluggish movement that at this point she did not care about covering up. She needed help. He pulled her up to stand once the towel was wrapped around her body and walked her to the bath. Once in, he adjusted the temperature to suit her preferences and allowed her to rest for a few minutes.

"Would you like to tell me where you have been if not Azkaban?"

She shook her head. "It's a long story... and I just need to rest" He nodded before he began to move towards her and began to wave his wand over her body. "You have had several concussions over the last few days. Episkey " Hermione yelped as he fixed her nose. "Ah, warn me next time. Please" He glared at her before waving the wand over her split lips. "Episkey" Her split lips began to knit back together. Hermione sighed in relief before she pulled her hand out of the bath and towards him. He noticed a silver bracelet on her wrist. "What is this?" He asked trying to pull it off her wrist but it wouldn't budge. Her un-swollen eye lit up in shock before she remembered. "I couldn't remove it. You need to remove it. Get rid of it" Her words were broken but he understood enough. "It has a tracking spell on it" He commented. She nodded hastily. He turned back to the object and cast a spell breaking the silver band in two. "Whoever had made this. Had made it in haste. It is not properly created. A temporary piece and already damaged" He looked over it. "I will send one of the elves to deliver it somewhere. Perhaps North England" He put it to the side before turning to her. "There are several bones broken in your wrist. They will have to be splinted and skelegrow administered" She nodded before pulling her hand back down as he began to flick his wand cleaning the debris out of the wounds on her arms.

He moved back over to her neck and his heart plummeted. Bite marks. Deep bite marks that had cut and scarred her skin. "Were you?"

Her eyes rimmed with fresh tears as she avoided looking at him.

"I don't want to talk about it"

He could only nod before he began to clean her neck. "I have some wounds on my back as well" She informed him staring down at the sediment now at the bottom of the bath. He helped turn her sit up before checking the wounds on her back. His heart began to pump faster. There was whip marks littering her back. "My apologies Miss Granger. It seems I had initially overlooked your injuries" Hermione nodded solemnly. "These will require several topical medications to be placed on your back. The tearing in your flesh is too large to consider using Episky or Dittany at this time" She nodded tears dripping down her face as he inspected her back, removing further debris from the abundance of strikes on her back. "Ah," She winced, shivering as several pieces of bark, sand and dead ants were removed from her wounds. Severus picked one of the bugs up and inspected it. Small but enough to cause extreme discomfort. He didn't realise the girl had started crying in the background until he placed the dead bug on the ground and leaned over the tub. "Miss Granger?"

She sobbed. He didn't know quite what to do, never having a woman or anyone he had to care for in his arms before. He placed a hand on her shoulder but it just made her sob harder. Severus gripped the side of the tub before staring down at his white knuckles. He hesitated before stripping his shoes off and entering the bath behind her and pulled her into his arms. He shushed her, allowing her to rest in his arms as she poured her pain out to him. "It's going to be alright?" He whispered into her ear as he brushed her bloodied and matted hair out of her face. "It's alright"

She curled into him more as he held her in his arms. "I can't- I can't" She began muttering in pain. "Shhhh" He rocked her gently. "I can't do this" She constantly repeated over and over. He continued to hold her until she cried herself into exhaustion.

"Miss Granger" She didn't answer him, her eyes closed with heavy bags under her eyes. "Hermione" he mumbled into her ear however she continued to rest. Severus carefully lifted himself and her up and out of the bath before moving back to the couches and placing her down. She didn't wake as he dried her body, knowing she wasn't 100% clean from the dirt and debris. He cast a simple Scourgify charm on the girl before beginning to strap a cast around her left wrist and ankle. He watched her face every now and again noticing her wince and move her head to the side. He figured her collapse had been due to a tonne of factors including the high level of stress her body had been under. He finished splinting her wrist with a simple plaster of paris cast before moving down to her chest and abdomen. She was littered in more bite marks, bruises and scratches down her body. He couldn't help but feel an extreme amount of anger towards her treatment.

Where the hell had she been?

She looked as though she had been...He couldn't say it. He couldn't think of it. He placed dittany on her wounds watching as they bubbled and healed before moving down to her right swollen knee and ankle. He waved his wand over it and saw the large break in her bones and ligaments as well as the circulation in her feet had been compromised by the break. He didn't know how she had been able to move on it and she would require something to pull the shattered bones apart for them to heal properly and release the pressure on her blood vessels. He twiddled his wand and looked up at her still face to see her still perfectly asleep. He grabbed one of his pillows and transfigured a traction splint for her leg. He began to strap her leg into the device before placing the hook onto the strap around her ankle. He took a deep breathe before cranking the wheel over.

She screamed in agony as her leg was pulled and the bones began to shift. "Ah, STOP!" She screamed again, trying to sit up and failing miserably due to the state of her body and fatigue. All she could do was dig the back of her head into the ground as he continued. "PLEASE!" She pleaded with him as he leaned over again. "Miss Granger, I need you to remain still. I have just re-aligned the bones in your shin and it will require a cast" Severus tried to keep her from moving but she hunched over in pain. He moved down to her leg trying to hold it as stable as possible. He sighed, "Episky" She screamed again in agony as the bone shard realigned themselves.

He watched as she began to shake, her mouth foaming at the sides.

Shit!

She was having a seizure.