Nothing

.

Less then fifteen minutes later, Severus came bustling into the hospital wing, almost running into Pomfrey as she came rushing up the stairs. "Is that her?" she asked quickly, and when they nodded, she ordered Severus without pause. "Place her on one of the beds. Make sure she stays wrapped up, and keep an eye on her until I can get to her." She hurried off to a side room, muttering under her breath as she went through a list of things she might need.

Moving quickly, Severus laid the girl down on the nearest bed, being careful of her more obvious injures. Still, she whimpered softly, trying to turn on her side and curl into a ball once more, even though it seemed to pain her to do it.

"Its alright, little one," Dumbledore said in his most calming voice. Sometimes, Severus would swear it was like he was breathing a Calming Draught. No, better yet, like it was breathing a Tranquility Draught, the stronger version of the potion for those who need more then just calming. "You're safe now."

Surprisingly, the girl still whimpered, trying again to curl up. "No..." she groaned lowly.

"Calm down," Severus said firmly. "We won't hurt you."

Again, the girl surprised him by stopping suddenly, freezing like someone who had been turned into a statue. But the surprise soon left him as she opened her small mouth and screamed in pain. Severus stopped himself from slapping his hands over his sensitive ears, it was like there was a banshee inside her that had been set loose.

"What did you do, Severus?" Pomfrey snapped as she came rushing over, already waving her wand for diagnostic spells even as the girl switched to screaming to sobbing.

"Nothing," he snapped back. "She just started screaming all of the sudden."

Leaning over the girl, Pomfrey let the diagnostic spells work while she tried to calm the child. "Its alright, dear. I'm a nurse, I'm here to help you. Shh."

"Please, no..." Her head was shaking back and forth, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't - "

"You'll be alright," Pomfrey promised as bright letters and numbers appeared over the girl. She glanced over them, her frown deepening. "She has moderate hypothermia - her core temperate is 25°C. We need to get her warmer." She waved her wand, and the blanket changed, red and thicker with heavier material, and with another wave, it wrapped itself around her more securely. And the girl screamed again.

"What in the -" glancing over the writing that was now appearing above the girl, Pomfrey's eyes widen before whirling around to face Severus. "Why didn't you tell me she had a broken wrist and cracked ribs? I could have made them worse -"

"I've barely had the time," Severus snarled. "And I didn't know about the ribs."

Shaking her head, Pomfrey turned around waved her wand again, and the blanket wrapped around her loosened before moving and wrapping around her lower body. The girl shivered as Pomfrey quickly looked her over, casting a Warming Charm on her. "I'll need to deal with her injures before I wrap her up again." She turned on her heel, Severus and Dumbledore barely dodged the wand that came very close to their faces. She flicked her wrist several times, muttering Accio spells under her breath. This time, Severus and Dumbledore stepped aside as everything the nurse summoned came flying towards them, barely landing on the nearby table.

"You aren't going to heal her breaks?" Dumbledore asked, glancing over the various potions.

"Not completely, and not at the moment. I need to focus on keeping her warm. Cracked ribs, I'll fix those, I can't risk them breaking and puncturing her lungs. Broken wrist, I'll have to just try and keep it secure for now. Examining and fixing it will require time. The bruises are large and painful, but none of them are life threatening. I'll give her a potion to make sure her organs aren't injured." She flicked her wand again. "Accio Organ Repair Potion. Its basic, but it will work for now," she said as the potion flew to her, landing with everything else.

As Pomfrey spelled the bandages to wrap around her wrist, not wanting to move the child any more then she had to, Dumbledore gently touched his shoulder. "Why don't we wait in my office?" He looked to Pomfrey. "You'll Floo call us when you're done?"

Pausing for a brief moment even as the bandages still moved, Pomfrey nodded. "Of course, Albus," she said before getting back to work.

"Coming, Severus?"

Nodding, he followed the Headmaster out the hospital wing. Several minutes went by before Severus spoke. "How did you know she was out there?"

"Fawkes," Dumbledore answered with a smile, although it looked a bit grim. "He keeps watch over the castle, something he's always done. It seems he sense the young girl coming, and once he had confirmed it, he sent me a message, the feather I received at the table. It gave me a vision of the girl outside the gates."

"Ah." It made since, even while at the same time, it didn't.

Silence went on for a few more minutes before they reached the entrance to the Headmaster's office, the gargoyle statue still as it waited for the password.

"Pumpkin juice."

With a polite nod - something one would never expect to see from a stone statue - the gargoyle jumped aside, the entrance to the staircase revealed. Still, the men were silent as they went up to the office, and stayed that way as they sat down, Dumbledore in the seat behind his desk and Severus sitting across from him. The portraits stared at them, whispering among themselves, while Severus tried not to glare at the previous headmasters and headmistress. He noticed that Fawkes was back on his perch, watching the two with his sharp eyes. Sometimes, Severus swore there was something disturbing about that bird, no matter how magical it was.

Searching through his drawers, the headmaster pulled out a tin and popped one of the yellow candies in his mouth. "Sherbet lemon?" he offered politely, holding out the tin.

Severus refrained from wrinkling his nose at the Muggle treat. He hadn't liked them as a kid, and he didn't like them now, no matter how many times Dumbledore offered. "No, thank you," he said firmly. "Instead, I rather talk about our new guest."

"Yes, the young girl. Give me just a moment." Putting the tin away, Dumbledore clasped his hands together and placed them on the desk. "Tibby?" he called out.

A 'pop', and a female house-elf dressed the official Hogwarts towel appeared, bowing to both the men. "Master Headmaster Dumbledore, Master Professor Snape. What can Tibby do for yous?"

"Tea and some chocolate chip biscuits would be lovely. And could you see to it that the rest of the professors join us, please? And Hagrid as well."

Another bow. "Yes, Master Headmaster Dumbledore," squeaked Tibby before disappearing, only to appear a few moments later balancing a tray. She placed it on the desk bowing once more before leaving with a 'pop' once more.

Pouring himself a cup of tea - it smelled like earl grey tea - Dumbledore spoke. "She can't be more then five, don't you think? Six, maybe."

"More or less," Severus agreed. He shook his head. "I don't like this. A girl of five wandering around in a snow storm? With not even shoes on? And even a brief glance showed me a broken wrist and multiple bruises on her legs, old and new. Pomfrey mentioned crack ribs, so I'm sure there are some bruises on her chest." His eyes darkened to pitch black. "All the physical signs showed abuse."

"Now, lets not jump to conclusions -" started Dumbledore.

"Jump? Its hardly a leap, Headmaster," Severus snapped. "You must have seen the bruises like I did, and you heard what Poppy said." One of Dumbledore's flaw's was not seeing such things like abuse unless it was shoved in his face, since he believed the best in everyone.

On the other hand, Severus knew from his experience as the Head of Slytherin that abused children were not uncommon. In fact, they were sorted into his House more then any other, mostly because they had more cunning and ambition then normal wizarding children, even if was just trying to avoid their abusers.

For a moment, Severus could have sworn that the usual twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had disappeared again, but when he blinked, it was still there. "Lets hope that's not the case," he finally said.

"Mm." Severus absentmindedly rubbed his left forearm. "But those facts still doesn't tell us where she's from, or even what her name is," he went on instead.

"Its most likely that she came from Hogsmeade. I'll consult some of the store owners and ask if they know if any children are missing from the village." Dumbledore waved his wand, a cup of tea floated to Severus, who knew better then to turn it away, so he took it in hand, enjoying the warmth it gave his hands.

"Even if she is missing, I see no reason to send her back so quickly," Severus said coldly. He could remember his father, the beatings he endured, and wishing he could run away, but he didn't dare leave his mother alone. "She almost died trying to get away from the one who attacked her. It wouldn't be right to send her back to them."

"Of course, once we find her parents, we'll conduct an investigation," said Dumbledore calmly, picking up a chocolate biscuit. "I see if a few Aurors will come in, get a statement and so on from her. It might even help us find her family."

"And what do you think will happen to her?" Severus asked.

"Sent to live with relatives, I suspect," he answered, taking a bite of the pastry.

Making a noise of agreement, Severus took a sip of his tea. He was right, earl grey. "And if there are none?"

Shaking his head, Dumbledore placed his biscuit down. "I don't know," he admitted. "Most orphaned children in our wold are sent to live with relatives, and that never seems to be a problem, since everyone is related in one way or another. So we've had no need for a wizarding orphanage. But I don't think that will be a problem if she came from Hogsmeade. Everyone there is either Pureblood or Halfblood."

Nodding, Severus was about to take another sip of his tea when the door opened, and the rest of the professors that stayed for the holidays came pouring in - McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Trelawney, and Hagrid.

"What's going on, Professor?" said Pomona, her eyes wide. "Minerva says you found a girl outside?"

So Dumbledore repeated the story, and even the discussion that he and Severus had only a few minutes before. As predicted, all the other teachers were shocked.

"That poor girl," squeaked Flitwick. "And you say she'll be alright?"

"It seems so. But we will have to wait for Madam Pomfrey to report to us," said Dumbledore, calm as always.

"She must be a sign from the Beyond," Trelawney whispered to herself, tightening her shawl around her. "Something's about to happen..."

McGonagall held back a snort and rolled her eyes, while Severus sneered at Trelawney. They both hated Divination, though both for different reasons, and both wished that it wasn't taught at Hogwarts.

"How did she get all the way out here?" McGonagall asked Dumbledore. "Even if she was from Hogsmeade, that such a long way to travel - and in this kind of weather."

"Magic," Severus answered shortly. "When I first touched her, I felt residues of magic on her skin. It seemed to enveloped around her like armor, keeping her warm and melting some of the snow around her."

"But you said she was only five - such magical control for someone so young is almost impossible." said Flitwick.

Shrugging, the Potions Master took a sip of his tea, which was growing cold. "It was most likely accidentally, out of her control."

"Aye, but using magic to stay warm? It takes more then wee bit of control to do that," McGonagall said, deep enough in thought that she didn't realize her Scottish accent slip.

"Poor little thing," sniffled Hagrid, pulling out a - very large - handkerchief out of his coat pocket and wiping tears away. "Can't imagine what's she's goin' through."

Severus rolled his eyes, but before he could bite something out, the nearby fire flashed from green, and Madam Pomfrey's head appeared in the green fire. "Headmaster, I've finished taking care of the young girl, and she should wake up soon," the nurse reported.

"Ah, thank you, Poppy, Albus said as he stood. "We'll be down shortly."

With a brisk nod, Pomfrey's head disappeared.

"Now, who would like come meet our new guest?"

Everyone agreed except for Trelawney, who mumbled something about a reading before excusing herself and heading back to her tower. So as a group, the professors made their way down to the hospital wing.

"How is she, Poppy?" asked Dumbledore when they entered the room. Severus could just see the girl hidden behind a curtain. She seemed to still be asleep, her breathing deep and even.

Shaking her head, Pomfrey sighed heavily as she sat down, clearly tired. "This girl is very lucky, Albus. She had moderate hypothermia, and it could have been much worse except it seemed her magic kept her warm for as long as it could. But because of that, she almost completely drained her magical core. If she had been left out there much longer, she probably would have died, from either cold or magical loss."

"There were other injuries as well. A broken wrist that was shattered so badly, I had to remove her bones so they didn't injure any muscles or nerves, and once she's feeling better, I'll re-grow them. Cracked ribs, those were healed easily enough, though she'll have to rest for the next week or so to make sure nothing re-breaks. Deep bruises up and down her body, the result of it being that some of her internal organs were close to rupturing. Cuts on her hands, but they were shallow and healed quickly. And then there was her weight." Pomfrey shook her head again. "The average height and weight of someone her age is forty inches and forty pounds. She's thirty-five inches and thirty pounds even. She's too small." Her eyes turned cloudy. "She's been starved."

The reactions varied, from Dumbledore's cold silence to Flitwick's surprising cursing. Severus merely closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe. His suspicions were only confirmed, then. More memories of his father tried to flood his mind, but he forced them aside with ease, opening his eyes and keeping them blank with indifference. Now was not the time for that.

"Will she wake up soon?" asked Dumbledore after a long moment.

"She could wake in a matter of seconds or day's. Sleeping is one of the ways we regain magic," Pomfrey said as she stood. "I'd rather give her a potion to help the process, but I don't want her to have too many when she still so young." She looked to her headmaster. "Have you any idea about her identity?"

"I plan on visiting Hogsmeade once the storm is over, talk to some of the store owners." He stroked his long beard. "They should be able to tell us who is missing a child in the village. I'll also call in an Auror, preferably Kingsley. He should be able to help us."

The professor started to talk about what they should, but before Severus could join the conversation, Pomfrey placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Why don't you go sit to her?" she suggested softly. "I'm sure she would like to see someone when she wakes up."

Severus raised an eyebrow, and scowled as he tried to say something, but Pomfrey was already nudged him to the curtain. He thought of arguing, but then remembered that it would be pointless, since the matron was one of a few people that could force him to do anything. So he pushed past the curtain, not seeing the small smile of the nurse's face.

The girl was still sleeping, her mouth slighted parted as she breathed softly. She was covered to the chin in blankets, which together were probably thicker then her. All he could see was her face, still pale, but it certainly wasn't as pale as earlier. Her black hair was shorter then he realized, surrounding her head like a dark halo, but it looked as if someone had taken a pair of scissors and just cut it very unevenly. She still looked elfin though.

Sighing, Severus took a seat in ta nearby chair. How long was he expected to wait for her to wake up? And what was he suppose to do, exactly? Just stare at her?

He looked her over again. Despite what the students of Hogwarts thought, or what he told Dumbledore, he didn't despise children. He just hated children that didn't even try in Potions. Or children that were loud and annoying, that didn't listen or follow directions they were told, or acted useless... So he hated most children. Which was it was strange to everyone else why he had taken a job as a teacher when he hated children.

Unknowing to himself, Severus curled his lip. He had taken the job was because who else would hire a former Death Eater - even if he had turned spy, even if he was a Potions Master. Because Dumbledore had practically forced it onto him. Because of a mistake he had made as a teen. He absentmindedly rubbed his left arm, the arm where the Dark Mark use to be. He made a lot of mistakes when he was younger. And he had tried to fix them. But he never could. Not for hurting and killing so many Muggles, by curses or potions, even though he tried to save many of them. Not for calling Lily a Mudblood and ruining their friendship. Not for reporting the prophecy to the Dark Lord, which caused her death. He could never make those things up. Of course, he had tried, he had turned into a spy for Dumbledore, had tried to save Lily. But no matter how much he tried, it never evened out.

The girl moaned, Severus glanced at her, wondering if she had woken up. But she simply shifted in her sleep. Sighing, he watched her for a long a moment, almost studying her. He often wondered what would happen if he had ever found the right woman, had married her, had children. Sometimes, if he thought really hard - or was really drunk - he could imagine black haired children running around, some with hooked noses like him, some with his black eyes. But there was never the right woman, and he was sure that he would mess up his children the way his father had messed him up. He didn't want to add another mistake to his list.

"I think you would be a great father, Sev." Plopping onto the green grass, fourteen-year-old Lily Evans leaned against the tree and tilted her head back to look up to the cloudy sky, her fiery red hair tugged by the wind. "Really, I do."

Rolling his black eyes, Severus took his seat next to her, pushing back his only black hair behind his ears merely out of habit, since it fell back around his face. Somehow, Lily had breached the subject of parenthood, and he knew if he didn't indulge her now, she wouldn't stop. "And why would you think that? I hate children."

Lily smiled, like she knew something that he didn't. "But it would be your child. You couldn't hate your own child."

"My father certainly has no problem hating me," Severus scowled.

She didn't stop smiling as she placed a hand over his, and Severus was glad he had gotten over his crush on her, otherwise he would be blushing a fiery red that would surpass her own hair. "But you're not your father. And besides," her smile grew larger, and her green eyes brightened, "your hands were made for creating, molding, for shaping."

"Potions, maybe," the teen said with a roll of his eyes. "Or curses."

"They can do more that, and you know it. Beside, you won't make the same mistakes your father did."

"And how do you know that?" Severus sneered.

This time, he could see the smile in her eyes. "Because I know you."

That had been before the incident, when he had called Lily a Mudblood, before she started to hate him and hang out with Potter. After that, she never talked to him - until that one night. Only a few months after she had given birth to her son, Harry Potter, James son, and just before she went into hiding. Almost a year before she died by the Dark Lord's hand, though he had begged him to spare her, to let her live.

"Severus."

Turning towards the voice, Severus felt his heart tightening as a figure stepped into the forest clearing, pulling back her hood and revealing her fiery red hair. "I... Thank you for coming, Severus."

"I don't know why I did. We haven't spoke to each other in years." And that was why he came. To see Lily again.

Lily gave him a searching look that Severus remembered from their Hogwarts years. "Severus, Dumbledore told me about the prophecy. The one you delivered to Voldemort."

Severus winced, not at his Dark Lord's name, but about the prophecy. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "If I had known... If I had known, I would have never told him." His right hand gripped at his left arm.

"And I know that." Lily took a step forward. "Severus, Voldemort is going to kill my son. James and I are going into hiding, but..." Her hands twisted together, and she looked to the ground. "I've been having this bad feeling lately. No matter what James says, I don't think we're going to survive this."

"Don't say that!" Severus stepped up to her and placed his hands on her shoulder. "Lily, don't say that. Dumbledore's going to protect you!"

"He's going to try." Lily hands fluttered around her no-longer pregnant stomach. "But I don't think he can."

"Then I'm going to protect you, Lily." Severus tightened his grip on her shoulders, and he pulled her into a hug, something he hadn't done in years. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Silence filled the clearing, and Severus felt Lily start to shake. "Don't make a promise you can't keep, Sev," she muttered into his shoulder. "You're strong, but you can't beat Voldemort." She pulled back slightly and looked up to him. "I want you to promise me something else."

"Anything. Just ask."

But before the rest of that particular memory could even be drawn from the deeps of his mind, he pulled was out of his thoughts when the girl groaned, her face twisted in pain. Her eyes fluttered, and then they snapped open, staring directing into his coal black eyes. And Severus shot up so fast his chair clattered to the floor, his eyes wide as he step back, banging his leg against the same chair. "No..." She had come back to haunt him!

'Lily...'

"I trust you, Severus." Her green eyes bore into his, not wavering, and the grip on his hands only tightened. "I trust you to take care of Harry -"

"Severus, what's going on?" Pomfrey ripped the curtain open, and her own eyes went wide. "Oh dear..."

Bright green eyes - eyes like Lily's - blinked in confusion and glanced around wildly. Severus tried to take another step back, shocked - no, horrified - but Dumbledore and the rest of the professors appeared behind him, blocking his escape. "Oh my," muttered Dumbledore.

"Where am I?" the girl asked, a tremble in her voice. "Who are you people?" She looked as if she wanted to back into a corner and curl up in another ball, to try and hide herself from them.

"You're at Hogwarts, dear." said Pomfrey, stepping forward. The girl winced, but didn't try and run, and apparently Pomfrey took that as a good sign, because she went on in a softer voice. "My name is Madam Pomfrey, the nurse here, and I've been taking care of you. You were quite injured, so please don't try and move around too much."

"What do you mean?" The girl shook fiercely now, as she was back out in the cold. "What happened to me? And what's a Hogwarts?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, Severus saw Pomfrey and Dumbledore exchange glances. "Its a school, dear," Pomfrey explained. "For young witches and wizards to learn about their magic, and how to control it."

The girl shook her head. "Magic isn't real," she said firmly, but sounded as if she had being forced to repeated it before, so many times that it become automatic. "There's no such thing as magic. My -" she paused, confused. "Who told me that?" she asked herself.

"Oh dear," repeated Pomfrey.

"What's your name, young lady?" asked Dumbledore.

She opened her mouth again, but it took her a long moment to close it, frowning. "My name is..." She shook her head. "My name is... I-I-" Her hands went up in an attempt to clutch her head, and she gasped as she saw her right wrist wrapped in bandages. She tried to move her fingers, but cried out when they didn't even twitch. "I can't feel my hand! What's wrong with me?"

"Dear, what's your name?" the headmaster repeated calmly. "We need to know it so we can find your family."

Severus was about to turn and run when the girl turned to him, staring at him with wide, fear filled green eyes that again painful reminded Severus of Lily and causing him to stop in his place. "I don't know!" the girl cried, shaking hard as she tried to curl up again, as if trying to defend herself. "I can't remember it! I can't remember anything! Please, don't hurt me, I'm sorry!"