CHAPTER 13

The holiday's passed very quickly.

Christmas celebration had been wonderful as well New Year's, though he hadn't been there.

Fred taught Sophie some Quiditch moves and ran a few races on their brooms. To everyone's surprise Sophie won every race. Perhaps she wasn't a Quiditch player, but she definitely loved to fly. Whenever she was doing it she forgot about everything that surrounded her, it was just the wind, the broom and her. Sophie's dad had bought her a nimbus 100 when she was just nine years old. Lizzy Miller hadn't been too pleased with the idea but she trusted her husband...and his mediwizard skills, just in case.

Sophie and Hermione discovered that they also shared a passion for the theater. Hermione's parents had taken her to almost every play that showcased in any theatre near London, so had Sophie's. The promised that they would go to see a play whenever they returned to London.

The train ride to Hogwarts made Ron and the twins sad, but Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Sophie were glad to be back, though they were not so glad about waking up at 6-7am. After almost a month of waking up at half past ten it was hard. Breakfast was as delicious as they could remember, though they were still sleepy so their taste buds weren't too reliable.

Sophie couldn't avoid smiling when she saw professor Snape strutting across the DADA's classroom, and she could either swear she was crazy or he had smiled at her for a micro-second.

January, February and March went by in a blink and Easter holidays where only one day away. The Weasley's went to the burrow, Harry staid with Sirius and Hermione with her parents, though Remus and Molly Weasley had both asked her to stay with them Sophie decided to stay in the castle as Madame Pomfrey was training her to become a mediwitch. She had been assisting her after class an on the weekends, after Quiditch matches or dueling lessons were the most agitated hours. Some kids were really brutal.

After seeing her friends and her boyfriend depart she felt a little blue, Gryffindor tower was empty except for her and so was the castle except for a few exceptions and the teachers.

On her first day alone at Hogwarts she had decided to take a book to the lake and just stay there until she had to report to Poppy. She had morning sessions from ten till one and then from seven till nine, where she would eat dinner with Poppy afterwards. It was half past six and she had to go to the infirmary in an hour when a house elf went looking for her like crazy saying that Madam Pomfrey needed her. He said it was an emergency so she ran towards the infirmary to find Snape bleeding, bruised and unconscious. His state was almost critical and Poppy looked hysterical.

"Sophie, thank god you are here dear, I need to go get Wound-Healing Potion, Blood-Replenishing Potion and some Bruise removal paste, would you mind healing some his injuries while I'm gone?"

"Sure." She was still in shock; she would have never wanted to see him like that.

She disinfected and closed his worst wounds stopping the internal bleeding and gave him a potion to reduce his fever and his pain.

Few minutes later Madame Pomfrey came back with the potions and the paste and gave to and applied them on the professor. She had asked Sophie to monitor him for the night as she was younger and was her peer in skill. She couldn't say no to her mentor.

She had dinner by his side and remained there cuddling in the couch reading Pride and Prejudice by her favorite muggle author of all times Jane Austen. She couldn't help but to feel a little related to Elizabeth and her leading man issues.

All of a sudden Severus begun shaking, making her leap from her seat and get the Fever-purging potion. A second later she was by his side holding his head up with one hand and making him drink the potion with the other.

As he stopped shivering he opened his eyes to see her face only inches away.

"Sophie?" Hid voice was a barely audible whisper as he took the hand that was on his cheek with the empty vial.

"I'm here, you're at the infirmary, you are safe now." When her hazel eyes met his coal one's he relaxed. His eyes closed but he didn't let go of her hand for the rest of the night.

He slept during the whole night with no trouble while Sophie woke up every two hours to check on him. Every time she examined him she noticed how big his hand was in comparison to hers.

When sunlight begun filtering through the window Severus finally woke up to see that it was already half past eleven. As he turned to one side to get the glass of water that was on the nightstand he saw Sophie on a couch next to his bed, holding his hand. He remembered how she had taken care of him the night before and how she had reassured him. A smile became noticeable on his pale face when he saw how peaceful she looked asleep and how she squised gently his hand every now and then. As he saw her opening her eyes he closed his pretending to be asleep.

When she woke up Sophie noticed that he hadn't let go of her hand. She smiled.

"I see you have been talking good care of our potions master, haven't you Sophie?" In response to Albus's bright voice Sophie let go of Snape's hand a little startled. "How are you feeling my friend?" Realizing that her headmaster wasn't talking to her she looked at the man she had been accompanying all night long.

"I've been better but I've also been worst." His voice was as good as knew, that made Sophie smile. But his statement made her worry. It was obvious to her that those wounds had been caused by the cruciatus curse, how could he have been worse?

"Aren't you glad Sophie decided to stay through the holiday's?" Severus didn't appreciate Albus's playful tone and double meaning. But she had saved him alongside with Madame Pomfrey, she was as skillful as Poppy, or probably even more, he wasn't quite sure about that yet, but she definitely was younger and more agile. She had taken care of him and stayed with him during the entire night. He was grateful, for more than just her mediwitch's skills and they were alone so, why not thank her?

"I am, thank you for healing me and staying all night Miss Miller, I appreciate it." He was looking straight into her eyes, he saw her blush a little at his statement, he loved having such effect on her.

"No problem sir." She answered him with a smile.

"I'm sure you both must be starving, I'll send a tray for both of you, stay here" Snape could picture Albus mischievous smile as he walked away to the hall.

"Drink this" Sophie had a small vial on her hand and she was giving it to him. He took it and smelled it making a distasteful face. "If it helps whenever I had to drink it I held my breath so as not to feel it's taste." He did as told and almost didn't felt it's disgusting taste, Sophie had a glass on water for him to wash away the remains of the potion.

"Why would you have had to drink a Strengthening potion before?" He seemed concerned.

"I took dueling classes with a rather extravagant teacher when I was little, and he didn't believe in mercy not even in the case of an eight year old" His face became more tense at her explanation. She let out a small laugh due to his expression. "So when I came home after class my mom gave me the potion"

"What happened to your teacher?"

"He quit after the first year." Sophie smiled knowingly and then met his eyes, they were filled with confusion. "Apparently he didn't enjoy being beaten by an eight year old girl." And with that a rather unusual thing for anyone who had ever met Snape happened. He laughed at her story. She chimed in after a second.