Dark Clouds

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Breakfast was a quiet affair, something that Snape was thankful for. The students that were remaining for the holiday talked lowly, occasionally glancing up at the staff table. He could only assume that they were gossiping about the 'stranger'. He almost snorted as he sipped at his coffee - black with three sugars and just a tiny dollop of cream. He didn't approve of Albus forcing him and the other professors telling the students about the girl - after all, she would be leaving soon enough, and they would forget about her.

As he munched on toast and marmalade, Severus glanced down the table. All the professors that stayed for the holiday were there, except for Dumbledore, and of course, Madam Pomfrey, who usually had her meals in her rooms near the infirmary. He could only guess that the Headmaster was checking up on the girl. For a moment, he thought about her getting through the night, but he quickly pushed that aside.

"P'fessor Snape?"

Severus looked up from his breakfast to see Argus Filch, the Squib caretaker of Hogwarts, standing at the end of the table, his cat, Mrs. Norris, winding between his legs and meowing loudly, probably hungry. "Headmaster wants you to meet him in the infirmary. Yeh too, P'fessor McGonagall."

Nodding, Severus took another long sip from his coffee before he stood up, McGonagall doing the same a moment later. "Did Albus say what he wanted us for?" she asked Filch.

"No, ma'am," answered Filch, "but I saw some Aurors with 'im."

McGonagall looked worried, but Severus remembered the conversation he had with Dumbledore before they realized the girl had no memory. It must be Shacklebolt. He frowned. While he had no reason to hate the Auror, Shacklebolt didn't like him. Even though Dumbledore had swore in front of the Wizengamot that Severus had been a spy for Light, there were few that actually believe him, instead thinking that he simply tricked the older man. And Shacklebolt was one of them.

His eye twitching once was the only sign of his discomfort as Severus made his way to the infirmary, McGonagall close behind him. He just wanted to get this over with.

"Ah, good morning," said Dumbledore with a bright smile as they entered the room. "Glad you could join us so quickly!" He nodded to the man standing across from him. "You remember Auror Shacklebolt, don't you?"

A tall, dark-skinned man, Shacklebolt, nodded in Severus' direction, though he narrowed his eyes slightly at former spy's arrival. The woman next to him stared at him, not in a accusing way, but a studying way. She wasn't much older than him, with dark blonde hair pulled into a bun, though some strands were hanging around her face, and dark blue eyes peering through glasses. Both she and Shacklebolt were wearing ink black robes, the initials of the Ministry of Magic - M.o.M. - on the front.

"And this young woman is Miss Darcy Thomson, who works in Special Victims Department," said Dumbledore, waving a hand towards the woman. "They'll both be helping us find out where our young guest came from. I've already told them what happened, and have given them my memory of when we found her and the events following. If you would do the same, Severus."

Severus glanced at said guest, who was sitting at a small table that had been conjured up, her bare feet not even touching the floor. She was staring at the tray that was before her, breakfast laying untouched. Every few seconds, her eyes flickered over to the Dumbledore and the Aurors, as if waiting for them to do something horrible. It seemed she was still afraid of almost everyone.

Except him, of course. 'Bloody hell,' he cursed silently.

Hearing his name, she looked to him, and her bright green eyes lite up. "Mr. Sev'rus!" Scrambling off the chair, the girl ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist and bury her face in his stomach before he had a chance to stop her. "You came back!" she said happily. He noticed that she was now dressed in a dark brown pinafore, a white blouse underneath it, both probably given to her by Madam Pomfrey.

"Let go of me, child," Severus growled. He didn't care about the glare the Shacklebolt sent his way, but was more worried about the soft smiles that McGonagall and Dumbledore were giving him. They made him want to flinch and squirm on the spot.

Instead of doing as she was told, the girl looked up at him and smiled. She was still pale and sickly, but now there was also a small blush in her cheeks. "But you came back! I was worried you wouldn't! Did you know that they have elf's here? It was all tiny and wrinkly, but did magic with outta wand!"

"You mean a house-elf?" said Severus dryly.

"Yeah, that was it!" the girl said with a nod. "It had really big ears!"

"Young lady!" Madam Pomfrey came into the room, a frown on her face as she looked to the tray. "You haven't touched your breakfast yet! Now let Professor Snape go and eat!"

Shaking her head, the girl suddenly hid behind him, clinging to his robes. "Don't wanna!"

"Really, child, come and eat!" said Pomfrey firmly. "You need to eat if you want to get better."

"M'not hungry!" the girl protested. But even as she finished her sentence, a growl came from her stomach. She blushed in embarrassment, and hide further behind Severus. "M'not hungry," she repeated.

"Enough of this!" Picking up the girl under her armpits, Severus ignored her squeal of fright as lifted her into the air before he carried back over to the table, holding her out in front of him so she wouldn't cling to him again. "You will sit here," he said as he sat her in the chair, "and eat. Your body needs fuel to survive, and right now, you're not giving it any. So eat of your own free will, or I will force you to," he promised coldly.

"But -"

"But what?" Severus shot back. "What reason could you have for not eating a perfectly good breakfast?"

The girl didn't answer with words, instead, she glanced over at Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore, who were watching her subtly, waiting for her to eat. It took a moment for Severus to understand, and he huffed before he picked up the nearby spoon and shoved into the girl's hand. "Eat," he said, but this time more softly, so the other couldn't hear. "There is nothing wrong with the food. I promise."

She hesitated for a moment, but finally, the girl nodded before she scooped up some plain porridge into her mouth. Almost instantly, she sighed in relief, probably glad to find that the food was safe before she ate without hesitation, trying to scarf down everything on her plate, which consisted of the porridge, some applesauce, dry toast, and finished with a glass of orange juice.

"Slowly, or you'll make yourself sick," Severus growled in warning, and with a light blush, the girl did as she was told, eating at a slower pace. For a moment, Severus was glad that all his students were eleven and up, and knew how to act. Of course, they hadn't lost their memories.

"Your memory, if you would, Severus," Dumbledore reminded him gently, holding out a empty vial. Nodding, he took the vial and pressed his wand to his forehead. Bring the memory to the front of his mind, he gently pulled it out, which appeared like a white, glowing, thread before he placed inside the vial, where it became a swirling mist.

"Wow," said the girl, pausing in her sip of juice. "That was wicked!"

"Language," Severus said briskly as Dumbledore took the vial from him.

"Sorry, sir," said the girl, sounding as if she didn't really mean it though. "But what was that?"

"That was a memory," Dumbledore explained when Severus didn't, "of when Severus and I found you outside of Hogwarts. It will be placed in a Pensive, and the Aurors will be able to observe it as if they were actually there."

"Oh." Going strangely silent, the girl picked at her toast, suddenly loosing her appetite. "I don't remember much of that. Just... cold."

"Well, hopefully, we'll manage to find your family so you can go back to them," said Thomson rather cheerfully.

Wincing, the girl shoulders fell, and she glanced over at Severus. "Yeah..."

Quietly, Dumbledore suddenly moved to Severus' side while they watched the girl nibble at her toast. "Why don't you sit with the girl during the questioning, Severus?" he suggested kindly. "I'm sure she'd like someone to talk to while I talk with Shacklebolt and Miss Thomson."

"Must I?" asked Severus dryly.

"She does seem to like you more anyway," Dumbledore pointed out. "Or, if you rather, you could take her around the castle. Most of the children are enjoying the snow from last night's storm anyway, so there should be few people to bother her."

"... I don't suppose I have a choice, do I?" said Severus answer with a huff.

Chuckling, Dumbledore patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be so unhappy, Severus. It might actually be good for you."

Groaning silently, Severus moved over to the table, ignoring the girl's surprise as he waved his wand, summoning another chair. "Finish your breakfast," he said as he sat down.

"Are you gonna stay with me, Mr. Sev'rus?" asked the girl.

"So it seems," grumbled Severus.

A smile brightening her face, and the girl finished her breakfast in a matter of moments, her plate almost spotless as she turned to him expectantly. "So what are we gonna do, Mr. Severus?" she said cheerfully, swinging her legs back and forth in excitement.

Frowning, Severus racked his brain for a moment. What did young children do for fun? When he was that age, he spent most of his time outside, in the woods behind his home, far as he could get from his mother and father. It was how he learned about plants, and in turn, about Potions. Or he read books of many different subjects. But this girl wasn't him.

"Here we go, dear," said Madam Pomfrey as she stepped up. In her arms was a small big, though being a wizard bag, it could probably hold a lot more than the girl thought. "Look through this bag, I keep it in case the students get bored here."

Hesitantly, the girl took the bag and slowly reached inside. "Oh!" she said after a moment, pulling out a box. As she opened it, she smiled as she saw it hold lead and color pencils, crayons, erasers, and even some water paints. "Can we draw, Mr. Sev'rus?"

"I don't care," Severus growled while the girl drew out a large notebook, all its pages blank. "Do what you want."

Setting everything out, the girl thought for a moment before she carefully pulled a black colored pencil out of the box. For once, she seem happy to ignore Severus while she started to draw something, black staining the pure white paper. Satisfied that the girl was preoccupied, Severus listened in on the conversation that was happening between Hogwarts staff and the Ministry workers.

"... the files, sir," Thomson was saying. "There is no record of a girl her age and description currently missing. And there was definitely not a girl like her currently living in Hogsmeade."

"I don't understand it," Dumbledore mumbled. "If she didn't come from Hogsmeade, where did she come from? That's the closest town for miles, wizarding or Muggle."

"You're guess is as good as mine," Shacklebolt answered. "Oh course, there could be the option that someone drop her off here."

"Its possible," Dumbledore said after a moment. "But its hard to tell. I found no trace of anyone else being there, the snow covering up even her own tracks, and if they had walked to the gates, it would leave no magical reside."

"Its also doesn't help that the girl has no memory of her past, nothing that could help us," said McGonagall with a huff and a shake of her head.

"Could you think of anyone that might want to leave you with the child?" asked Shacklebolt.

"No." said Dumbledore with a shake of his head. "Of course, I'm well known, and this is a school - if someone left her here, they would probably believe that she would be taken care of."

"Thomson - could you check for any girls born five to six years ago and see if any matches the child description?" Shacklebolt asked Thomson. "Maybe her parents haven't reported her missing yet, especially if she was abused like we believe."

"I'll do it as soon as we get back, sir," said Thomson with a nod.

"Mr. Sev'rus." The girl was tugging on the sleeve of his robe. "Lookie!"

Huffing, Severus turned away from the conversation and glared down at... a piece of paper?

"Lookie, Mr. Sev'rus," said the girl, holding her drawing out so it was right in his face. She had ripped the page out of the notebook. "Do you like it?"

Frowning, Severus took a good look at the drawing, which he would admit, was rather good for a child her age, even though it seemed she only used the colors black and green. It was obviously him, dressed in billowing dark robes, and the girl, the girl hiding behind him while he had wand his wand out, a white ball of light at the end much like his Patronus from last night. At first glance, one would think they were related, both with dark hair and thin faces. But the eyes were different, his dark while hers were bright, and his nose was much more pronounced. They were standing outside, their feet sunken in snow, and were seemed to be facing something that looked like a black cloud. There was lighting flying out of it, but the color was wrong. It was green, much like her eyes.

"What is that?" asked Severus after a moment, pointing to the dark cloud.

"I dunno," said the girl. "I had a dream 'bout it last night." Lowering the drawing, she looked confused. "It was laughing, and kept shooting green bolts of lightin' at me."

"And I am... protecting you?" Severus confirmed.

"Uh huh, with your magic," the girl answered with a nod. "Do you like it, Mr. Sev'rus?"

"Its... you draw very well for your age," Severus said honestly.

Beaming, the girl pushed the page off to the side before pulled out another colored pencil as she started a new drawing. This time, Severus watched, wondering if she would draw him again, though he kept an ear towards Dumbledore and the Ministry wizards. Sadly, he learned nothing new besides the fact that they were debating where to send the child till her parents were found or her memory returned, and after a few minutes, stopped listening and watched the girl draw. She actually looked focused, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth while occasionally frowning as she tried to get the details right.

"What's this, Severus?" asked Dumbledore as he came over a few minutes, picking up the drawing from earlier. The girl, so into her drawing, didn't notice the old man's arrival.

"Something the girl drew," Severus answered as he stood while Dumbledore glanced over the picture, the potions master watching the elder with a careful eye. Something didn't seem right. The moment that the Headmaster's gaze landed on the picture, he seemed to freeze up, not looking away from the drawing for a long moment.

"What is that?" Dumbledore asked quietly, nodding to the dark cloud which he also seemed to notice.

"She says its something she dreamed about last night," Severus answered softly. "Do you know what it is, Headmaster?"

"No," Dumbledore said after a moment. "Though it does look... familiar." He smiled. "I see you're in the picture as well, Severus."

To that, Severus gave the Headmaster a glare that was, of course, ignored.

"She does seems rather... attached to you, Snape," said Shacklebolt said coolly as he came over, though already, Severus could see the gears in his mind moving, probably wondering how tricked the girl. Though he seemed to be ignoring the question of why.

"For reason's I don't understand, yes, she is," Severus said dryly, ignore the looks he got from Pomfrey and McGonagall. They looked pleased that the girl was becoming attached to him.

"Cause Mr. Sev'rus doesn't lie," said the girl, lifted her head up to look at them, pausing in her drawing of what looked like a house-elf, probably the one that brought her breakfast. Her eyes were burning in determination, the same look that Lily had when she was on her way to prove something, but they were also different. They were such a bright color - a green that reminded him of the Killing Curse. "Cause you don't lie 'bout yourself."

Before Severus could even think about what she was saying, Shacklebolt snorted and sent him an open glare, which he returned easily."Obvious, she doesn't know much about you, does she, Snape?" he snapped out. "Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater, mm?"

Before Dumbledore could tell them to stop, the girl shouted. "Don't be mean to Mr. Sev'rus!" Leaping off her chair once more, she raced to him again, clinging to his robes as she sent her own glare to Shacklebolt before point a finger at him, as if accusing him. "Leave him alone, you - you - you big meanie!" she forced out angrily.

It all happened in a instant, so quickly that there was no way to stop it. One moment, Shacklebolt was standing only a few feet away. Then he was across the room, moaning as he slid down the wall he had just been thrown against. Everyone in the room gasped in shock, even Severus.

Eyes wide, the girl started to back away. The green of her eyes was brighter than before. "I'm sorry," she whimpered before turning on her heel and racing towards the still open doors. Dumbledore, who seemed to compose himself the fastest and remembered what happened the last time the girl ran away, pointed his wand towards the doors, and the child skidded to a stop as the doors slammed in her face.

Not pausing for an instant, the girl instead raced towards the farthest bed, and she crawled under it before anyone could stop her. "M'sorry," she whimpered over and over. "M'sorry."

"Oh dear, that was..." Madame Pomfrey shook her head in astonishment as she went to Shacklebolt's side, checking immediately for any obvious wounds as the Auror placed a hand against his head, groaning in pain.

"Severus," said Dumbledore, and Severus knew what was going to come out of the old man's mouth before he had even finished his name. "Would you please fetch our young ward from under the bed?"

"Of course," Severus forced out, his teeth almost grinding. He marched over to the bed, but didn't even bend down. "Come out, girl, now."

The girl made a frightened noise. "No, you'll hurt meh! Cause I did freaky stuffs. And I'm gonna get hurt for it now."

"You should know by now that I will not harm you," Severus snapped out. "Now come out before I force you out."

Whimpering, the girl scooted forward, far enough that he could see her, but not pull her out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta hurt that man! It just happened!"

"Accidental magic," said Dumbledore, though he didn't step forward, maybe finally sensing that the girl still didn't like him. "Happens to the best of us, dear. We know that you didn't mean to harm Auror Shacklebolt. You were just defending Severus."

"Your -" sniff "- not mad?" When the girl saw Dumbledore nod in answer, she slid out from under the bed, and Severus helped her up after a look from the Headmaster. She was now covered in dust, and her lower lip trembled as she glanced around the room. "Is he gonna be okay?" she asked quietly, looking at Shacklebolt.

"He's in the capable hands of Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore reassured her. "Are you alright?"

"I think so." The girl looked to Severus. "Did - did I really do that?" She winced, even though nobody moved towards her. "I didn't mean to..."

"It wasn't your fault, dear," spoke up McGonagall. "It was accidental magic. Probably a very weak Stunner."

"Magic... but I can't do magic," said the girl with a shake of her head. "I'm not a wiz-wizard."

"Actually, you're a witch," corrected McGonagall.

"But I don't have a wand like Mr. Sev'rus or Mr. Dum'be," protested the girl, and Severus almost snorted at the nickname she had given Dumbledore.

"Children who aren't in control of their magic tend to use it when they're emotional," McGonagall gently explained. "Tell me, how did you feel when you used magic a few minutes ago?"

"...Kinda mad," the girl admitted. "Cause the mean man was saying bad things to Mr. Sev'rus."

McGonagall nodded with a gentle smile. "And your magic reacted to that. Even though it wasn't a good thing, it certainly wasn't your fault, either. It'll continue to happen your entire life - though it will get better once you've trained - probably here at Hogwarts."

"Oh." Blinking slowly, the girl must have been overwhelmed, for she swayed a bit. "I-I have magic?" She shook her head. "No, I can't have magic," she whispered, mostly to herself. "He... he won't like it."

"Who won't like that?" asked Severus when he realized what the girl just said. "Do you remember something?"

Now looking a little confused, the girl frowned. "I don't know," she said after a moment. "But... I just know he won't like it."

"Auror Shacklebolt will be fine," Pomfrey announced a moment later. "Thankful, all he's gotten was a headache - I've given him a pain potion and will advise that he go home for the day." she said, giving the Auror a stern look.

"I'll be fine, Madam, and will be returning to the Ministry in order to fill out the paperwork about this girl," said Shacklebolt, not giving the girl a look as he moved towards the door. "Thomson, are you coming?"

"Right away, Auror Shacklebolt," said Thomson as she followed. "Goodbye, dear. We'll see you soon."

"I will speak with you later, Dumbledore," said Shacklebolt before he and Thomson were gone, the door closing behind them with only a click.

"I was rather sure that the girl would go with them," said Severus after a moment of quiet, turning to the Headmaster.

"Ah, as was I. But Miss Thomson informed me that they will have to find a home for her first, and for the time being, she'll being staying here in the hospital wing," Dumbledore informed him.

"Wonderful," Severus growled.

A little shriek of surprise caused Severus to whirl around, his spy senses on edge as his hand went to his wand. A hundred different thoughts were going through his head before he finally was realized what he was seeing.

Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"Wow!" the girl gasped, staring at her hand with wide eyes. Floating above her hand was a very small ball of magic, much like his Patronus from last night. But it wasn't like the misty Patronus he had created. If anything, it was like a pure ball of light, like a wandless Lumos. It was just high enough so tiny wisp of magic brushed the palm of her hand. "I did it!" she squealed, almost jumping in excitement. "I did magic like Mr. Sev'rus!"

Lowering his hand, Severus couldn't help but stare at the magic the girl was doing, though he hid it better than Dumbledore, and much more than McGonagall and Pomfrey. Children did accidental magic for a reason - they couldn't control it, couldn't make it do what they wanted, unless it was by pure accident, like summoning a toy they wanted from across the room. To make her magic listen to her at such young age, was rare, very rare.

"What is it?" asked the girl with a frown when she saw that everyone was staring at her. "Did I do it wrong?"

"How are you doing that, child?" asked Dumbledore after a moment.

Blinking in obvious confusion, the girl looked back to her hand. "I just kinda wished I could do magic like Mr. Sev'rus - I wanted to see if I could really do, like you said, Mr. Dum'be. Is that bad?" she asked, looking at the ball of light with some fear.

"No, its alright," said McGonagall quickly. "Keep it going, for as long as you can." She shook her head as she studied the magical light. "Amazing - I've never seen a child her age have such control of her magic."

"It certainly seems like she must have came from a magical family," muttered Dumbledore, mostly to himself. "It will probably help with the search."

Nodding once in agreement, Severus glanced at the ball of light to the girl. While she seemed to be in control of it, it also seemed to take its toll on her. The longer she went on, the paler she seemed to get, and her hand soon started to shake.

"Release the magic, girl!" Severus snapped out when the girl started to pant lightly. "Draw it back in!"

"I-I don't know how!" the girl whimpered. "It hurts... How do I make it stop?"

Marching over to the girl, Severus knelt in front of her, wincing internally as his knee's cracked. Damn, he was getting old. "Calm down," he said in a low voice, the one he would use on scared first year Slytherin students that wanted to go home. "Relax. Breathe. Let the magic flow back into you, as if it were running though your arm, into your chest, and pooling down into your stomach. That's where your magical core is located."

Shakily, the girl nodded before closing her eyes, temporarily hiding the bright green. She breathed slowly, and after a long moment, her fingers twitched subtly. Then Severus watched as the ball of magic slowly grew smaller, and he could only imagine the magic returning to her core, and the color started to return to her cheeks.

A few moments later, the magic ball was gone, and the girl opened her eyes. "Whoa..." Eyelids fluttering, she stumbled backwards, and it was only thanks to Severus, who grabbed her, that she didn't fall. "I don't feel so good," she muttered.

"You just used a lot of your magic," said Severus calmly as he stood even while the girl suddenly turned green. "And it takes a lot of energy to control it without a wand."

"Ugh... Gonna be sick," the girl said as she slapped her hands to her mouth before racing off to the nearby bathroom. Madam Pomfrey following her. The sound of her retching reached Severus a moment later, followed by sobbing.

"I'm becoming more and more amazed by our young guest," said Dumbledore lowly as he stepped to Severus' side. "Even though she has no memories, she's shown off great mental barriers and strong magical usage - which is usually unheard of in underage children."

"I wonder if her parents realized what kind of potential she has," muttered Severus as the crying started to stop, Madam Pomfrey probably soothing the child. He wondered how much of the girls abilities he'd actually seen. As a Muggle once said, it was probably just the tip of the iceberg.