A/N: Here's a longer chapter. It explains a little of who Mina is, though she doesn't know any of this, and won't for a while. Sorry if the first part's super boring – this is just a whole lot of fluff that needs to be said in order for it to make sense why Severus, McGonagall, and Dumbledore know so much about Mina that she doesn't even know about herself. Again, this is my first fanfiction that I'm posting, so please don't hurt me! Also, I rated this M for future chapters and some content that is suggested. So far, it could probably be considered T. But M just to be safe!

Severus Snape: Shut up, you idiot, you're rambling. Just type the chapter already.

Severus Snape was not happy. He had no idea why he was being summoned at such a late hour (technically an early one – it was one o'clock in the morning) by Dumbledore, but he hoped it was for a good reason, because if it wasn't the old coot was going to receive the rough edge of his tongue.

For the first time in months, Severus had been sleeping without nightmares and without a Dreamless Sleep potion. Usually, if he wanted any sort of sleep not haunted by the horrible visions of Death Eater meetings and Lily's corpse, he had to drink the draught, which he knew could be potentially harmful if consumed too often. It wasn't addictive, but if he were to drink it every night, he might not wake up again.

So, once a week, he allowed himself the luxury of drinking the potion. Tonight hadn't been one of those nights, and yet he had been sleeping peacefully, dreaming of a time when he and Lily had been walking beside the lake at Hogwarts, discussing a new potion they were working on together. It had been quite the pleasant dream, one of the best he had ever had.

Naturally, Dumbledore had to interrupt his peaceful slumber and summon him to his office at one o'clock in the morning.

After waking himself with a splash of cold water to the face and throwing on his black robes, Severus stalked out of his bedroom and into his small sitting room whose walls were stalked floor to ceiling with books and Flooed to Dumbledore's office. In it, he found Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor House, already present and seated. She too did not look happy and had a mug of coffee clutched between her hands, something he knew she rarely indulged in unless she was exhausted.

Sending out letters must have really tired her, he thought to himself. But why does Albus need us both?

"You summoned me, Headmaster?" he said, dropping himself into a chair without bothering to wait for Dumbledore to invite him to do so.

Dumbledore nodded. "Minerva has been sending out dozens upon dozens of letters to one Mina Evans. None of them have even been opened and when she Summoned one of them back, the pre-printed address read The Cellar, Lestrange Manor."

Severus felt all the blood drain from his face. He remembered the countless times he had been summoned to Lestrange Manor as a Death Eater and the countless tortures he had witnessed in its cellar. Many of his nightmares took place in that God-forsaken place and he knew that if Ms. Mina Evans was being kept there, her existence was not pleasant.

"How long has she been there?" he asked tersely.

"We don't know," Minerva replied, draining her mug and setting it on Albus' desk. "But we need to retrieve her before things get too out of hand."

"Do we even know if she's still alive?" Severus asked Albus. Again, the Headmaster nodded.

"She's alive; if she wasn't, the letters simply wouldn't have sent."

Severus sighed. He pitied Mina Evans. Oh, how he –

"Wait a minute. Mina Evans?"

"Yes, Severus," said Minerva. "Mina is the illegitimate child of Lily Evans."

Snape felt the muscles around his jaws go limp and his mouth opened wide. "What? Impossible," he sneered. "Lily may have had an arrogant brat for a husband, but she was in love with him as far as I could tell. She would not have cheated on him."

"That's just it," said Minerva. "We don't think she did cheat on James. We believe that she was raped."

"And what gives you that impression?"

"We don't know of anyone who would consent with Fenrir Greyback." Albus looked over his half-moon spectacles at Snape, who was now sure that due to his lack of sleep and the startling revelations he would pass into the abyss of unconsciousness.

"And no one ever mentioned this before, why?" he asked from behind his teeth, his knuckles white against the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

"Everyone thought it unimportant. Lily made it sound as though Mina had died soon after her own birth. Clearly, that is not the case."

Severus took several deep breaths, forcing himself to relax. What had been done to Lily was far in the past and there was nothing he could do to change it. All he could do was accept it. Slowly, he listed the twelve uses of dragon's blood and the sixteen uses of unicorn tail to bring his mind to a more manageable level. "How do we know this is the same Mina Evans? Evans isn't an unpopular surname and there could be another Mina out there. And why would we be sending letters to someone who's dead?"

"We wondered the same thing. For whatever reason, the automatic quills were scratching her name away. The letter we retrieved came back stained with blood. We tested it with a Parental Potion to see who the parents were, hoping it was Mina's blood, and lo and behold, it revealed Lily Evans and Fenrir Greyback."

Severus cursed in several languages in his head, then forced himself to count to sixty in Latin backwards starting from one hundred. Once he was calm again and not likely to explode Albus' entire office, he asked, "Then what are we waiting for?"

Two pairs of eyes widened. "You actually believe us?" Albus asked.

"No," said Severus through his teeth. "I don't believe I have enough evidence from you to prove that this Mina is indeed Lily's child. But it is certain that this Mina Evans, regardless of her parentage, is currently residing in the cellar of Lestrange Manor, and she needs to be removed. Now. So regardless of who she is, I intend to make sure she no longer suffers."

Abruptly, all three of them stood at the same time and strode quickly out of the Headmaster's office, heading for the gates of Hogwarts where Albus and Minerva promptly grabbed hold of Severus, who Apparated them away to Lestrange Manor.

*Page Break*

The sight that greeted Severus was a familiar one. Lestrange Manor was even larger than Malfoy Manor, the Lestrange's wealth going back much farther than that of the Malfoys, though not quite as far as the Blacks, who could trace their lineage back to Merlin, whereas the other two could merely trace their lineage back to the Blacks.

As far as Severus knew, the Manor had long since been unoccupied since Bellatrix and her husband had been imprisoned for their torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom. But since he knew there was at least one new occupant in the cellar, he cast a quick Homenum Revelio to make sure there were no other occupants. Apparently, Mina's assailants had left for the day, which made sense, given the hour, and she was the only one currently within the manor.

Snape confidently strode up to the wrought iron gates and tapped them with his wand, concentrating on the password in his mind, hoping it hadn't been changed. He sighed in relief when they opened before him. Apparently the Death Eaters welcomed any other Death Eaters who wanted to join in the 'fun' and didn't believe anyone disloyal to their cause had the password.

With Minerva and Albus on his heels, he surged forward into the maze-like garden preceding the manor itself and navigated it with absolutely no difficulties. The manor itself was just as winding and difficult to comprehend, but he navigated that easily as well. He only knew the way to the cellar, but thankfully that was exactly where he needed to go. After descending a final flight of stairs, he hesitated in front of the door, his hand hovering over the handle. What would he see on the other side of this door? What had already been done to the poor girl he knew lay on the other side? Depending on how long she had been there, the possibilities were endless.

"You won't like what you see on the other side of this door – that much I can guarantee," he muttered to his companions. They nodded and, steeling himself for the worst, he opened the door. He thought he heard the slight rustle of fabric against stone, giving him a glimmer of hope that she might still be capable of some form of movement, but the cellar before him was pitch-black, so he had no idea what she looked like or whether she actually could move.

"Lumos," he whispered. Behind him, he heard the other two. The combined light of all three wands bathed the cellar in light and the sight that greeted them caused all three to nearly regurgitate their last three meals. Severus even heard Minerva gag.

Before them lay a tiny, emaciated girl clothed in rags that had been too small for her two years ago even given her miniscule stature. She was curled into the fetal position, indicating her expectation to be hurt, Severus noted, and she was blinking against the light of their wands, which wasn't all that bright, speaking to her lack of exposure to illumination. Perhaps most disconcerting, however, was the fact that she was quite literally covered in blood, some dried, some fresh, and she was lying in a pool of it. The room stank of not only blood, but also the small amount of waste the girl generated that she had nowhere better to place. Glimpses of that could also be seen throughout the room and near the girl herself. Glimpses of bone could also be seen on the girl, and not just the outlines, but the bones themselves. The Death Eaters had quite literally shaved down the layers of her skin and muscle so much that her bones were very much visible.

Severus froze, however, for more than just those reasons. The girl looked exactly like Lily had when she was eleven. And the image of Lily Evans covered in blood and looking at him with a look of horror and terror was not one that sat comfortably with Severus Snape.

Albus was the first to recover. He strode forward a few steps, but when the girl cowered and attempted to push herself away from him with her clearly broken legs and arms, he stopped, raising his arms in a placating gesture. "It's alright," he murmured softly, gently. "We won't hurt you. We want to help you. We want to get you out of here."

Mina didn't look like she believed him.

Cautiously, Severus and Minerva began to move around her to her other sides. She tried to keep them in her sights at all times, but eventually that failed and she let her head rest back in its original position, facing Dumbledore. Together, Minerva and Severus cast a silent Mobilicorpus that lifted Mina a few inches off the ground. The combined force of the two ensured that, should one of them be distracted by a stray Death Eater, Mina would not have to suffer being dropped on the ground so one of them could duel. Severus knew the likelihood of one of the Death Eaters returning before dawn was slim, but he wasn't taking any chances, and clearly, neither was Minerva.

As Albus continued to attempt to soothe Mina, who looked as though she might have a panic attack if she had the energy and strength to do so, Minerva and Severus pointed their wands in the same direction and carefully guided Mina's body out the door and into the manor. Mina looked in fear at everything she saw, clearly unfamiliar with everything she saw. Severus began to wonder if Mina could remember anything except that cellar. Judging from her facial expressions, he guessed not.

Once they were once again outside the Anti-Apparition Wards, Severus and Minerva exchanged looks. Both were thinking the same thing: it was too dangerous to Apparate with Mina in such a state. She was already so physically damaged that to Apparate with her could potentially worsen her injuries. Apparating wouldn't do her mental state any favors either; the sensation of being squeezed so tight she couldn't breathe would probably bring back horrible memories, and even if it didn't, it would certainly make her more uncomfortable around the three of them, which was the last thing they needed. She was already clearly untrusting of them; they needed to improve her trust as much as possible.

All this was conveyed from the two of them to Albus in one look and he quickly conjured up three brooms, once again frightening Mina. Severus believed she was terrified of everything, especially if it had to do with magic. Carefully as they could, so as not to jostle Mina too much, Minerva and Severus mounted brooms and pushed off, hovering above the ground, keeping Mina hovering between them. Albus cast them a quick glance from ahead, then soared off into the night. Severus and Minerva followed close behind, each keeping one eye on the man in front of them, the one who actually knew where he was going, and the other eye on Mina, making sure she was in no danger of falling, something she seemed terrified of experiencing. Occasionally, Severus would glance behind them to make sure no Death Eaters were following. He didn't expect to see any, but he would rather be safe than sorry.

What has happened to this poor girl to drive her to such a state? thought Severus. Clearly, whoever participated in her torture took several ideas from Bellatrix's book; I haven't seen anyone this bad except coming from her.

After several hours, the four of them sailed easily through the wards of Hogwarts, which quite willingly accepted the injured girl and her saviors, welcoming them into the safety of her grounds. They flew directly into the hospital wing, whose windows were all flung wide open, and Severus and Minerva carefully deposited Mina in a bed. Minerva and Albus promptly rushed off to find Madame Poppy Pomfrey, the resident Healer that they had warned to be ready for her arrival in case the worst should be discovered.

The worst had been discovered.

Severus was the only one left with the girl now. Somehow, he figured that was a good thing. She needed something stable and consistent that wasn't painful and worthy of fear. However, the girl's recent experiences had been too taxing despite their best efforts, and he noticed this.

"Relax," he whispered. "You're safe now."

She promptly lost consciousness.

*Page Break*

Mina timidly looked up at the newcomers. She could distinguish the outlines of two men and a woman, one man much taller than his two companions. Next to them, their animi hovered, eyeing her and Hugo with concern. The tallest man's anima was a beautiful phoenix, his red plumage bright to Mina's eyes that were long-since used to the dark colors of her prison, her assailants, and their animi. The woman's animus was a tabby tomcat with eyeglass markings around his eyes that vaguely reminded Mina of a raccoon. The final man's anima was a young doe, her white spots standing out stark against her brown fur.

Abruptly, their wands lit up and Mina squeezed her eyes shut. Never before had she seen such bright lights. The Death Eaters rarely bothered to create any source of light and when they did, it was always in the form of dim torches. Clearly, her torturers were much more used to the dimness than these newcomers. Somehow, that fit perfectly in Mina's mind.

Eventually, her eyes recovered and she opened them to see expressions of what she assumed was shock on the faces of the newcomers. Their animi looked the same way and Hugo nervously cowered next to her, though his mongoose nose was somewhat extended toward them, sniffing experimentally with curiosity. If she hadn't been so worried about what these people would do to her, Mina might have smiled at how well Hugo reflected her inner thoughts and emotions, not only in his various, ever-changing forms but also in his actions.

The first to recover from his shock was the tall wizard and his phoenix anima. They stepped forward and Mina and Hugo cowered as best they could with so much pain coursing through their bodies. The tall wizard seemed to notice this and abruptly stopped, as did the phoenix, landing lightly on her wizard's shoulder. "It's alright," he murmured softly, gently. "We won't hurt you. We want to help you. We want to get you out of here." But no matter how kindly he said his words, no matter how soft his expression was, Mina could not bring herself to believe him.

The tall wizard's companions began moving around Mina cautiously, as though afraid she might explode. She tried to follow their movements, not comfortable in the slightest with having them out of her line of sight, but eventually her muscles and bones screamed in protest too much and she was forced to drop her head back toward the tall wizard. She was surprised to see that all three of the new animi had cautiously approached Hugo and were attempting to console him. He was cowering between the three of them, but none of them were acting aggressively toward him at all. In fact, they were all quite calm and seemed as though they were trying not to scare him too much. The phoenix had her wings tucked in to her sides and was settled on the ground as though nesting, her head bowed as though she was being submissive. The cat was much the same way, lying down facing Hugo with his paws tucked beneath him and his long tail wrapped about him. The doe, the largest of the three and therefore the most intimidating, settled down in front of Hugo, right in his line of sight where she knew he wanted her, and rolled over, looking at him with large, brown eyes.

Mina supposed that the careful actions and submissive poses of their animi reflected the newcomers' feelings, attempting to make sure they didn't startle her in any way. Perhaps she could trust these people. Their animi, after all, were incapable of performing any actions contradictory to what their humans were truly feeling and/or truly doing (they reflected whichever was stronger). But since the animi could be reflecting the newcomers' true actions rather than their true feelings, Mina decided that it was best not to give them her trust just yet, despite how much she wanted to.

Hugo, on the other hand, was demonstrating just how much he wanted to trust these newcomers. He had risen out of his cowering position and had now taken the form of a raccoon cautiously sniffing at each of the other animi in turn. Eventually, he settled back down in the middle again, still wary of the two animas and the animus in front of him, but less defensive now.

She would have screamed if her throat wasn't so sore as she felt herself levitating off the ground. Hugo started as well and looked around him in confusion. The other three animi slowly rose around him, attempting not to startle him. The phoenix eventually dared to come forward and preen Hugo's raccoon fur as her human began to attempt to soothe Mina, and Hugo's fur promptly turned into spoonbill feathers. The spoonbill snapped at the phoenix, but when the phoenix merely continued to nibble affectionately at the spoonbill's feathers, the bird relaxed somewhat and turned into a mouse which, thankfully, the tom cat did not attack or chase. The phoenix did not seem to care about the sudden change in Hugo's form, but continued to preen the fur of the young animus, ridding his fur of the blood and waste that had built up there after so many years.

Mina was now even more convinced she could trust these newcomers. Perhaps they truly were there to help her. Perhaps they would not hurt her. Perhaps they would take her out of this horrible place and give her somewhere better to stay.

But a small voice in the back of her mind declared otherwise. Why would someone offer someone like you a place to stay? A lying, good-for-nothing freak doesn't deserve a better place to stay, remember? There's a reason the Death Eaters brought you here: you're a menace to society, and you need to be kept off the streets and in check.

With the seedling of doubt still in her mind, Mina looked fearfully at the newcomers, wondering where they were taking her. Were they taking her to somewhere with more security? Had she done something wrong? That sense of doubt only grew as she was levitated out the door, Hugo at her side with the other animi, and led into a large hall full of objects she had never seen before. Were they harmful? Would they do anything to her? Were they some sort of new device designed to ensure she was even more limited? They looked like something she would fit into…would they imprison her in one of them now?

But they continued to walk past every single contraption that Mina looked at with such fear. As soon as they had emerged from the stairwell, Hugo had turned into a spoonbill once again, wary of everything around him. The phoenix continued to preen him, again not noticing his shifting form. Mina began to wonder if she could even tell. She found it more likely that the phoenix simply didn't care.

Eventually, Mina was led into a completely different environment. The air was much lighter in this new area and the ceiling was much higher. Judging from the thoughts she had heard over the years and the surface thoughts she scraped at from the newcomers, she was now outside. Mina thought about delving deeper into their thoughts, but she knew she simply didn't have enough energy to do so.

Strangely, she could not access the mind of the man with the doe anima, not even his surface thoughts.

After a long time of walking, they arrived outside a set of gates and the tall wizard conjured three broomsticks out of thin air, startling Mina once more. Hugo changed from spoonbill to polar bear, snarling at the new appearances. Now the tomcat came up to rub against his lower legs, soothing him somewhat, and eventually Hugo reverted to spoonbill once again, still defensive but less of an aggressive defensive.

Oddly, Mina noticed, the doe did not approach Hugo. She did not attempt to hurt him and she looked as though she wanted to help, but she seemingly had no idea how to go about it. Mina figured the doe was simply worried she would step on Hugo or otherwise startle him and that she was simply being wary of the young animus, knowing he was likely to lash out at her if he felt threatened.

The three newcomers boarded their brooms and Mina was left hovering between the woman and the shorter man. They levitated into the air somewhat, seeming to pause for something, then took off. The animi floated a little below the humans, the phoenix still preening the spoonbill and the tomcat still rubbing up against his legs, purring quite loudly. The doe trailed a little behind, glancing behind her every once and a while as though checking to make sure they were not followed.

Mina could not help but glance down in fear. What if the newcomers had retrieved her simply to drop her from this magnificent height? What if they did drop her? Would she survive? She found herself hoping she wouldn't. If it meant she could escape the pain, she would rather die.

But after a while, Mina began to realize that the newcomers had no intentions of dropping her. In fact, they were taking certain precautions to make sure she wasn't dropped. They always kept one eye on her and one eye on the tall wizard, who now appeared to be the leader.

After what seemed like quite a long time to Mina, a castle came into view. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear at the sight of it. It was rather large and imposing and she had no idea what was inside. More torture devices? More people to keep her in line? Maybe she had done something wrong.

But another voice whispered that perhaps the castle was simply rather spacious and she would have a lot of room to roam. Perhaps the castle could be a source of freedom.

She promptly squashed this voice. She did not want to get her hopes up only to have them come crashing down around her. Disappointment was the last thing she needed.

The newcomers sailed her over the gates surrounding the castle and flew straight for a wide-open window surrounded on either side by many other wide-open windows. They landed upon the floor of a white room, carefully levitating Mina into what she recognized as a bed. She had never seen one in living memory and she had certainly never been on one before. Hugo settled on the floor next to her with the other animi, who were still comforting him. Ironically enough, the phoenix had continued preening the spoonbill even when the tall wizard had stopped muttering soothing words to Mina.

The most recent new experiences of Mina's life had taken too much out of her, she realized. As she landed upon the bed, she felt her eyes grow heavy and distantly saw through a long black tunnel the tall wizard and the woman run off in the same direction, their animi disappearing with them. But the other man stayed behind and his anima finally approached Hugo, settling down around him and allowing him to lean into her.

Faintly, Mina heard the man whisper something. "Relax. You're safe now." Then the darkness took over her vision and she lost consciousness.

A/N: Please review! Since this is my first posted fanfiction, I really want to know what the readers think and if you review, I know I have readers. Even if you hated the story, I'd like to know. It'll at least make me feel better that someone read it.

Severus: Shut up. You're ruining it.

Me: *cricket, cricket*

Severus: Much better.