An Even Greater Challenge

Chapter 4 – Diagon Alley

They apparated straight to the tiny yard at the back of The Leaky Cauldron and Snape immediately used his wand to open the concealed entrance that led into Diagon Alley. Sophie followed him through, taking care not to walk too close to him just in case she saw someone from school – not that anyone was likely to notice her - her first year at Hogwarts had passed in a haze of mediocracy. In class she was close to the bottom but somehow had just managed to avoid failing completely, her good written work making up for her abysmal spell casting. (Sophie had no idea why she found wand work so challenging.) Outside of class, she had kept her head down, joining no clubs or societies and preferring not to draw attention to herself. Sophie briefly remembered back to when last year's head boy, the tall and charismatic Draco Malfoy, had tried to recruit her onto the Slytherin Quidditch team as a reserve Seeker. Sophie thought that it would probably have been quite fun, honing her flying skills and learning to Seek at the same time – it was just that Rowan and Reuben played Beater on the Gryffindor team. They would murder her on the pitch.

'In here, Sophie.' Sophie snapped back to the present and saw that Snape was gesturing her towards a quaint little café with scrubbed wooden tables, covered with red and white gingham cloths. 'We'll get some lunch before we go shopping.'

Snape pushed open the door and a bell tinkled somewhere out of sight in the depths of the café. It was a lot bigger on the inside than it had looked on the outside and she was quite glad when Snape chose a small table at the back of the room, partially obscured by a large pillar – not that the café was busy yet as they were the only customers apart from two elderly witches who were sipping coffee over by the large fireplace and chatting over their knitting. Sophie tore her eyes away from the vivid turquoise marquee that one of the women seemed to be making and slipped quietly into a seat directly behind the pillar where she couldn't be seen by anyone who hadn't deliberately made the effort to stick their head round the pillar. She immediately felt less exposed.

'You can choose anything you desire.' Snape told her, taking the seat opposite and pushing a parchment menu, bound in a completely over-the-top leather binding, more suited to a master's thesis than a menu, over the table towards her. Sophie opened her mouth to tell him that she wasn't hungry but then shut it again, remembering how Snape would receive this. At any rate, she would be lying – she was starting to feel a bit empty again.

Anything she desired? There was too much choice and she wasn't at all sure that Snape actually meant what he said – what if she ordered the wrong thing? What if she chose something too expensive? He would get angry with her… She was still deliberating when the waitress, a familiar looking young witch, that Sophie recognised from school, came over to take their orders.

'Professor Snape!' The girl exclaimed, before recovering herself quickly and continuing with more poise, 'I mean, welcome. What can I get you?' Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head seeing Sophie sitting there and Sophie felt herself reddening and scowled at her.

'Miss Spencer,' Snape said smoothly, nodding his head in greeting. He glanced down at his menu. 'I'll have a black coffee and the brie and cranberry toasted sandwich please, and a slice of the Welsh fruit cake.' He snapped the menu shut and looked expectantly at Sophie.

'Ham and cheese…' she whispered, then, seeing his raised eyebrows she added, 'please.'

'I think we'll have a hot chocolate with that and a chocolate flapjack.' Snape added.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence as they waited for their drinks to arrive, Sophie fidgeting on her chair and periodically peering around the pillar because, once again, she was going to have to ask this man's permission to use the bathroom, something she disliked doing intensely.

'If you would like to wash your hands before we eat, Sophie, the restrooms are through there,' Snape said, appearing to read her mind and a feeling of gratitude suddenly swept through her, catching her off balance. Before she could stop herself, she gave him a small smile and was surprised to receive a small one in return.

By the time that Sophie returned to the table, the food had arrived and Snape was sipping black coffee and waiting for her so that he could begin eating. Sophie slid into her vacated chair, her eyes widening as she took in the huge toasted sandwich, salad and crisps on the plate in front of her and the door stop size piece of chocolate flapjack beside it. Even the hot chocolate seemed to be of gargantuan proportions. Her earlier appetite vanished completely and she stared, already defeated, at the mountain of food. What would make Snape madder – wasting it or stuffing it in until she vomited?

'What's the matter, child?' Sophie's eyes snapped up and she realised that Snape was watching her carefully, his own food still untouched in front of him.

'Nothing…' Her tone was sullen and thoroughly unconvincing even to her. Snape raised his eyebrows.

'Just eat what you want and leave the rest.' He said, his tone a little weary. Sophie stared at him for a few seconds but he didn't speak again, didn't even look at her as he began on his meal. After a few seconds, she tentatively picked up the sandwich and nibbled the end.

They didn't speak again until they had both finished eating. Then Snape reached into his pocket and withdrew a tiny scrap of parchment which he enlarged with a wave of his wand.

'I think we'll make Madam Malkin's our first port of call. Then the bookshop. If you have some suitable reading material then at least you will be able to make a start on your holiday assignments. I also need some supplies from the apothecary.'

Great, so she would be spending the foreseeable future doing school work at Snape's house then… Sophie scowled down at the uneaten food left on her plate.

'I don't even remember what the assignments are,' she said sullenly. She was trying to be deliberately difficult and Snape did not rise to the bait.

'Then, I suppose it's a good job that I am your professor and therefore can easily contact my colleagues to find out what they are, isn't it?' He said silkily.

Sophie glowered at him.

'I don't have my notes, or my wand. They got…'

Her mind flitted back to the bonfire and she felt something tightening in her chest. She remembered the flames, devouring her textbooks and her essays piece by piece until they reached her bare feet and started licking around her toes. With one, involuntary motion, Sophie pushed her chair as far back as it would go, the wooden floorboards squawking in protest at the mistreatment. She felt a hand on her shoulder, gentle but firm.

'Breathe, Sophie.' Somehow Snape was on his feet and standing next to her. Sophie flushed and wrenched her arm away from under his hand.

'Leave me alone!' A flash of concern flickered briefly across his face before his usual blank expression returned.

'Very well…' There was a pregnant pause. 'I believe that I will be able to help you with your assignments.' He smirked at her, making her want to slap him. 'As for a wand, we will also call in to Ollivanders. Although technically, you aren't permitted to use a wand until we return to school, as your Professor, I am allowed to supervise your practical studies outside of school grounds.'

At that precise point in time, Sophie didn't really care - she shrugged and raise her eyebrows.

'Whatever Pro-fess-or.' She made her tone deliberately provocative.

Once again, he didn't react to her rudeness.

'Very well, child, let' get this over with.' Instead, he simply sounded tired.

****SS****

It was a thoroughly new experience for Severus to take an eleven-year-old girl shopping. The child was distant throughout the whole trip, giving on-word, monosyllabic answers when spoken to and refusing to walk next to him. Severus found it particularly irksome – he loathed shopping and here he was spending money on an ungrateful child that appeared to be hating every second of the experience. She refused to give an opinion in Madam Malkin's, preferring, it seemed, to let him and the shop owner choose what clothes she would wear. In the bookshop, he picked up a set of both first year and second year textbooks and then hesitated in front of the child and teenage fiction.

'Go ahead and pick a few, Sophie.' For half a second, she looked positively alarmed at the task, then, her face pulled itself into her usual scowl. 'Look Sophie, I don't have to buy you anything. We can leave now if you intend to continue this sullen behaviour.'

Her scowl dropped slightly, her face crumpling a little before she recovered herself and sneered at him. In that moment she looked both intensely vulnerable and a little lost. Severus carefully occluded his mind and tried again.

'What's the matter, child?' She tried to shrug it off but she was unsuccessful. 'And don't say 'nothing'. I'm neither blind nor a fool, Sophie.' Her eyes flashed at that and she opened her mouth. Severus felt sure that she was going to say something rude but instead she gulped, dropped her eyes and hissed something almost unintelligible.

'I just… I don't know what to choose.' She bit her lip and dropped her eyes to the floor. 'I've never…'

It was as if a light bulb had suddenly illuminated the problem and Severus mentally kicked himself for not realising before – the child had never been given the choice of anything and therefore was so far out of her comfort zone that she clearly had no idea how to behave. He hesitated for half a second and then, swiftly deciding not to make a big deal out of it, he stepped forward and picked a large book, bound in silver grey leather that seemed to shimmer in the light.

Katya Thornberry and the Stone Circle

'I remember reading this when I was your age and enjoying it immensely.' Lost in memory, he flicked open to the title page and was rewarded by a stunning hand-painted colour plate of the sun sinking behind a hill and the silhouette of a girl with her arms outstretched towards the sky, as if she was a bird about to take to the wing. He smiled to himself, closed the book and handed it over to Sophie, who took it uneasily and made no move to open it, instead holding it gingerly in her hands as if she was afraid that she might damage it.

'What's it about, sir? I mean, Severus?'

'You will have to read it to find out,' he said, plucking a few more titles that he recognised off the shelf and adding them to his arm-load of books.

They went to Ollivanders next. The elderly wand-maker looked up as they entered and a look of surprise crossed his face.

'What can I do for you, Professor Snape?' His voice was wheezy and he was even more stooped and wrinkled than Severus remembered. He wondered if the elderly man should perhaps have considered retirement after his ordeal the previous year instead of returning to his work.

'We're here to get Miss Winterchild a new wand,' Severus paused and looked down for the child, only to realise that she was hanging back by the door, half-concealed by a teetering pile of precariously balanced wand boxes. He gently pulled her into view.

'Miss Winterchild?' Ollivander peered over the top of his spectacles.

'It was only last year that I sold you your first wand. Twelve inches maple and phoenix feather if I'm not mistaken. And why would you need a new one already?' The elderly wand maker scrutinized her over the counter and Severus felt the girl squirm slightly under his gaze. Glancing down, he saw that she was staring defiantly at the other man, an undisguised look of intense dislike on her pale face.

'Miss Winterchild's wand was destroyed in an accident.' He said succinctly; there was no need for Ollivander to know the details. Ollivander's orb-like eyes fixed on him instead and Severus carefully kept his face blank and his thoughts occluded.

'I see,' came the quiet reply at last, 'a pity because that was a fine wand, a very fine wand. The same core as your mother's if I remember correctly.' Severus heard the child give an audible gulp although she made no move to reply with either a nod or a headshake. 'Did you keep the remains?'

'I have them. I can assure that it is beyond repair.' Severus said quickly.

'You do?' Sophie asked bluntly, breaking her silence at last. Her tone was confrontational.

'I do,' Severus replied calmly, 'I'm sorry child; I fully intended to return them to you yesterday but it has slipped my mind, and again this morning as we were in a hurry. You shall have them as soon as we return home.' He saw her scowl deepening and wondered if she was going to make a scene. 'It has been rather an intense few days for us both, has it not?'

'Whatever.' A flicker of annoyance passed through him at her insolence.

'Alas, but there are no more wands with that same core.' Ollivander said, before he could decide how, or even if to react to her rudeness. Severus allowed himself to drop it and turned to the wand maker. 'However, I'm sure that there will be something here that you will find suitable. Let's try a few out…'

It was actually surprisingly quick, and they left the little shop with a new wand – a rare combination of spindle wood and unicorn hair, a mere thirty-two minutes later.

Their final stop was the large apothecary that stood on the corner between Diagon and Knockturn alley. As they walked through the huge rotating doors, Severus heard the child sigh quietly. Suddenly, instead of lagging behind as she had been doing all day, she was in front of him, her face alight with interest.

Wondering why the change had come about, he swiftly led her over to the counter where the shop owner, a wizened grizzled-looking witch smiled toothily at him.

'Ah, Professor your order is all ready for you. Let me fetch it from the back.' She bustled off through the door to the left of the counter, her eyes barely settling on the child beside him.

'She doesn't recognise me.' Severus was taken by surprise – this was the first time this trip that the girl had voluntarily spoken to him without sneering. He raised his eyebrows.

'Should she?' Sophie shrugged and rubbed the top of her shoe against the back of her opposite calf.

'No, I suppose not,' she admitted, her tone somewhat rueful. 'It's just that I remember her. I used to come in here with my mum all the time before…' Her voice caught and she scowled deeply. Of course - her mother had been a potioneer too, Severus reminded himself and nodded to her.

'I used to love coming in here. It was interesting watching them weighing out all the ingredients and….' Her mouth clamped shut as the shop owner reappeared, carrying a large wooden box and a paper bag in her hands.

'Here you are Professor.' She handed the box to him and placed the paper bag on the counter. It was deceptively light – Severus recognised a featherlight charm when he felt one and smirked at her as he tucked it under one arm before reaching out and taking the paper bag. It was large but it was light and he could see the spiky green leaves and white flowers of the large bunch of dried valerian it contained poking out of the top. He handed it to Sophie, who was carrying far less than he was, and turned back to the shop owner.

'Thank you, Madam Nettlebeam,' he said smoothly, 'credit it to my personal account this time please, not the school one. Good day.' He turned to the child, who had wandered over to an array of smoky glass bottles.

'Bottled dragon's breath,' he informed her. 'Come now, let's go home, I think we've both had enough for one day.' With one last, slightly wistful glance at the shopkeeper, she trailed after him out of the shop.

'We'll go back to the Leaky Cauldron to apparate…' Severus suddenly saw the shop opposite and checked himself.

'Sophie.' She stopped walking and looked up at him, her expression sullen again. He wondered if he really wanted to engage with her in this way but decided to persevere. 'I realise that we haven't officially discussed the subject of pocket money yet.'

He set the box of potions ingredients and his pile of parcels gently down on a convenient wall and reached into his pocket, drew out his money bag and counted out two Galleons in silver and handed them to her. She stared at the money in her hand, seemingly too stunned to speak. For once, he did not admonish her for her lack of manners – her eyes said it all.

'There is a sweetshop over there, or…' He steeled himself. '…or there is the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes joke shop just up the street.' Foolish! Why was he encouraging her to buy pranks? Pranks, no doubt, that she would use on him!

She gave him a tentative smile.

'Thank you, sir, I mean Severus,' she looked doubtfully down at the money in her hand and then over at the sweetshop.

'I don't know…' she began.

'Let's see what they have.' Severus suggested, picking up his box once more and leading her across the street and into the sugar-scented interior of the shop.

Afterward, they apparated back to the end of Severus's drive. With a sense of relief, Severus strode up the path, letting the child follow at her own pace. He flicked his wand at the front door which swung open to show Mim standing on the threshold.

'Can Mim take your parcels, Master Severus?'

'No thank you Mim – I need to sort out what's mine and what's Sophie's. I'll summon you when I need you.'

The elf nodded, bowed low, and then disapperated with a loud crack and Severus crossed over to his potions laboratory, where he laid the box of ingredients and the parcels on the wooden table. With a flick of his wand, he restored the lot to their usual weight.

Sophie had followed him across the hall and was now hovering uncertainly in the doorway, one hand clutching a small bag of chocolates and the other the large paper bag of dried valerian sprigs from the apothecary.

'Come in, Sophie. That bag can go straight down to the store room, put it anywhere you can find a space.' He flicked his wand at the narrow door that stood in the opposite wall and it flew open to reveal a set of narrow concrete steps which led down into a dark underground store cupboard where he kept his potions ingredients. A torch flickered to life on the wall, halfway down, its light glinting off the bare stone walls. 'Anywhere you can find a space,' Severus repeated, turning back to his box of new ingredients and scrutinizing its contents. It was a couple of minutes before he realised that the child hadn't moved.

'Take it down please, Sophie and then you can take your new clothes and books up to your room.'

'No.' He turned to her, raising his eyebrows as she slowly and deliberately lowered the bag to the floor before straightening up and crossing her arms defiantly. A flash of hot irritation shuddered through him and for half a heartbeat he struggled not to let them show on his face.

'We've had a good morning, Sophie – don't spoil it now. Take the valerian down to the storeroom and then you may go.' The child's lip curled and Severus felt his irritation and anger starting to rise – he knew that getting angry wouldn't help a thing but there was something absolutely maddening about the girl at times.

'Why don't you just fuck off and leave me alone?' She seemed to realise that she had pushed him too far this time because she immediately clapped her hand over her mouth and took a swift step backwards, flattening herself against the wall. Severus, who had instinctively taken a step forward, locked his knees in place and halted his advance.

'That is enough.' His tone was low and far calmer than he actually felt. 'I will not be spoken to like that. You will take the valerian down to the store room and then you will go to your room.'

'I…' Her expression was still defiant but her eyes were full of fear and she seemed to be trembling.

'No arguments. Take it down and then get out of my sight.' Her eyes dropped from his face to his hand and Severus realised that his hand was clenched around the handle of his wand and he felt a small flash of consternation – did she think that he would use it on her?

'Now, Sophie.' He turned back to his potion ingredients, carefully sheathing his wand in the pocket of his trousers. Behind him he heard the child softly approach the bag and lift it into her arms. Then she walked over to the steps and started walking down them.

Thank Merlin for small wins. Severus thought to himself, picking up a box of knotweed and inspecting the quality of its contents.

Sophie's scream caused him to drop the box back onto the table as he whirled around, instinctively reaching for his wand once more as he rushed over to the top of the steps and peered down into the torchlit space below.

'Sophie?' He couldn't see her but she cried out again and he threw himself down the steps, almost losing his footing in his hurry. He saw her at last – she was crouching in a corner, her head in her hands, the valerian sprigs covering the floor around her in a crunchy carpet.

'No! No no no no!' Her voice caught, getting shriller with each repetition. Severus glanced quickly around, determining what he already knew to be true – that there was no physical threat here and whatever was causing the child distress was clearly coming from her own mind. Then he swiftly crossed over to her, the valerian crunching under the soles of his shoes, and crouched down beside her.

'Sophie, look at me. You are safe child.' He had to repeat this several times before she finally did what he asked and raised her eyes to his. 'Good, let's get out of here.' Gently, he pulled her to her feet and led her back up the stairs. Once they reached the laboratory, he pushed her into a chair, poured a calming potion into her mouth and then knelt in front of her. Now that she was out of the cellar and the potion was starting to take effect, she seemed to be coming back to herself slightly – there was slightly more colour in her cheeks and her breathing was slightly less erratic.

'I'm… I'm sorry sir!'

'Hush child, it is of no consequence.' He let her get her breathing back under control before he spoke again. 'What happened there?' She flushed delicately but she seemed too exhausted to summon her usual sneer.

'The cellar…' She finally muttered, her voice tiny and exhausted. 'It… it reminded me… oh, it doesn't matter.' Several things suddenly clicked into place in Severus's mind and he felt another wave of fury towards Sophie's relatives.

'Did your aunt and uncle put you in the cellar?' She stared at him blankly, neither confirming nor denying what he had said. He realised that pushing for more information wasn't going to work. 'I'm sorry that that happened to you and I'm also sorry that I made you go down into the cellar.' Sophie shrugged slightly, her face still eerily absent of any emotion. 'I do wish that you had informed me of the reason you did not want to go down to the cellar. I would not have forced you if I had known.'

'Whatever…' Severus was staring to loathe that particular word but at least this time he could be fairly certain that it meant that she was starting to feel like herself again. 'Can I go now?'

'If you're sure that you will be okay.' Severus replied, getting to his feet again. 'Don't forget your books, child. I'll send Mim up with the rest of our purchases when I've sorted them out.' Sophie nodded and took the parcel of books he handed her. When she reached the door, she turned suddenly.

'Thank you for taking me shopping, sir, I mean thank you Severus.' She was gone before he could reply.

****SW****

Later that afternoon, the weather finally cleared slightly and Snape offered to show Sophie around the grounds. Shivering slightly, Sophie buttoned a thick, knitted cardigan over her dress and wrapped a scarf around her neck before following the Professor out into the damp garden. It was the middle of July but there was a definite unseasonable chill in the air that cut through any amount of clothing. Sea spray from the boiling waves at the bottom of the cliff hung in the air, Sophie felt as though she was breathing soup rather than air and coughed a little. She pushed her hair out of her face and held it with one hand as the wind tried to tie it in knots around her head.

Snape's house stood in the centre of a large and relatively well-maintained garden. At the front of the house, a lawn dropped gently down towards the cliff edge, broken only by the long drive snaked its way down to the gates and the road beyond. The lawn ended in neat brick wall, a field with evidence of sheep or perhaps cows and then the cliff itself fell steeply into the grey churning sea.

'At low tide there's a small shingle beach down there,' Snape told her, as she peered over the brick wall. 'It's not really accessible unless by broom or by apparition – muggles can't get there of course and I don't go there either. Sometimes seals choose it to pup.' Sophie looked at him with interest.

'Are there any babies down there now?' Snape smirked at her and shook his head.

'It's the wrong time of year – they tend to pup in late September or October. You will be back at school.' Sophie turned away, slightly crestfallen by this piece of information.

'Maybe I can persuade the headmaster to let you come back for a day, one weekend?' Snape said quietly. 'Come now,' he added, turning back up the lawn, before Sophie had a chance to fully process what he had just said. Had Snape really just spoken as though he would still be her guardian months from now when the school term had started again? Sophie wasn't at all sure how she felt about this and her confusion made her feel slightly defensive.

'There's another beach about a ten or fifteen-minute walk away from here that has steps down to it.' Snape was saying, as Sophie caught up with him. 'We can go there one day if you would like?' They rounded the side of the house and Sophie caught sight of a large greenhouse and a broom-shed. 'Well?' Snape was looking at her expectantly and she shrugged half-heartedly, although it was becoming harder and harder for her to maintain her usual 'don't care' attitude around this man.

Directly behind the house, Snape had his Potions Garden where a mixture of common and wizarding herbs and other magical plats grew with a wild abandon in semi ordered beds. Behind this was an overgrown vegetable patch and a wild-looking orchard full of gnarly old apple, plum and pear trees. The ground here was littered with the hard green knobs of early apples, blown off the trees by the recent storms. At the end of the orchard was a small copse of young trees and low brush that grew so close together that it would be hard to push their way through. Snape halted.

'This goes on for about a quarter of a mile,' he told Sophie. 'We won't go to the edge now – it would be impossible to stay dry pushing through that lot.' He gestured to the drenched undergrowth and turned back towards the house. 'It will be obvious when you come to the end of my land as the wall rings the whole property.'

'So can I go anywhere within the wall?' Sophie asked, wanting to be exactly sure where the boundaries were and thus give Snape no excuse to punish her.

'You may,' Snape answered, barely glancing at her. 'I would prefer if you didn't disturb anything growing in the Potions Garden. However, there is nothing dangerous planted anywhere in this garden so you are quite safe.'

'Yes Professor,' Sophie replied compliantly, only realising when they were walking through the kitchen door that she was supposed to address him as 'Severus' now.

As they walked through the tiled kitchen, Mim the house elf appeared with a loud pop that caused Sophie to jump painfully and back away from him into the wall.

'Easy child,' Snape murmured, placing a hand on Sophie's shoulder. She shrugged it off and scowled at him.

'Dinner is ready, Master Severus sir.' The house elf announced in his high-pitched voice. 'Or if you is not wanting it yet, sir, Mim can serve it later.'

'No, Mim,' Snape looked at his watch. 'I'm sorry, we're late – we will be there now.' He turned to Sophie. 'Go and wash your hands and then come straight through to the dining room; we're nearly twenty minutes late.'

'It's not my fault,' Sophie muttered, just loud enough for him to hear her. He chose to ignore her.

When she slid into her place two minutes later, Sophie saw that Snape had placed the familiar potion bottle next to her plate. Something twisted in her stomach and she swallowed down a slight nausea, born no doubt from too many sweets. It felt totally against the grain to simply drink it down without making any type of fuss because Merlin only knew what was actually in the bottle. Was she just expected to trust him on the fact that it was supposed to help her get better? Of course, he told her it was a pain potion but what if it was actually something else? Her stomach twisted again.

'What is it, child?' Sophie felt a hand on her shoulder and shrugged it off automatically, scowling up at him. Without a fuss, she reached for the potion and swallowed it down. The flavour clashed horribly with the sweet stickiness that still coated her tongue from the sweets she'd been eating upstairs.

Severus walked round to his own chair and began to ladle out a thick vegetable stew and dumplings into two deep dishes. He pushed the smaller of the two servings across the table towards Sophie, before picking up a fork and starting his meal. Sophie picked up her own fork and prodded a dumpling slightly suspiciously, thinking that it looked a bit like a tiny brain floating there in a puddle of lumpy gravy. She swallowed down the rising nausea and used her fork to chop it into tiny bits before the sight of it turned her stomach even more. Her mouth started to salivate ominously, sweat beading icily on her forehead and neck.

In a rising panic, Sophie glanced up at Snape and saw that he was engrossed in the pile of letters that Mim had placed beside his plate. He seemed to be completely unaware of her. What would he do to her if she leaned forwards and vomited all over the table? Her stomach clenched again. The choice was made subconsciously, with no actual brain power at all – the next thing she remembered was pushing her chair back forcefully so that the chair legs shrieked against the wooden floor and running out of the room as fast as her injuries would allow.

She heard quick footsteps behind her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Sophie bolted into the downstairs toilet, slamming the door shut behind her. She heard it reverberate off Snape's shoe instead of closing completely but she was out of time – the vomit rising inside her throat had won and she hunched over the toilet and heaved up everything in her stomach. When it was over, she straightened and, shuddering, she turned to see Snape watching her from the open doorway. Instinctively, she flinched backwards, the back of her knees coming up against the toilet bowl.

'I'm sorry…' She began but he held up a hand. Sophie pushed back even further until the porcelain dug into her skin, only realising when he raised his eyebrows at her that it hadn't been a threat, only a gesture to quiet her.

'These things happen, Sophie and it is as much my fault as yours. I should've realised that you weren't used to sweets and warned you to go easy on them.'

Sophie nodded miserably and shivered. Now that it was over, the icy sweat was chilling her to the bone. She felt sticky and dirty and she was sure her breath smelled terrible.

'Can I go upstairs please, Professor?' She asked shakily, again realising too late that she'd forgotten to use his name. Snape nodded to her.

'I'll bring you up another pain potion as well as a potion for the nausea,' he told her as she ducked past him.

Half an hour later, Sophie had showered and changed into her nightclothes and was sitting in the big green chair in front of a flickering fire, Katya Thornberry and the Stone Circle open on her lap. There was a quiet knock on the door and Snape walked through, carrying two potion bottles. He didn't look surprised to see her in her night things already even though it was only eight o'clock at night.

'How are you feeling, Sophie?' Sophie stared distastefully at the potions and shrugged. 'Here's the replacement potion for the one you vomited up,' he continued smoothly, handing her the first bottle. Sophie hesitated just long enough for him to raise his eyebrows at her. She realised that she was just too exhausted to fight him again tonight. Without saying a word, she reached out and took the bottle and downed the contents. The gesture made her cringe – at some point she was going to regret taking everything this man gave her without question. This one, however, seemed to be the good stuff and it reduced the stinging pain in her back immediately. Sophie felt some of the tension leaving her body as her taught muscles relaxed involuntarily. Snape was looking at her with a strange expression - possibly surprise that she wasn't putting up a fight.

'This one's for the nausea,' he said quietly, offering her the other bottle.

'I don't feel sick anymore,' Sophie said quickly, suppressing a shudder as she saw the pink potion slopping around inside the bottle. She recognised had recognised it immediately as one of the ones her aunt had given her on occasion. Sometimes it worked but, more frequently it had given her crippling stomach pains and horrible diarrhoea. Sophie flinched, remembering the incident when, at eight-years-old, she had been given one of her aunt's special 'anti-nausea concoctions' and then been denied the use of the bathroom when she'd needed it. She'd been forced to stand in the corner in her soiled clothing for two hours while her uncle and cousins laughed at her and her aunt shouted. The memory still caused Sophie both shame and fury.

Now, looking up at Snape, Sophie saw the surprise on his face slipping into resignation and she read the unspoken question in his obsidian eyes, before he schooled his expression and the familiar blank mask slipped back into place. He didn't press the point.

'Very well, Sophie. Do you think you could eat anything then? That pain potion works best alongside food.' Sophie's first instinct was to decline but then she realised that something plain might just be the ticket to get him off her back and to stop the queasiness in her stomach. She looked warily up at him, wondering if he would get annoyed if she asked for the wrong thing. Couldn't he just get her some food instead of making her choose? Then she wouldn't choose the wrong thing.

'Well?' He was certainly getting snappier with her the longer she kept him waiting.

'Can I have a cracker please? And some water?' Sophie liked crackers – sometimes they had been the only food she'd been given for days at a time when her aunt was most displeased with her. When she was locked in the cellar, it had always brightened her days to slowly nibble on a cracker, trying to make it last as long as possible.

'Of course, child.'

Snape summoned Mim and the tiny elf immediately nodded and then disappeared, appearing again at Sophie's elbow, bearing a plate of crackers and plain biscuits and a glass of water. He was so quick that Sophie barely had time to draw breath. She wondered if the plate had been ready and waiting before she'd even asked. Snape watched her intently as she nibbled her way through one cracker and one digestive biscuit and drank half a glass of water. Why did he have to stand there and creepily watch her eat? Why couldn't he just go away and leave her alone? She glanced uneasily at the uneaten food, wondering if he was expecting her to eat more and then peaked up at him. She was rather taken aback when he sighed and then gave her a smirk before vanishing the plate and its remaining contents. Sophie glared at him, wishing he would go away and leave her alone. She tried to give a fake yawn but was surprised that it turned into a real one half way through.

'You're tired.' Sophie swallowed down the words 'no shit Sherlock', a muggle expression that Reuben had been fond of but which she was sure wouldn't go down well with the Potions Master. 'I don't need to check your dressings tonight as we looked at them earlier, so you are free to go to bed at any time. There's a dreamless sleep potion on the bedside table if you require it.' Sophie gave the tiny bottle beside the bed a hateful look and shook her head forcefully. 'Very well, I will be downstairs if you need me. Goodnight now.'

'Goodnight, sir.' Again, she remembered it was supposed to be 'Severus' now after the words were already out. Sophie waited for Snape to exit the room before making her way over to the bed and climbing in. It had been a very long day and she was exhausted. She clicked off the bedside light and buried her face in the pillow. Now, the only light in the room came from the dancing flames in the fireplace. It wasn't enough to keep her awake.

****SW****

They were dragging her through the orchard towards a stout wooden stake, firmly planted in the ground. Sophie pulled away as hard as she could but they were stronger than she was.

'No! No! Please… I won't… I promise…' She was thrust face first against the stake and immediately the ropes there sprang to life and snaked themselves around her wrists, shackling her in place. She felt someone taking a handful of her robes, ripping them off her back, the cold night air pricking at her bare skin. She heard the first lash before she felt it. Sobbing, she pressed herself into the stake.

'Wake up, Sophie, it's just a dream.' Something was squeezing her shoulder and she squirmed away instinctively. The harder she tried to free herself, the harder it held her firm. 'Come now, child. Wake up.'

Sophie's eyes flew open. There was someone leaning over her, holding her down but she wasn't against a stake – she was lying on a soft mattress. She gasped, trying to pull away from him but he held her still.

'It's okay, child, take a deep breath.' It was Snape. Of course it was Snape. Sophie stopped fighting him and did what he had told her to do. It took several deep breaths before she was fully in control of herself and fully in the present again – she was safe in Snape's house. He was looking after her now.

Not again… Sophie bit her lip very hard to stop herself crying out as realised that the bed she was lying in was soaked – the sheets and her pajamas were wet through. She could smell it, the faint tang of ammonia hung around the bed. Could Snape smell it too?

'It was just a nightmare.' In the dim light Sophie couldn't read his expression and she couldn't tell if he knew that she had done it again.

'I'm fine!' She tried to sneer but the words cracked in half and her breathing was so erratic she knew she hadn't been convincing. 'I'm fine!' She tried again, pretending she couldn't hear how the words sounded more like a sob than anything else.

'You are not fine.' Snape said softly. He took a step back and the light from Sophie's bedside lamp fell across his face and she was finally able to read his expression – he looked both concerned and exhausted. He picked up his wand from the bedside table and flicked it once, summoning some clothes from one of the drawers.

'Up you get, Sophie. Mim will change the sheets.' So, he had clearly known all along. Even in the midst of her panic, Sophie found herself flushing with embarrassment.

'I'm sorry!' All of the fight seemed to drain away in an instant and she scrambled out of bed, hanging her head. Snape pressed a soft bundle of clean pajamas into her shaking hands.

'It's of no consequence.'

'I'm sorry…' For half a heartbeat, Sophie thought that she might disgrace herself even further and cry but she bit her lip and stared at the floor.

'As I have already said, it is of no consequence. It is not your fault, child. Go to the bathroom and get changed now and Mim will change the sheets.' Sophie felt rather than saw him take a step towards her and felt his hand closing briefly around her shoulder. Then she turned on her heal and fled to the bathroom.

By the time that Sophie returned, the bed was made and there was a cup of coco on the bedside table. Snape was sitting on the end of the bad, a potion bottle in one hand. He got to his feet when she entered and crossed over to her, handing her the bottle. Sophie recoiled.

'I don't want it!' Her voice sounded tiny and broken.

'It's just a mild dreamless sleep potion, Sophie.'

'I don't want it!' She said more forcefully. For half a second, she considered throwing it on the floor but she was too exhausted for the fight that would surely follow.

'It will help, child.' Snape said patiently.

'I said I don't want it!'

'Very well.' He took it off her and placed it next to the mug of coco. 'I will leave it here in case you change your mind.'

'I won't!'

Sophie suddenly realised that she was still trembling, partly from the chill night air and partly from the nightmare. She also realised that Snape was looking at her carefully.

'Do you want to talk about it, Sophie?'

'No!' Sophie sidestepped around him and sat down on the bed.

'It might help.'

'Leave me alone!' It came out sounding ruder than she had anticipated.

'Very well,' he said again, still looking at her carefully. 'Do you want me to stay?' There was a tiny part of her that wanted to say yes.

'No!'

'I will be next door if you need me.' Without another word, he strode out of the room, pulling the door almost shut behind him. Stifling a sob, Sophie jumped up, crossed over to it and pushed it completely shut. Then she ran back over to the bed and jumped into the crinkly new sheets, pulling the covers over her head. In the stifling darkness, she hugged herself until the shaking stopped and the desire to break down and cry vanished. Sleep was a long time coming.

Please let me know what you think. The next chapter will be up at the start of October.