AN: Hello everyone, I apologise profusely for leaving you waiting an extra day, I've just been wiped out with work from College and I had pretty much no time to update yesterday. Thank you again for the subscrptions and the reviews, they make me so happy. I also found this chapter a bit diffcult to write, because when I wrote the God-awful cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter, I didn't actually know what the cliffhanger was going to be! But, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER; There is a bit of violence in this, so for people who aren't fans of that, I'm afraid you won't like this too much.
DISCLAIMER PART DEUX; All characters apart from Simona belong to the almighty J.K Rowling. I am but a lowly fanfiction writer who puts her characters back after writing about them.
CHAPTER FIVE; A SCORCHING FIRE
Simona entered the dorm to see the three girls standing around her bed. Rachel had Simona's cassette player in her hand, and was poking it with a wand suspiciously. 'Oh, Merlin' Simona thought, fearing the fact that her dorm mates will now hate her for having a 'muggle device' Simona's sharp intake of breath drew the attention of the girls, who were now glaring at her.
"What the hell is this?" Rachel asked scathingly, Bellatrix's glare was even more unbearable.
"I have no idea," Simona lied, not wanting to reveal the fact that she liked or knew about muggle technology.
"Then why is it here? I saw it peeking out from under the bed when I came in earlier," Rachel questioned, Simona started to feel beads of sweat on her forehead. She didn't want to alienate herself from someone who actually wanted to talk to her.
"I don't know, I've never seen it before," Simona replied unemotionally, not trying to give away the importance of the cassette player. Rachel's black eyes were still narrowed in suspicion.
"I'm taking it to Dumbledore, the old git might be able to tell us something about this… monstrosity," Rachel hissed. Simona swore she just saw Bellatrix smirk.
"No, no, you don't have to do that. It was under my bed, I should take it. It's probably some muggle recording device one of the Gryffindors planted to spy on us," Simona replied quickly, hoping Rachel would accept this, even though Simona thought it was a poor cover up.
"And why do you think that those Gryffindors would want to spy on us?" Rachel said, stepping towards Simona threateningly. Seeing as though Simona is petite, Rachel towered over her. Simona had no idea what to say to this, but suddenly remembered her conversation with Rachel yesterday, and her blatant dislike of Lily.
"That Evans girl." Simona replied shortly, putting on an impassive front. "I don't trust her."
"Is that so? Why do you think that mudblood would want to hear our conversations?" Rachel asked, her mouth curling into a snarl.
"Umm," Simona stuttered, she had truly run out of things to say. Her eyes widened in terror as Rachel grabbed the front of Simona's robes, her face a mere inches away from Simona's.
"She's a Gryffindor, why would she need an excuse?" Vicky added quickly, her sad eyes looking at Rachel. Rachel's eyes narrowed even more, turning them into black slits.
"Yeah, you can't umm… trust those Gryffindors," Simona added, causing Rachel's eyes to snap back to Simona.
"Don't… play dumb with me Sforza, I know what that… contraption is, and I know that it is yours. Now, why on earth do you have that primitive muggle device?" Rachel yelled, her wand flew to Simona's throat, pressing painfully on her voice-box. Simona whimpered. Usually she could hold her own in an argument, but Rachel terrified her. Any attempt to defend herself was thwarted by unadulterated fear.
"I…I… it's mine," Vicky said suddenly, both Simona and Rachel looked at Vicky with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Vicky hadn't said a word for days, she always looked at Simona with glassy eyes, like she was about to burst into tears. "I let Simona borrow it, she told me she likes listening to muggle music to help her sleep," Vicky continued, stepping bravely towards Rachel.
"Aww look, little Miss Muggle-Lover has a friend," Rachel mocked, laughing mirthlessly. Her grip tightening on Simona's robes, Simona struggled under her vice-like grip. "Shame that she is a LIAR," Rachel screeched, pushing Simona towards a wall, her wand poking Simona more painfully against her throat. Simona's breaths rapidly increased, she thought she was going to pass out.
"Leave her alone Rachel. I think it's good that she has the muggle device. Besides, our music isn't that good anyway," Vicky appealed, laughing weakly at her attempt at humour.
"Shut up, Ryan. You're only a filthy half-blood. STUPEFY!" Rachel yelled, sending sparks out of her wand, causing Vicky to go flying towards the wall at the opposite side of the room. Hitting the wall with a painful CRACK, Vicky's unconscious body slid painfully down the wall. Simona winced, if that was only for standing up to Rachel, what on earth was going to happen to her?
"You're a disgrace to this noble house, do you know that? You're nothing but a blood-traitor, just like your repulsive, filthy, good-for-nothing, poor muggle-loving parents!" Rachel shrieked, spitting out every word with venom.
At that moment, it felt like a scorching fire seared throughout Simona's body, burning away every iota of distress Simona felt and replacing it with fury. All the strength returned to Simona's bones and she was able to break free from Rachel's grip. "What… did you just say?" Simona said quietly, the same dangerous tone Severus used when he was angry. Her brow arched, and her emerald green eyes turning to obsidian.
Simona's hands tightened into fists. She wasn't going to use magic against Rachel, she felt it was more satisfying to do it the muggle way.
"I said… you're nothing but your lowly, disgusting traitor parents," Rachel replied mockingly, her mouth curling into a sardonic smirk. This, if possible angered Simona even further.
Simona blacked out with anger and punched Rachel so hard in the face she felt as though she had broken the bones in her hand. Rachel fell to the floor blood gushing out of her nose. Simona jumped on top of Rachel and continued to punch Rachel in the head repeatedly, using both hands.
"That's…for…hex…ing…Vic…ky." Simona snarled through gritted teeth between each blow to Rachel's face. "That's…for…my…par…ents…and…that's…for…Li…ly…" Simona cried, increasing the ferocity of each punch. All Simona could feel at that moment was pure hate. Soon, Rachel had been beaten unconscious, nasty black bruises were forming on both her eyes, her lip was bleeding badly, her nose had been broken and it looked like Simona had broken her jaw in several places too. It took all of Simona's self-control to stop hitting Rachel, fearing that if she didn't stop, she would kill her.
Simona's breathing was now ragged and uneven, dragging herself off from Rachel, she wiped Rachel's blood from her face. She had to get out of the dorm room. "Mi dispiace mamma, papà. So che si sarebbe arrabbiato con ciò che ho fatto stasera, ma lei infangato il vostro onore.Non potevo lasciarla fare a voi. Io ti amo," she said, tears streaming down her face. Wiping them fiercely from her face, as fast as they appeared she took off from the dorm room.
At the bottom of the stairs, Simona ran into Severus, knocking the books out of his hands. "Watch where you're going," He snarled. Picking up his books from the floor and scowling at Simona. He flinched when he noticed Simona's black eyes. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, feigning concern.
"None of your business," Simona barked, pushing past him and striding towards the exit. Severus grabbed Simona's wrist, causing her to spin around towards him. "LET GO OF ME!" Simona screeched, trying to get out of Severus' constricted grip.
Severus pulled her out of the common room, where people were now looking at the two with prying eyes, through the annex of corridors and out onto the Quidditch pitch. Not looking at Simona the whole time. "You will tell me what is wrong with you," Severus said lowly, using the dangerous tone that Simona had become accustomed to.
"Leave me alone," Simona hissed. The hatred she had before was slowly starting to disintegrate.
"No, not until you tell me why you're so angry," Severus growled. Not letting go of Simona's wrist.
"There's nothing to tell. I'm just in a bad mood," Simona lied. Not wanting to confess to beating up Rachel. Severus sighed in exasperation. Simona was notorious for being stubborn.
"What has happened Simona? You've never been angry, the whole time I've known you," Severus said, his tone softening. Thinking that perhaps being calm towards her might end her animosity towards him.
"Nothing's happened, just leave me alone," Simona whispered. Her eyes looking at the ground, wanting to avoid Severus' scrutinising gaze.
"Please, Simona," Severus begged, seeing as though she was one of the only people who were actually civil towards him, he didn't like seeing her so wound up.
"If I tell you, would you hate me?" Simona asked, her voice suddenly sounding anxious, and barely above a murmur. Simona felt she was going to faint with apprehension, she was afraid that Severus would hate her for letting someone aggravate her so much.
"No," Severus said softly, Simona's eyes slowly raised and looked up at Severus, who's expression was concerned.
"Promise," Simona said quietly, biting her lip nervously. Severus tried to stop himself from rolling his eyes at Simona's juvenile question.
"I promise," Severus answered, gently dragging Simona up to the stands and making her sit down.
Simona's hands started to shake violently, she felt light-headed. "I beat up Rachel," She said softly, swallowing a sudden lump in her throat. Reluctantly, she looked at Severus, whose expression had become unreadable, as if he was wearing a mask.
"Why did you beat her up?" Severus asked, his eyebrow arching with confusion. He knew that Simona was usually quite placid.
"Because she called my parents repulsive, filthy, good-for-nothing, blood traitors," Simona spat angrily, feeling hatred trying to take overcome her once again.
"And what caused Rachel to say that about your parents?" Severus asked, calmly.
"She found my cassette player hidden under my mattress, and started asking questions about it," Simona replied, closing her eyes to try and shut out the anger. Plus, she remembered that Dumbledore didn't want anyone else other than themselves to know about it. "She had me pinned against the wall, with her wand pressed at my throat, she hurt Vicky,"
"What did she do to Vicky, Simona?" Severus questioned, trying to sound as non-judgemental as possible.
"She hexed her. She hexed her because Vicky was sticking up for me," Simona said, suddenly full of guilt. She didn't care about Rachel, but felt concerned about Vicky's well-being. "I've got to get back." Simona said, suddenly standing up. "I've got to get back to Vicky," Simona continued, smoothing down her robes and making her way down the steps back to the dungeons.
"No," Severus said, startling Simona, he grabbed Simona's arm and pulled her back down to where they were sat. "You need to tell me what has happened Simona, so we can help Vicky," Severus said, raising his voice slightly.
"Fine," Simona said curtly. "After Rachel hexed Vicky, she started saying those things about my parents, I got so angry, I felt as though I wasn't being me. Like I was watching myself hit Rachel. When I saw that I had beaten her unconscious, I went downstairs and that's when I ran into you," Simona said, her voice getting weaker as she finished her sentence.
"Okay, what we need to do is go to Dumbledore. He'll help us," Severus said thoughtfully, his brows furrowing in concentration.
"No, he'll get me expelled!" Simona cried, her eyes widening in horror. The last thing Simona wanted to happen was get expelled from Hogwarts.
"He won't, even though he is a dunderhead, he cares about his students. He'll understand Simona. You've just got to trust me," Severus replied, his hands grabbing Simona's arms and looking straight into her eyes. "Please," He said, his black eyes sparkling intently. Hesitantly, Simona nodded.
When they got outside Professor Dumbledore's office and had spoken the password (Jumping jellybean) Simona froze. This was it. "Come in Miss Sforza and Messr Snape," A voice came from the other side of the door. Simona jumped, her body started to shake. She felt herself falling backwards, when suddenly a sturdy hand caught her. She looked up to see Severus' black eyes staring at her, full of concern. Simona smiled weakly, and apprehensively opened the door to see Dumbledore peer up at her from his half-moon spectacles. "I think you should take a seat Miss Sforza," Dumbledore said sternly.
Simona complied and sat down, Severus sat beside her. He knew that she barely had enough strength to stand, let alone speak, he felt he should defend her. "Professor Dumbledore," Severus started, but was quickly interrupted by Dumbledore waving his hand.
"I know what has transpired tonight Severus, you may leave now," He said, pointing his hand towards the door. Simona's eyes widened, she needed Severus to be there. She didn't feel up to facing Dumbledore on her own.
"Professor, Simona is in no fit state to defend herself, she needs me," He said pleadingly, Simona's eyes started to water. She was touched by how adamant Severus was to help her. She certainly felt that she didn't deserve it, but she didn't want Severus to get into trouble for sticking up for her.
"You don't have to," Simona suddenly croaked, making both Dumbledore and Severus to look at her in disbelief for her outburst.
"No, Simona. You almost fainted, twice. Professor Dumbledore, please," Severus begged, Professor Dumbledore merely nodded and Severus sat back down next to Simona. Severus didn't know why he felt so compelled to stick up for Simona, other than the fact that he had never had anyone fight in his corner before, Simona was there for him when the Gryffindors mocked him on the train, and he made damn sure he was going to be there for Simona now.
"How, how did you know about what happened, sir?" Simona said quietly, her eyes avoiding Dumbledore.
"Miss Ryan came to me earlier, telling me how Miss Theodore threatened you. She told me that you were pinned up against the wall, under a lot of duress, and that she was hexed by Miss Theodore. When she regained consciousness she heard Miss Theodore's comment to you about your parents, and how you attacked her. Miss Ryan saw you mumble something in Italian and leave the room visibly upset," Dumbledore said patiently, his light-blue eyes staring straight at Simona. "Is this account accurate, Miss Sforza?" Simona could only nod.
"Professor, surely that shows that Simona is remorseful. I could vouch for that, she's never been so angry before. Rachel shouldn't have said what she said about Simona's parents," Severus pleaded, his hands waving about dramatically. Simona could only admire him, he was like her solicitor.
"I am aware of that, Messr Snape. But with or without provocation, an attack on any student is a grave offence. Especially one that involves serious injury. Miss Theodore is currently in the hospital wing receiving medical attention. She is lucky to have not received brain damage from Miss Sforza's attack," Simona felt sick. She had never beaten anyone so much that they were hospitalised, or had a chance of getting brain damage because of her poor control over her temperament. "Miss Sforza was aware of the fact she was under strict instruction from myself, to not let her cassette player be common knowledge to any student, even excluding you," Dumbledore said calmly, addressing Severus, as if Simona wasn't in the room. Feeling fait once again, Simona gripped Severus' arm, causing him to jump, he looked at her frail hand, weakly grasping onto his arm and had genuine concern in his eyes.
"Sir, I think Simona's going to faint," Severus panicked. "What should I do?" He asked, relying on Dumbledore for an answer.
"Miss Sforza needs to go to the hospital wing, it seems she is in need of some fluids, and a good night's rest," Dumbledore replied, walking towards them.
At this point, Simona had blacked out. The stress of the situation, and the fact she had hospitalised someone was far too much for her to cope with. She was also terrified she was going to be expelled, or sent to Azkaban for her actions. As much as she enjoyed beating the living daylights out of someone who said such derogatory remarks about her parents, she wished she had just visualised it, instead of actually hitting her.
When she woke up, she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. The light of the room hurt her eyes, she was surrounded by white curtains, lying on a similar coloured bed, with white sheets and pillows. And sat next to her, slumped in a chair, black greasy hair framing their hooked nose was the undisputable figure of Severus Snape.
AN: So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and liked the fact Simona stood up for herself. I also hope you guys liked how Severus helps out Simona in this chapter, I wanted them to develop a bit more of a kinship. It makes my story SO much easier to write! Also, if you were wondering what Simona said in Italian, it was; 'I'm sorry mum, dad. I know you would be angry with what I have done tonight, but she besmirched your honor. I couldn't let her do that to you. I love you'... I doubt it's accurate, I used 'Google Translate' I'm not Italian, but I wish I was! Anyway, thanks again for reading this. And I promise the time between updating will smooth out again! :D xoxo