Severus Snape's POV

Severus Snape realised that there was something terribly wrong about ten seconds too late; Tansy Laverstock had raised his wand unnaturally high. Her hand, already trembling, had started to shiver and shake more violently as she stared unseeingly at the dungeon ceiling.

'It's okay, Miss Laverstock.' He said softly. 'You don't have to do it. Lower the wand now.' He tried to put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her but he recoiled sharply as a current of pure energy ran from the raised wand, straight through the girl and into his own hand.

'Tansy, calm down, it's okay!' Her friends had pushed back their benches and were crowding closer.

'Don't touch her!' It was too late; Ronald Weasley had tried to push the girl's wand arm down. He was thrown sharply backwards and into the stone wall of the dungeon. His head met the rough stone with an audible clunk.

'Ron!' Hermione Granger squealed, throwing herself across the room towards him. Severus made a split-second decision.

'Class dismissed! Get out now.' There was a clatter of benches as they were pushed back and the students all made a dash for the exit. Severus glanced over to where Weasley lay, scrunched against the wall, and was relieved to see that he was still conscious although he looked somewhat dazed. He turned back to Tansy Laverstock in time to see her crumple off the bench and onto the stone floor of the dungeon.

'Tansy?' Harry Potter dropped to his knees beside the collapsed girl and Severus followed suit.

'Potter, give me your wand.' Mercifully, the other wizard followed his order without question. 'Expelliarmus!' His own wand flew out of Tansy Laverstock's hand and he caught it reflexively, immediately using it to send a Patronus up through the dungeon ceiling, summoning help.

As soon as the wand left her hand, Tansy Laverstock's eyes flew open and she tensed, pushing herself away across the floor as she stared around in horror. Her eyes were wild and scared and she seemed not to know where she was. Her eyes swivelled round the dungeon, searching for something.

'Miss Laverstock, everything is okay. You are fine.' Severus hastened to reassure her. She still looked terrified and when her searching eyes met his, her confusion seemed to triplicate.

'You're in Potions,' Potter scooted forwards towards the girl and she shrank backwards.

'Easy Potter, give her some space.' Severus murmured, pulling the other man back. He glanced over his shoulder; Hermione Granger was holding something against the back of Weasley's head although her attention seemed to be on what was happening to Tansy Laverstock rather than her first aid attempts.

'Are you okay, Miss Laverstock?' Severus asked, his voice low. 'Are you hurt in any way?' The girl glanced up at him and shook her head. Then her eyes resumed their searching.

'There's no one here but us. You're quite safe. Breathe Tansy.' Potter said and, before Severus could prevent it, he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. Relief flooded through Severus when nothing happened. In fact, Harry's touch seemed to ground the girl somewhat, and she drew in a deep, shaking breath.

'What happened Miss Laverstock?' Severus asked, the words leaving his mouth before he could stop them.

The girl pushed herself up into a sitting position. She looked down at her empty hand and then over to Severus's wand. Then her face contorted and tears started to roll down her cheeks. To everyone's surprise, she opened her mouth.

'I… I… I…' She pushed herself backwards, until she was under the desk. 'I… can't…'

'What can't you do, Tansy?' Hermione Granger had left Weasley's side and she sank to her knees beside Severus and reached out towards her friend. Tansy Laverstock cowered away, choking, and pointed to the wand, her shaking hands grasping at her face.

'…wand…' She stuttered, gasping for air.

'What about the wand?' Granger asked, leaning forward.

'You can do it…' Potter said, simultaneously.

Ten seconds late once again, Severus suddenly realised that the girl was having a panic attack. He took control of the situation.

'Stop questioning her and give her some space. Take a deep breath, Miss Laverstock. Everything is fine. Try to calm down.' The girl seemed to be trying to speak, trying to explain, but the panic and her inability to breathe was making it impossible.

'Tansy, Professor Snape is right. Try to calm your breathing. Breathe in…' Granger leaned forwards and placed a hand on her friend's arm, recoiling almost immediately as the other girl cringed away from her. '…and out.' She continued, as if nothing had happened.

'That's it, Tan.' Severus looked up to see the lanky figure of Ronald Weasley looming over him; Ron still looked dazed and there was a bloody lump on the back of his head.

'What's wrong, Miss Laverstock? What happened there?' Once again, the question left him unbidden. He actually agreed with the look of fury that Potter sent his way when the questions caused Tansy Laverstock to clutch tighter at her face in distress.

'It's okay, Miss Laverstock, try to keep breathing evenly.'

'I'm sorry…' Severus leaned in to hear the response; there was something about this girl that raised some innate, primal instinct inside him. An instinct to protect her. Severus couldn't protect her if he didn't know what was wrong.

'I'm sorry…' the girl repeated, her face now sopping with tears. 'Wand…' Her voice was nearly inaudible. '…I can't use the wand…'

'Why can't you use the wand, Tansy?' It was Potter himself who had voiced this question. The girl looked at him despairingly and muttered something inaudible.

'Say that again, Miss Laverstock,' Severus said, knowing instinctively that they were actually making progress; if Tansy Laverstock could tell them what the problem was then they could start to work through it with her.

'…because… it takes me back… there…' There was a long pause, during which Severus exchanged a confused look with Potter. The two words the girl uttered next shook Severus to his very core.

He suddenly understood.

'Blood Magic.'

The dungeon door flew open with a bang and Tansy Laverstock gasped and drew herself further under the desk as Remus Lupin and Bill Weasley careened into the room, both with wands outstretched. Severus heard the girl on the floor whimper in fear and got quickly to his feet. It was certainly true that his Patronus had not outlined the nature of the crisis but the other wizards' aggressive air seemed a little over the top.

'What's happened?' Remus Lupin asked breathlessly, lowering his wand as his searching eyes took in the scene; Tansy Laverstock cowering under the desk and her concerned friends grouped around her. 'Tansy? Are you okay?' When he received no response, he turned back to Severus. 'What happened, Severus?'

'Ron, are you bleeding?' Bill Weasley moved over to his youngest brother in concern. His hand poked at the back of Ronald's head and the younger wizard winced away, frowning.

'Argh, I'm fine, gerroff Bill!'

'Professor Lupin, Professor Weasley, everything is under control.' Severus said quickly; the two wizards showed every sign of joining the crowd around Tansy Laverstock and more people crowding round her was probably the last thing that she needed at the moment. They both seemed to relax slightly, although their eyes still lingered on the sobbing girl, hiding under the desk.

'A word if I may.' Severus continued, trying to portray a sense of urgency in his tone. He ushered the two wizards over to the door and briefly explained, in a low voice, what had just happened. Their grave expressions returned immediately.

'I didn't realise,' Remus said. His voice was quiet but he looked aghast. 'I didn't notice that she wasn't using her wand for anything. How could I have missed that? She's been awake for a month and I haven't seen it in her hand once! Not once! I…'

'Remus, it's hardly been a smooth road.' Bill said, looking over to where Tansy Laverstock still shook on the floor and shaking his head sadly. 'She's been so unwell. Nobody noticed that she wasn't doing magic. We were just pleased to see her up and about.'

'Minerva didn't say anything about it either and she's been with Miss Laverstock every day for the past month.'

Severus's words seemed to pacify Remus a little. He wondered idly when he'd stopped seeing the other wizard as an arch enemy and started to view him more as an ally instead. Severus looked over to the group of students again and was pleased to see that they had successfully cajoled Tansy Laverstock out from under the table. She seemed to be shaking so hard that her friends were physically holding her to stop her from falling off the lab bench where they were sat and tears were still pouring down her face.

'She's stopped projecting but she's still very distressed. We need to get her upstairs to Minerva and Poppy.' Severus said quietly, nodding to the group. Severus saw a spasm of pain flickering across Remus's face as he took in Tansy Laverstock's anguish.

'Minerva has gone to a meeting at the Ministry,' Remus said quietly, 'although I agree with you, Severus; it's probably a good idea to get her out of this situation. Molly's upstairs with the baby and Tansy's good with her too.'

'I'll send an owl to the Ministry,' Bill said, turning on his heal. When he reached the doorway, he turned back to his brother. 'Ron, I'm speaking as your Professor now, I am ordering you to get that cut checked out at the hospital wing.' Ignoring his youngest brother's angry response, he left the dungeon at top speed.

'Come on Ron. We'll go now. We'll come and see you later Tansy.' Granger and Weasley left the dungeon together.

Severus and Remus turned back to the bench where Potter was still supporting Tansy Laverstock.

'Tansy? It's okay sweetheart.' The girl looked up as Remus approached; her tears had finally stopped but she still seemed to be trembling violently. 'We're going upstairs. Let's get you out of this classroom. Up you get.' Severus was rather surprised as Remus's voice took on a blunt, authoritative tone. To his surprise however, the girl on the bench seemed to relax slightly when she heard the simple, concise instructions, and she staggered to her feet. He reasoned that Remus probably knew the best way of handling Tansy Laverstock when she was in a bad way.

'Careful, Miss Laverstock, take your time.' Severus reached out, just in time to steady the girl as her trembling knees pitched her forwards.

'I've got her, Professor.' Potter had slipped his arm around Tansy Laverstock's waist and was all but carrying her out of the dungeon. Remus slipped in on her other side so that she was supported on both sides.

'Remus?' Severus bit his tongue; it had slipped out before he could prevent it.

'Yes Severus?' Remus said mildly, turning back to him.

'Would you mind, er, updating me tonight. I…' Severus gestured to the shaking girl. Remus nodded and smiled.

'Of course.'

Severus was actually quite surprised to see Draco Malfoy waiting for him beside his office door; the events of the Potions class had rather taken over and he'd forgotten their scheduled meeting. He pointed his wand at the door and it flew open with a bang, causing Draco to jump horribly. He looked like a bag of nerves and Severus suddenly wondered how many of the students had been damaged beyond repair by the events of the previous academic year.

'In.' Severus tried to soften the naturally harsh tone of his voice but Draco still flinched away from him as if he'd shouted. On close examination, the young man looked exhausted; his face was pinched and pale, and huge bruise-like shadows ringed his eyes. Draco had lost a lot of weight over the last year and his skin now looked taught over the bones of his face.

'Sir… is…?' Draco stammered. Severus shut the door behind them, swept over to his desk and sat down in the chair behind it.

'Yes?' He asked curtly.

'Is the girl…?' Draco started again. 'Is Laverstock okay? I mean after what just…' He trailed off as he saw the expression on Severus's face.

Severus looked at him in disbelief. An image of Tansy Laverstock cowering under the desk in the Potions laboratory flashed through his mind and he felt his lip curling of its own accord.

'Why would you ever think that she's okay Draco? After everything that she's been through?' Draco blanched and Severus saw the gleam of tears shining in his grey eyes as he dropped them to the dungeon floor. Nonetheless he did not regret his harsh words.

'I wish to discuss this.' Severus tapped the desk drawer once with his wand to open it and withdrew Draco's letter from inside. Draco looked up briefly and two pink spots appeared on his pale, sunken cheeks. Then he dropped his eyes to the floor once more.

'I'm sorry that I wrote to you.' Draco's voice was barely audible. 'I was…' He stuttered to a halt and scuffed the toe of his shoe over the floor.

'Draco, sit down.' Severus used his wand to pull out the chair opposite him. Draco gasped and fell into it, his shoulders heaving.

Emotions were never Severus's forte; he conjured a box of tissues in front of the other wizard and pretended to study his hands until the sobs had reduced and the tears had stopped. Only then did he feel that it was safe to look up and continue speaking.

'I understand that you are going through a difficult time, Draco.' Severus's lip curled of its own accord again. He tried unsuccessfully to uncurl it.

'I just…' Draco looked up suddenly, his face shining with tears, and Severus hastened to flatten out his expression.

'I'm sorry about the letter, Sir.' Draco wiped an impatient hand across his face. 'I just felt so alone and I was panicking. I… it was just something I overheard. I… forget about it. It's not important.'

Severus shook his head in total disbelief at the other wizard's words. Looking into Draco's eyes he could see the lie in them as plain as the nose in the centre of his face. Then, as he watched, a blank curtain fell, hiding the thoughts from view, and he could see no more.

'You say here that you believe that your aunt Bellatrix was responsible for the murder of George Weasley.' He shook the letter accusingly under Draco's nose, ignoring the way the young man winced away from him. 'Nothing new there, of course; you told the Ministry as much during your interview. But you also say that you believe that Tansy Laverstock witnessed the murder?'

'I'm not sure… I was…'

'Draco…!' Severus began forcefully, but he was interrupted.

'I was having a panic attack, Sir, I don't remember what I wrote!' The other wizard was definitely lying about something, Severus was sure of it.

'You can't just expect me to ignore what you wrote!' Severus's fist came down suddenly on the desk top and Draco flinched away from his anger as if he'd been struck.

'I don't know exactly what happened.' Draco gasped, stifling another sob. 'I wasn't there… Laverstock was… my father…' He trailed off again, seemingly unwilling to continue.

'Your father raped Miss Laverstock on multiple occasions.' Severus said harshly and Draco winced perceptively but nodded.

'And Aunt Bellatrix tortured her.' His voice was barely audible. 'I tried to stop them but...' He looked up beseechingly. '…my mother wrote to me just after I went back to Hogwarts after the Christmas break. She said that Aunt Bella had killed Weasley.' There was enough of the truth in the Draco's eyes that Severus could not accuse him directly of lying.

'Did she say that Laverstock witnessed the murder?' The blank veil descended again, hiding the other wizard's thoughts once more, and Severus could not tell if his 'no' was a lie or not.

'So how…?'

'I overheard Aunt Bella talking to father when I was home for Easter.' Draco said, in a rush. 'She said that Laverstock's reaction to George Weasley being cursed had been entertaining. Then she saw me listening and told me to clear off. When I tried to question her, she gave me this…' Draco turned his head and Severus saw the long, thin line of a scar running from his ear, down his neck, and disappearing under the collar of his school uniform.

'That's when I knew that I had to do something.' Draco's voice rose, panic stricken. 'They buried him like an animal and I… I couldn't just leave him there! He didn't even have a grave stone, Professor!'

'So you made him one?'

Severus suddenly found himself relenting a little; the young wizard was clearly distraught and haunted by the part that he had had to play in the events of the Dark Lord's rise to power. Merlin, but Severus knew that he too had done things that he regretted in his life. Once upon a time, he too had been taken in by the Dark Lord and committed unspeakable acts in his name.

It was perhaps time to give Draco Malfoy a second chance. Not that Severus intended to let this matter drop entirely; Draco Malfoy clearly knew more about the murder of George Weasley than he had let on.

Please let me know what you think. Sorry about the longer wait between updates. I work in medical diagnostics so I'm currently quite busy (not surprising really because of what's happening in the world at the moment). I hope all of you are keeping well.