An Even Greater Challenge
Chapter 3 – St Mungo's
Severus made his way slowly downstairs again and into the sitting room. He intended to do some reading but he was too tired and he found himself unable to concentrate on the page. Instead, he allowed himself one glass of elf-made wine and he read the morning's prophet from start to finish. Then, deciding that nine o'clock was a respectable time to retire for the night, he made his way back upstairs, carefully stopping outside Sophie's bedroom door as he went past her room. He could hear nothing so he cracked the door an inch and stood there for a few seconds listening to her rhythmic breathing. Then, leaving the door open a crack, he crossed over to his own room and got ready for bed. The second his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.
He was jarred awake again around three hours later by screaming from the child's bedroom. Afterwards, Severus would marvel at how quickly he was up and running into her room - he was already up and halfway across the hall before he was fully awake. He pushed open Sophie's door and hurried across the darkened room to her bed where she was thrashing and whimpering, clearly in the grips of an intense nightmare. Cursing himself to the depths of the black lake for his temporary memory lapse in forgetting to give her a dreamless potion, Severus placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, holding her still so she wouldn't thrash herself off the bed.
'Wake up, Sophie. It's just a nightmare.'
'I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't! I won't!' The girl muttered hysterically, trying to pull away from him. He held her down gently as she started to wake up.
'Come now, Sophie. It's just a nightmare.' Severus flicked his wand at the bedside lamp and it fizzed to life, throwing a golden pool of light across the bed. The child had stopped thrashing and was blinking rapidly, her breathing harsh and erratic as she pulled herself from the nightmare. Then, in one fluid motion, she pulled herself into a sitting position and flattened herself against the headboard of the bed, still half-asleep, still cringing in fear.
'Calm down, you're safe,' Severus murmured again, sitting down on the edge of the bed, and gently touching her arm in an effort to ground her. He tensed suddenly and wrinkled his nose - he didn't need to check under the blankets to comprehend what had happened. Involuntarily, he felt his lip curling slightly in mild disgust. 'Breathe, Sophie; it was a nightmare that is all. You are safe in my house now.' She was finally becoming more aware of her surroundings and he felt her relax slightly at last only to suddenly jerk away from him again, eyes round with renewed fear, as she too realised what Severus had already understood.
'It's all right, child. It is of no consequence. Mim will change the sheets.' Without looking at him, she swiftly slid off the other side of the bed and backed against the wall, her soaked nightclothes sticking to her back and legs. Severus stared at the trembling child and then stood up and walked swiftly round the side of the bed. He forced himself to stop as his approach caused her to whimper and drop into a crouch, shielding her head.
'I'm sorry! I'm sorry sir! I didn't… I won't… please…' Her voice rose hysterically and her breathing started to become erratic once more.
'Calm down, Sophie,' Severus took another step forwards and then slowly lowered himself to his knees beside her, 'I'm not going to hurt you, child.' Once again, he placed a hand on her shoulder and let it rest there while he continued murmuring what he hoped to be calming and gentle words. It seemed to take a long time for her to finally stop trembling. When she finally fell still, she peaked at him through her ratty hair.
'I'm… I'm sorry sir, I'm really sorry… I…'
'Hush, child, as I have already said – it is of no consequence.' He stood up stiffly and helped her to her feet too.
'Go to the bathroom.' He crossed over to the wardrobe and swiftly withdrew the nightshirt he'd dressed her in the previous night which he handed to her. Then he waited for her to leave the room before he summoned Mim to strip the bed.
By the time Sophie had crept back into the room, hanging her head and dressed once more in the tent-like nightshirt, the bed was clean and there was a mug of hot sweetened milk on the bedside table.
'How are you feeling Sophie?' Severus asked softly, flicking his wand at the damp bundle in her hands and sending the wet clothes straight down to the laundry room.
'I'm fine, sir.' He felt a flicker of irritation at the word, especially considering that she was clearly anything but 'fine'.
'Do you want to talk about it? It will help.' He offered, trying to sound kind.
'No!' Her tone was sullen again and she seemed desperate for him to leave her alone. Sighing quietly, he stood up.
'Okay then, Sophie. If you are going back to sleep then I would like you to drink this – it's just a dreamless sleep potion.' He handed her the potion bottle, deliberately ignoring the look of intense disgust that appeared on her face as she took it reluctantly. 'I'm next door if you need anything. I'll see you in the morning.' Feeling ill at ease, he left the room, pulling the door closed but not fully shut behind him. Before he reached his own room, he heard her bedroom door click and turned to find that she had pushed it shut from the inside.
****SW****
Sophie didn't sleep again until the early hours of the morning when daylight was already sneaking in through the crack in the thick green curtains. As a result, she overslept and was woken abruptly at eight thirty in the morning by Snape knocking on the bedroom door, informing her that she was thirty minutes late for breakfast. Sophie sat up slowly, wincing at the stinging pain in her back and feeling as though she could do with another five hours or so in bed.
'Did you sleep better after…?' Snape's question hung unfinished in the air between them and Sophie flushed, remembering all too clearly what had happened. She saw him glancing at the untouched dreamless sleep potion on the bedside table. His obsidian eyes narrowed at her but he made no comment, only looked at her carefully. Sophie tried to glare back at him but she found that she couldn't hold his gaze after last night and she dropped her eyes to the blankets instead, focusing on her own knees. As usual when she was ill at ease, she began to also feel slightly defensive.
'I see.' Snape said succinctly, striding over to the window to pull the curtains. 'I expect you dressed and downstairs in ten minutes. We're running late.'
'Whatever…' Sophie muttered, not able to hold her tongue. If Snape heard her, he chose to ignore her.
Getting out of bed was painful, getting out of the horrid night-shirt was even more painful and getting into yesterday's clothes was excruciating. Clearly last night's pain relief had long since run its course. Sophie bit her lip against the pain as she struggled into her shirt, (only slightly crumpled) and skirt and gave up completely when it came to the jumper because she couldn't face pulling it over her head. Deciding that she would rather feel the chill, she slouched over to the door, pulling it open and came face to face with an irate Snape.
'You're late,' he snapped.
'So what?' Sophie spat – his sudden appearance had made her jerk involuntarily backwards and the slice of pain through her back was almost more than she could tolerate.
'So, it is bad manners and also disrespectful,' Snape drawled, 'come now child, have I not already told you that we are running behind?' Sophie tried to sneer at him but ended up flinching away from him again as he took a step towards her. The Potions Master heard her sharp intake of breath and he halted in his tracks, his expression briefly flickering to one of concern before the blank mask slid back into place.
'Come down to the dining room and I will get you another pain relief.'
'I'm fine!' Sophie forced the words out from between clenched teeth.
'Don't lie to me.' He ushered her quickly down the stairs, across the hall and into the dining room and she slid resentfully into the same seat as yesterday. Snape placed an uncorked bottle on the table in front of her.
Sophie wanted to reach out and down the contents then and there but she still had a spark of rebellion inside her that had her leaning back and crossing her arms against her chest instead – she refused to let the greasy git win so easily.
'Just drink it, child. This is not up for discussion.' Wilfully Sophie shook her head. Snape drew in a deep breath and then looked down at her. 'If you do not drink it, then I will spell it into your stomach. Your choice.' Sophie glowered at him for ten long seconds – of course her would pull a stunt like that, so completely out of her league that she would have no choice but to do as he had said. All the while the Potion Master's face remained impassive. Then slowly she reached forwards and picked up the bottle, downing the bottle in one long pull. The relief was instantaneous and she immediately felt herself relaxing.
'Good,' Snape said nothing else but simply walked round the table and sat down opposite her. 'Mim!' The house elf appeared out of thin air and, for the first time, Sophie (who had been anticipating it) did not jump. 'I think we're ready for breakfast now.' The elf nodded and vanished again, returning mere seconds later with plates of scrambled egg on toast which he placed in front of them both.
'I'm…' Sophie began, more out of habit than because it was true.
'Just eat it,' Snape interrupted her shortly, his voice commanding. Without another word, he picked up his knife and fork and began to eat.
Sophie glared at him for a few seconds before realising that she was being totally and completely ignored. She looked down at her food – the eggs were golden yellow and the white toast had been lightly buttered. Her stomach rumbled slightly. She glanced up at Snape, who still seemed oblivious to her and picked up her own cutlery and began to eat. She realised, somewhat grudgingly that she was hungry and the eggs and toast were delicious although her stomach seemed to have shrunk and she only managed half of what Mim had given her before she felt herself beginning to falter slightly. She glanced up at the man opposite and was surprised to find that he was now watching her, an amused smirk on her face. Immediately, she felt both defensive and embarrassed – in the bright morning light, there was no forgetting what had happened last night. She only hoped that he wasn't going to ridicule her about it. She was therefore extremely surprised when Snape made no comment about either the incident in the night or about the fact that she had actually given in and eaten some breakfast. Instead, like the previous evening, he told her to stop eating if she was sated and he offered her a cup of cocoa.
'We're visiting St Mungo's hospital this morning, Sophie.'
It felt as though she'd been plunged into a bucket of ice water. She gaped at him in shock.
'Why?'
'Because I would like a qualified Healer to check you over, particularly the wounds on your back and because it is important that the whip marks and your other scars are clearly documented so that the Ministry can see for themselves why you have been removed from your aunt and uncle's care.' Snape told her smoothly. Sophie felt herself turning white with suppressed anger and humiliation.
'You mean that I have to… to show my back to someone else?' Her voice started to rise and before she knew it, she was yelling at him. 'NO! I WON'T LET THEM! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!' Snape looked at her calmly and leaned forwards towards her, his hands flat on the table in front of him.
'I'm sorry, child. I know that I'm asking a difficult thing of you. I understand this is hard but I'm afraid it is necessary and unavoidable.' His apology derailed her anger somewhat, turning it inwards on herself. To her horror, Sophie felt her eyes starting to prick violently and she was suddenly afraid that she was going to burst into tears. She clenched her jaw, refusing to let him see her cry.
'Please Professor, I can't do it,' her voice cracked slightly and dropped to a whisper, 'I can't show anybody else. I just can't.' She dropped her eyes to the table, ashamed by the gathering tears. Snape stood up swiftly, walked round the table and crouched down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
'Remember what I told you yesterday, child. Those lash marks and your other scars are absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I understand that this is hard and I will be there with you to help you through it. Do you understand?' Sophie took a deep, shaky breath and used every remaining ounce of will to stop herself from giving in to the building tears. Then she gave the professor a tiny nod and he squeezed her shoulder gently and stood up.
'Good, go upstairs now and clean your teeth. I'll meet you by the front door in ten minutes – we're running late.'
****SS****
The child was beyond anxious, Severus could tell as much from the way that she kept lashing out at him and disagreeing with everything that he said. She was also trembling violently as he took her firmly by the arm so that they could apparate to London He glanced down at her white face and saw that she was biting her lip hard, presumably in an effort to remain in control. As much as he loathed tears, he wondered if it might've been more productive for her to actually show some emotion and cry – unless she released all that pent up emotion somehow, she was going to blow and accidental magic never ended well.
'Are you ready, Sophie?' She scowled at him and shook her head defiantly. Severus smirked at her and turned on the spot, pulling them both into the void of apparition.
They landed in a small alley, directly opposite the department store where the entrance to the hospital was concealed.
'I said I wasn't ready!' Sophie spat, wrenching her arm away from his before she could catch her balance and then staggering into an over-flowing cardboard recycling bin.
'Careful, child,' Severus muttered absentmindedly, slightly amused by her predictable contention, and he turned and walked out of the alley, towards the window of the department store. He was halfway across the road when he realised that the girl wasn't following him and that she was standing, frozen in the entrance to the alley, her eyes fixated on the mannequins in the window.
'Come on Sophie, it'll be okay.' He walked swiftly back to her and took her by the arm. 'Breathe child,' he told her, realising that she hadn't inhaled or exhaled for several seconds and she finally gasped in a deep breath. When she looked up at him, her former sullen expression had dissolved into something a whole lot more vulnerable. She looked young and scared but there was also something mature and resigned in her expression that moved Severus to slide his arm gently around her back.
'Come on child,' he repeated, his voice low and as gentle as he could make it.
They were met in the hospital foyer by Minerva, a man from the Ministry that Severus recognised by sight if not by name and a young Healer who was dressed in the traditional lime-green robes of her trade.
'Good morning, Severus, Miss Winterchild. This is Henry Chilton from the Magical Law Enforcement Department.' Severus felt the child beside him flinching horribly. He looked carefully at the man, noting his weak chin and slightly blood-shot eyes and sighed to himself - he could've done with someone with a little more backbone. 'And this is Healer Fezziwick of the Child Welfare Board who will be conducting the medical examination today.' Minerva continued. At this, Sophie actually took a step backwards and Severus tightened his grip on her arm. 'This is Severus Snape, head of Slytherin house and Miss Winterchild's current guardian.' Minerva concluded. Both the man and the Healer took steps forwards, extending their hands and making noises of greeting but, feeling the child trying to move backwards again, Severus remained where he was, not even extending his hand. They both got the message and halted in their approach.
'Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Mr er Professor Snape,' Chilton blustered. He gave Sophie a small wave and Severus felt his lip beginning to curl of its own accord. One quick glance at the child's face told him that, she too, didn't think much of the other man. 'Well, we've been allocated a meeting room on the fifth floor Professor so that I can take your statement and ask you some questions.' The man made a great show of looking at his watch and Severus reigned in the full-fledged sneer that was threatening to cross his features. 'I'm due back in the Ministry in less than an hour so I would suggest that you and I go up there now whilst Professor McGonagall chaperones Miss Winterchild. That way we can reconvene here before I leave with the medical notes and the statement all complete.'
'That's right, Miss Winterchild,' Minerva said, stepping forwards and extending a hand towards the trembling child.
If Severus hadn't been standing right next to her, he would probably have missed the tiny, choked whimper that the child let slip from between clenched teeth. He glanced down at her and then over at Minerva – it wasn't as though he had had any intention of leaving her even before but now that most certainly would not be happening.
'I'm sorry Mr Chilton, I understand that your time is, er, valuable and also that we've kept you waiting this morning but as Miss Winterchild's legal guardian I absolutely insist on accompanying her for the medical examination.'
'The child will be absolutely fine with Professor McGonagall…' Chilton began but fell silent as Severus raised a finger.
'Please do not presume to tell me what the child will be fine with, Mr Chilton. I am extremely new to all of this but I do know one thing; the child, Sophie is certainly not fine at the moment, in fact if you were at all observant, then you would notice that she is finding this extremely difficult. I promised her this morning that I would accompany her every step of the way and I do not wish to break that promise regardless of how short on time you are, sir. Therefore, we will attend the medical examination and then afterwards we will proceed to the statement. Is that understood?' He was gratified when the weak little man nodded at him. Glancing across at Minerva, he was annoyed to see that she was making no effort at all to hide the wide smirk across her face. He frowned at her but then he felt Sophie tugging at his sleeve.
'Thank you, sir, I mean thank you Severus.'
'It's my job to accompany you, Sophie – I am your guardian. Come now.'
Healer Fezziwick led them out of the main hospital foyer and into a small waiting room where there were several comfy chairs arranged around a low coffee table, covered with copies of the Daily Prophet and other less-renowned wizarding newspapers and magazines. Severus also spotted the motionless picture of a muggle tabloid. Through another open door, he could see a small consultation room.
'If you would wait here Mr Chilton,' Healer Fezziwick began, before turning and looking between Severus and the headmistress. 'You can both come through if you would like, however…' She looked down at Sophie, '…however perhaps it would be better if only one of you accompanied Miss Winterchild.'
'I will accompany her,' Severus said, without pause. He turned to the headmistress and saw that she was already moving to take a seat next to Chilton. 'Come child.' Thinking it best to get this over with as quickly as possible, he guided her through the open door and into the room beyond. He heard Healer Fezziwick's footsteps behind them and then the door clicked gently shut.
'Please sit down, both of you.' She waited until they had both sat down opposite her before she continued. 'Alright Miss Winterchild, I'm going to explain to you what's going to happen this morning to help you feel a bit more comfortable.' Severus felt the child on the chair next to him tensing again before muttering something under her breath. Something along the lines of, 'I'd be more comfortable in a crate of flesh-eating slugs'. He felt his lip twitching of its own accord and he quickly occluded his mind, keeping his amusement out of his expression and focused instead on the Healer – she was slightly older than he had first thought, probably mid to late thirties. Her expression was kind but there was also a firmness there that suggested that she would stand for no nonsense.
'So first I'm going to ask Professor Snape a few questions about the injuries he healed when he found you and then I would like to examine you.'
'I don't want to be examined.'
'I know, Miss Winterchild but I understand you have some nasty injuries on your back which Professor Snape hasn't been able to heal. I might be able to do something to help them that he wasn't able to.' Unlikely. Severus kept his face carefully blank as she continued to speak. 'I can obviously see the scars on your face but I know there are others under your clothes as well so I would also like to see them too and take some photographs as evidence.'
'NO!' Sophie jumped to her feet and Severus stood quickly and placed a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from running out of the room. 'No photographs! Please!'
'Okay, Miss Winterchild, no photographs.' Severus looked sharply at the healer, her immediate submission striking him as intensely suspicious. She looked calmly back at him and then glanced casually at the corner where he saw a tiny black glass gadget that he recognised instantly as a modern muggle camera which was presumably recording the whole appointment. He raised one eyebrow and she responded with a tiny nod. Feeling slightly sick, he looked back down at the child who had dropped back into her chair and was glowering at the floor.
'Does that sound okay to you Miss Winterchild?' Healer Fezziwick asked gently.
'It's not as if I'm being given a choice,' came the sullen response and, once again, Severus felt his lip twitching slightly. Healer Fezziwick turned to him.
'Can you tell me a little bit about Miss Winterchild's condition when you found her, please, Professor Snape?'
Ignoring Sophie's very obvious eye roll and the way that she slumped ostentatiously down in her chair and rested her head on her hand as if bored, Severus nodded and quickly, emotionlessly gave the Healer an outline of the trauma he'd ascertained from the child's body two days ago. Healer Fezziwick listened without interrupting, her expression becoming graver and more serious with every word that he spoke. If he was honest with himself, then Severus was actually rather impressed by her level of professionalism as he outlined the lash wounds left by the medieval torture inflicted on the child's body.
'Thank you, Professor Snape,' Healer Fezziwick said, as he finished speaking and she turned to the girl. 'Is there anything you'd like to add Miss Winterchild?' Severus followed the Healer's gaze and saw that the child had stopped acting out – her eyes now held the caged look of a trapped animal.
'Sophie?' He prodded gently, when she made no move to respond to the Healer. 'Healer Fezziwick asked you a question.'
'What?' She spat half-heartedly.
'I asked if there was anything you'd like to say after hearing what Professor Snape has just said?' The Healer repeated patiently.
'No!' She threw him a look that could've curdled a love potion.
'Okay then, Miss Winterchild. In that case, I'm sorry that this has happened to you.' The Healer stood up and Severus felt the child tensing on the chair beside him until the woman crossed over to the sink and began washing her hands.
'Can you come over to the examination table now Miss Winterchild and we can get this over with as quickly as possible?' Despite her words, there was no question in the Healer's voice – she wasn't giving the child a choice.
Sophie, however, made no move to obey her.
'Let's get this over with without any conflict.' The Healer said briskly.
Once again, Sophie ignored her.
Stealing himself for a fight, Severus turned towards his ward as the Healer repeated herself.
'Miss Winterchild? Let's get this over with.' The child didn't move and Severus saw the Healer glancing surreptitiously at her pocket watch and felt a brief flash of irritation towards her – was everyone here in such a massive rush today that they couldn't tread carefully around an extremely traumatised eleven-year-old? At the same time, he too was aware that they were operating to a very strict time schedule.
'Don't make this difficult, Miss Winterchild. I don't want to use my wand but I will if I…'
'Excuse me?' Severus interrupted, his voice as smooth as an oil slick. 'There will be no need for wands Healer Fezziwick.'
The child would not be magically controlled, stunned or subdued in any way, not under his watch. Merlin, if he let that happen then she would never trust him again. The Healer opened her mouth to contradict him but Severus stood up and manoeuvred himself so that he was between her and the child, with his back to the woman. He crouched down so that his face was level with the child's. She stared back defiantly into his eyes for a few seconds before dropping her gaze to her clenched fists and he read both defiance and desperation in her eyes.
'Look at me please Sophie.' He spoke as softly as he could, trying to push the Healer out of the conversation as far as was possible, given that she was still standing right behind him having not given them the courtesy of stepping back to afford them a measure of privacy.
'Look at me please,' he repeated.
Slowly and reluctantly the child lifted her eyes to his. She looked as though she was fighting to remain in control of herself and he furtively loosened his wand in his sleeve just in case he needed to cast a swift shield charm.
'I know that this is a difficult thing that I am asking of you Sophie and I'm sorry.' He paused, wondering how best to get through her. 'Like last night, you still require urgent medical attention and Healer Fezziwick might be able to do something that is beyond my capabilities.' Unlikely but possible he supposed. 'Like last night, we can do it as quickly and easily as possible – if you lie down on your front on the cot, I will vanish your clothes.'
Sophie's lip trembled slightly and for a half a second Severus thought that she might actually break down and cry. He felt simultaneously alarmed and relieved at the prospect of her finally letting go. Then she seemed to rally herself and she gave him a tiny nod and pulled her face into a small, half-hearted sneer.
'Fine!' Her voice cracked slightly.
Before she could change her mind, Severus pulled her gently to her feet and led her over to the examination bed. She was so small he was forced to remove his wand and conjure her a step so that she could climb up. Awkwardly she got herself onto her front, flinching slightly as the movement pulled at her back and Severus immediately found himself mentally calculating how many hours were left until he could give her another pain relief.
'Are you ready Sophie?' He asked when she was flat on her front. She ignored him and pressed her face into the thin pillow, her shoulders tensed up around her ears as if she was anticipating more pain. Severus saw that she was visibly trembling and he hesitated for a few seconds before coming to the swift conclusion that he had little choice - he flicked his wand and vanished her clothes so that only the sterile wound dressings remained. He took a step to one side to give the Healer enough space so that she could move in to complete her examination and came up beside the head of the bed. Without thinking, he placed his hand carefully on Sophie's shoulder so that she would know that he was still there.
To give Healer Fezziwick her due, she didn't flinch as she gently unpeeled the bandages and saw the weeping lash marks underneath. Her already serious expression grew even more grave and she waved her wand over the child's back and then looked down at her clipboard where the results of her findings were already penning themselves in a neatly typed hand.
'And you've been using a simple anti-bacterial potion on these?' She finally asked, turning to Severus who nodded.
'I'm not as well versed in cursed wounds as you are Professor Snape,' she went on and Severus felt another grudging wave of admiration for her at her honesty. 'However, if you say that these cannot be healed by magic then I certainly believe you. They repel even a simple diagnostic charm, don't they?' She swallowed convulsively, as if she was slightly nauseated. 'To tell you the truth, their reaction to mine just now made me feel slightly funny, slightly nauseous and faint – I've never felt anything quite like it before; it was as if something had reached right inside me and tugged at the strings attaching my magical core.' She shrugged and began using her wand to redress the child's back.
'Your description of how it makes you feel sounds accurate,' Severus admitted, 'they indeed repel all types of healing magic. To persevere would cause great harm both to the patient and to the one wielding the magic.'
The Healer looked at him levelly for a few seconds before turning back to the girl on the cot. Severus realised that the child had neither moved or spoken during the examination – her face was still pressed firmly into the pillow as if she was trying to block out everything that was being done to her.
Healer Fitzziwick was now examining some of the older scarring that she could see on the small patches of uncovered skin on the girl's back and legs.
'Would you sit up for me please, Miss Winterchild?' There was a long pause.
'But… but my clothes…' the child's refusal was almost inaudible as she spoke without lifting her face from the pillow.
'I just need to examine your front and then you can get dressed again.' Sophie muttered something inaudible into the pillow that Severus didn't quite catch (which he was sure was probably a good thing because he felt sure that it had contained several profanities). Mercifully, she then did as she was bid and pulled herself resentfully into a sitting-up position, glowering at the floor and refusing to make eye contact with either of the adults.
'Right, I'm done now, thank you for your cooperation, Miss Winterchild,' the Healer said softly, after a swift examination.
Sophie lifted her eyes briefly, her face flushed pink with embarrassment, then she slid off the bed, landing gently on the balls of her feet. Severus quickly flicked his wand at her and her clothes reappeared with a faint popping noise. The child seemed to sag with relief. He turned back to the Healer.
'I'm impressed with your Healing skill, Professor,' Healer Fezziwick said candidly, her eyes scanning her notes again, as she made adjustments here and there. Severus drew a blank expression over his face and simply nodded in reply – he loathed arrogance but he also disliked false modesty and he was good at Healing. 'As expected, there is nothing more that I can do for her that you aren't already doing. Continue applying scar serum and keeping the lash marks clean and infection free. At any rate, the injuries have now been documented and the report will go to the medical review board as well as the ministry. It's possible that someone else might have some expertise or an idea they can share with you to expediate the healing.' Unlikely, Severus thought to himself again but he nodded nonetheless as she asked for his permission to share his contact details.
'Very well then, thank you for cooperating with me, Miss Winterchild. I hope that you feel better soon.'
The child glowered at her, refusing to return her kind smile as she nodded them out of the examination room.
****SW****
'Wait here Sophie, we'll be a matter of minutes that is all.' Snape gestured to a row of comfy-looking chairs under a tall window, through which Sophie could see a bird's eye view of a bustling London Street and a far-off glimpse of the muddy banks of the Thames. She glanced back at Snape, pulling her mouth into a sneer to convey her complete indifference to what he had just said. She wondered if she was successfully manifesting 'I don't care' and added a small (and quite painful) shoulder shrug to make it more convincing.
In truth, of course, the oppressive and intense atmosphere of the hospital coupled with the examination she'd just endured were making here feel anxious and jittery, as if she was teetering right on the edge of losing control all together. She wanted to leave, even if leaving meant going back to Snape's horrible house - anywhere would be better than here.
'Here you are Miss Winterchild, I thought this might entertain you,' the Headmistress said, reaching into a vast tartan briefcase-like handbag and withdrawing a colourful magazine which she handed to Sophie.
Glancing at its vivid cover, Sophie read the words Witch Weekly – Junior Edition, the title page screaming out the ground-breaking news that The Chosen One had been seen frequenting a party at the newly opened Dancing Dragon, a brand-new music club that had just opened off Diagon Alley. The magazine was familiar to her because her cousin Rowan had it delivered weekly, not that Sophie herself had ever been allowed to lay so much as a finger on the glossy cover – even the out-of-date copies had been guarded jealously with Rowan always preferring to burn them in the fireplace once she had finished with them rather than letting her small cousin take so much as a fleeting look.
'Well?' Sophie snapped back to the present and saw that Snape was looking at her with raised eyebrows.
'Well, what?' Her sneer sounded feeble even to her own ears.
Snape looked at her meaningfully.
'Say thank you, Sophie – I won't remind you again. If you can't be polite then you won't receive nice things.' Sophie felt the heat rising to her face – what made him think that she even wanted this trashy magazine? She scowled at him, but bit her lip against the unpleasant words rising inside her and grouched out a sullen 'thank you' to the headmistress which seemed to appease both of the adults.
Still swallowing her irritation, she watched as they walked through into the small conference room where the weak little Ministry man, Clifton or Chilford or whatever his name was, was waiting impatiently. The door snapped shut behind them, leaving her alone.
Sophie gave them a minute, just to make sure that they weren't coming back out again. Then she silently slid off the chair and crossed over to the door so that she could listen at the door crack, there being no keyhole. She couldn't hear a thing and she realised (with another stab of sour irritation) that the door had been warded, presumably to prevent her from doing this very thing. Feeling more wound-up than ever, she crossed back to her chair and sat down again, drawing her knees up into her chest. It wasn't a comfortable position - the movement tugged at her back and she knew the adults would be mad at her for not removing her outdoor shoes before she put them on the furniture but it made her feel safe. She glared unseeingly at the magazine's glossy cover until the fluorescent colours started to pule and vibrate, threatening to jump off the page altogether. At this, Sophie snapped her eyes shut, before pressing her balled up fists against her face for good measure. Then she focussed on breathing in and out and staying in control of the building pressure that seemed to be rising inside her.
'Okay Sophie, we're done.' The familiar, smooth baritone voice cut through her panic and her head snapped up to see that both Severus and the headmistress were standing in front of her. Clifford (or whatever his name was) was already making a hasty retreat out of the door.
'Is everything okay, Miss Winterchild?' The headmistress asked, her tone so kind and gentle that it was barely recognisable from her usual brisk no-nonsense manner. Immediately, Sophie felt simultaneously stupid and defensive and she pulled her features into a sneer.
'I'm f-' She swallowed the word as Snape cleared his throat meaningfully.
'Please don't take us for fools, child,' he said smoothly, 'you are clearly not fine.'
To Sophie's everlasting horror, she felt her eyes prickling slightly and she bit her lip against the rising emotion in her chest, until she tasted the rust and salt of her own blood which grounded her slightly. The fact that, once again, he was threatening to make her cry made her angry and she grasped hold of that anger with both fists because that was so much better than disgracing herself with tears.
'Okay I'm not fine!' She spat, her voice rapidly rising until it became a shout. 'I'M NOT BLOODY WELL FINE! I HATE IT HERE! I HATE WHAT THAT WOMAN MADE ME DO, WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!' All the anger and resentment that she had been feeling suddenly bubbled to the surface. 'I HATE… I HATE YOU!'
As soon as the words had escaped, Sophie was horrified and she clapped her hands across her mouth. There was no way to unsay them – she had crossed a line and she flinched back into her chair away from him, shielding her face, anticipating the slap that never came.
There was a long tension-loaded silence, so long in fact that Sophie peaked through her fingers at Snape, wondering how he was going to react to her rudeness. To her surprise, she saw that he hadn't moved at all, in fact, he was staring quite calmly down at her, his obsidian eyes unreadable.
'That's quite enough, Sophie.' He said finally. 'I understand that this has been an extremely trying morning for you but I won't be spoken to like that.' How dare he be so calm and in control when there was certainly a part of her that wanted him to rage and scream at her and give back as good as she was giving him!
'You…!' She stopped mid exclamation, cringing away from him as he raised his hand. Too late, she realised that he had raised it simply to quiet her rather than to strike her.
'Easy child, like I have said, that's enough. You've done very well this morning. I was going to suggest that we could go to Diagon Alley now? You are in need of new clothes and I'm sure that some new reading material and other entertainment would also appeal to you?' He must think her a baby to be so easily bought with the promise of presents… but, then again… Sophie remembered the lack of suitable reading material in the Professor's house and realised that she would actually quite like something to occupy her if she was going to stay there for the rest of the summer.
She wasn't going to let him know that he had won however. Instead, she shrugged and scowled at him but she stood up without resisting any further and followed him and the headmistress out of the room. She ignored the smile on the old woman's face and the smirk on Snape's.
The next update will be the first week of September.