An Even Greater Challenge

Chapter 5 – Rising Tension


The child didn't sleep again until the early hours of the morning and therefore Severus, who had warded the child's room so that he would know when she was awake and in distress, also did not sleep. The third night of broken sleep really was the killer and when his alarm charm went off at seven thirty in the morning, Severus seriously contemplated ignoring it. Instead, he dragged himself out of bed, washed and dressed and then made his way slowly downstairs, pausing on the landing outside Sophie's room. She was finally peaceful and he had already decided to leave her as long as she needed. Merlin but the child needed some proper healing rest. Sleep, good food and pain potions. It was all he could offer her and it was little enough.

Yawning, he entered his office and took a seat behind his desk, pulling a quill and parchment towards himself.

'Mim?' There was a small crack and the elf appeared by his right elbow.

'Master looks tired.' Since when had Mim gotten so judgemental? Severus nodded tiredly towards the elf and raised an eyebrow.

'I am, Mim,' he agreed somewhat glumly. 'Please can you bring me a coffee and a piece of toast?'

'Master should be having a proper breakfast,' the elf squeaked reprovingly. Severus stifled another yawn and nodded again.

'I'll eat later when the child wakes up.'

'Mim be getting that for you now, Master.' With a second crack, the elf disappeared.

After three cups of coffee and two pieces of toast and marmalade, Severus certainly felt more like himself. He had also drafted a letter to send out to Winterchild's other Professors, asking for a copy of the first-year holiday assignments. He did not give details as to why he wanted them. It was nearly ten o'clock in the morning when his wand chimed softly twice to tell him that the child was stirring at last. Severus yawned and stretched and quickly made his way up the stairs. He met her on the landing outside her bedroom. She was still wearing pajamas and she looked pale but the bags under her eyes were less pronounced. Predictably, she scowled when she saw him.

'Good morning, Sophie, I hope you are feeling well rested.' Sophie nodded, not meeting his eyes. He supposed she was embarrassed about what had happened again in the night. Not that she had anything to be ashamed over – in the past two days, Severus felt as if he'd barely scratched the surface over the abuse she'd endured. She was under so much emotional stress as her mind and body tried to process the trauma, he wasn't at all surprised that it was happening. He took a step forwards.

'You missed breakfast, I…'

'I'm sorry!' Consternation swept through him as she retreated away from him, until her back was against the wall. 'I didn't mean to!'

'Hush child,' Severus said keeping his tone low and calm in spite of the flickering irritation he was feeling – did she really believe him to be such an ogre? 'I was merely going to say that you should come down and have something now. Come down right away, you can get dressed later.' He extended a hand towards her but she flinched away, her features tight. Severus realised that she was long overdue a pain relief potion.

For once, the child didn't protest that she wasn't hungry when Mim placed large bowls of porridge in front of both her and Severus. Nor did she say anything when Severus handed her the usual pain relief potion although he saw a flicker of both resentment and reluctance in her eyes as she took it from him. Severus waited until she had finished eating before he spoke again.

'This morning, I have written to your other Professors, Sophie, asking for the titles of your holiday assignments. They should write back to me fairly swiftly.' He thought he heard her mumble a 'whatever' but it was certainly extremely half hearted. 'As the weather is pretty poor today again and we had a busy day yesterday, I was going to suggest that we have a quiet day today. You have your new books to occupy you and there are a selection of toys and games in the attic that I'll have Mim take to your room after breakfast.' She looked up at him sullenly and shrugged again. Severus felt his irritation rising again and carefully occluded his mind so that it wouldn't show in his expression. He was really trying here. Merlin, hadn't he just offered to bring her down some of his old toys and games, things that he'd moved here from Spinners End last year? If he was honest with himself, Severus hadn't even known why he'd kept them at the time – he had never entertained the idea of having children, Merlin, he hadn't even had a serious relationship since Lily, if that's what you could've called their turbulent friendship.

'They were mine from when I was a child,' he tried again.

'Like I care.' If the words were spoken so quietly that Severus could have pretended not to have heard them. As it was, they snapped his last nerve.

'That is enough, Winterchild! If you can't be pleasant then you will go to your room.'

'With pleasure.' The chid pushed her chair back and stood up too abruptly. Severus swallowed down a growl as he saw her face contort with pain.

'Are you okay, Sophie?'

'I'm fine!' She turned on her heal.

'Winterchild!' She swung back to face him, her expression suddenly terrified. Severus's former annoyance fizzled away as he took in her fear. He suddenly felt very old and very tired. 'Merlin, relax child, I merely wanted to return this.' He pushed the small package across the table towards her. She didn't move, even when his arm couldn't extend any further. 'Suit yourself then,' it was his turn to shrug. 'I was simply returning the pieces of your wand. They are here if you want them.'

Severus stood up and walked swiftly out of the door.

Severus could feel the tension growing with every exchange he had with the child over the rest of the day and the following three days. Except for mealtimes, and in spite of Severus's repeated invitations to use the downstairs rooms of the house, Sophie spent most of her time alone in her bedroom, clearly avoiding her new guardian. Every day Severus insisted on at least thirty minutes of fresh air and the child accompanied him sullenly on short walks around the garden and the neighbouring countryside. They walked in silence, Merlin they did everything in silence. When Severus tried to start a conversation, Sophie would shrug and mutter monosyllabic answers, until he gave up and they would complete the remainder of the meal or the walk in silence. Sometimes she would ignore him altogether and simply stare fixedly at her food, or at her feet. The only time when she responded verbally to him was when he tried to get her to take her potions – she had started to resist even the pain potion and she still categorically refused to take the dreamless sleep potions that Severus offered her every night. As a result, she would typically wake screaming at least once during the night and they would go through the usual ritual – Severus would enter the room and attempt to calm her down, Sophie would insist that she was fine and refuse to be comforted, the sheets would usually have to be changed, the dreamless sleep potion would be declined again and then both Severus and Sophie would lie awake for hours in their separate bedrooms until the child finally fell into a fitful sleep again. On the third night, Severus was awakened no less than three times by the child's terrified screams. They were both exhausted and Severus could feel his patience wearing thin. In the end, it was a relief when he received an owl from the headmistresses informing him that she would be popping in to see both him and Sophie the following morning. He was out of ideas and as much as he was loathe to admit it, he needed Minerva's help.

Severus let Sophie sleep in again that morning because he knew that she'd been awake between the hours of two and six o'clock and therefore he too had found it impossible to sleep. In the end, he had decided not to bother returning to bed and had gone downstairs for an early breakfast. Feeling more like a zombie than a wizard, he demolished the plate of eggs and bacon that Mim set in front of him and then two entire cafetieres of black coffee. As a result, he was more alert but he was also jittery and on edge at ten o'clock when his wards informed him that Minerva had just entered the grounds.

'Good morning, Minerva,' he said smoothly, opening the front door as she reached the steps. Minerva looked at him calculatingly for a few seconds.

'Merlin Severus, you look terrible.' He smirked at her – she'd never been one to beat around the pitch with a broomstick. Then he sighed.

'Good morning to you too, Minerva. Come through to the living room, we will be more comfortable in there whilst we talk.'

'How is the child?' The headmistress asked, as they crossed the hall and entered the living room. Severus summoned Mim and gave him the instruction to bring tea and biscuits, (judging by the tremor in his hands, he'd had enough coffee for the time being). Then he turned to the headmistress. Merlin, he didn't like to admit it, but he was totally and completely out of ideas.

'Winterchild, Sophie is still asleep at the moment. Her wounds are healing slowly, I'm not used to watching the slow muggle rate of healing if I'm honest, Minerva but they haven't reopened and nor are they infected.' He hesitated, searching for the right words and was thankful when Mim appeared back into the room with the tea and a plate of Minerva's favourite shortbread dragons. Although he'd already admitted to himself that he was in far out of his depth and needed the headmistress's help, Severus was loathe to carry on.

'You look exhausted Severus, what's going on?' Severus sighed and occluded his mind, presenting the headmistress with a blank face.

'Like I anticipated, the child is struggling emotionally, Minerva. She's waking up multiple times a night with nightmares. I have offered her a dreamless sleep potion but she refuses to take it from me, just like she has resisted all of the other potions I have offered her in the last week. Even when she is in so much pain that she can barely move, she rejects the pain relief I offer her.' Suddenly the words were pouring out of him even as he attempted to keep his mind clear and calm and remain in control. 'She doesn't trust me at all Minerva – whenever she's in my presence, which incidentally is the barest minimum that she can get away with, chiefly mealtimes and when I insist on a walk outside, I can see that she seems to be waiting for me to snap and lash out at her. I have given her no cause to believe that this would be the case, in fact I have tolerated her continued rudeness and sullen behaviour without comment. I told you a week ago that I wasn't the best person to take on such a damaged child and it seems as though I am proving myself correct!' Severus grabbed a shortbread dragon off the plate in front of them and shoved it into his mouth, hoping that chewing it would help him to get a grip on his surroundings and gain control again. He didn't normally do emotion, choosing instead to occlude his mind whenever things got difficult and now, here he was pouring his heart out to Minerva of all people.

Minerva was shaking her head at him. Severus was sure he could see the spark of amusement in her beady eyes, although her expression was sombre.

'Severus, you were the person who told me that it would take lot of time and it has been less than a week since you brought Winterchild here. You're doing the best you can. Keep trying to communicate with her…'

'Huh, she gives nothing back,' Severus interrupted, then realising his rudeness held up his hand and gestured for her to continue.

'Keep trying to communicate with her,' Minerva continued, ignoring his interruption, 'perhaps try to spend some more time with her?'

'I have invited her down to the sitting room multiple times over the past week.' Severus said tiredly.

'You should continue going out for walks with her and perhaps start working together on her schoolwork. I had a look over her grades for the last year and she can certainly do with some one-on-one coaching.' Severus nodded, remembering how the child had failed three of her end of year exams completely. 'It's important that you do fun things together too – she needs to start seeing you as her guardian now and not just her professor. Perhaps you could play a game of chess together or exploding snap or do a jigsaw…?' The headmistress trailed off and Severus hastily wiped the inadvertent sneer off his face, brought on no doubt by the words 'exploding snap'.

'Perhaps not exploding snap, Minerva as the child is already nervous enough, unexpected explosions of that nature would probably cause her a heart attack.' He smirked at the headmistress but then his expression turned sober. 'I'm sorry for the rant earlier, Minerva, I'm just extremely tired.'

'Have you asked Winterchild why she is resisting taking the potions you offer her?' The headmistress asked.

'I assumed it's a trust thing,' Severus said, shrugging, 'or perhaps it's simply another way for her to resist authority.'

'Perhaps but then again, perhaps there is more to it,' Minerva said, helping herself to another shortbread dragon.

Severus's wand suddenly gave a low double chime. Automatically Severus looked at the clock above the mantlepiece, calculating how much sleep the child had had – an acceptable four hours.

'She's awake if you would like to see her.'

When the headmistress nodded, Severus got to his feet and glided out of the room.

****SW****

Sophie was on her way to the bathroom when she met Snape on the landing. Typically, he succeeded in making her jump, and she scowled at him.

'Good morning, Sophie, I hope you are feeling well rested. I let you sleep in after...' Snape trailed off, obviously trying to be subtle and Sophie felt herself colouring with embarrassment – it didn't matter how many times the Potions Master told her that 'it was of no consequence' the nightmares and the wet beds that came hand in hand with them always made her want to sink to the bottom of the black lake and disappear. If it had only been once, then they could've moved on and Sophie might have been able to forget but it was every night, sometimes multiple times a night.

'You have a visitor downstairs.'

Sophie felt herself blanching a little – did Snape mean that her aunt or her uncle had come to see her? She took a step back, coming up against the wall.

'Who?' Her trembling lips could barely form the one-word question. This was ridiculous, Sophie tried to pull herself together but she could feel her knees shaking.

'The headmistress has come to see you,' Snape said, his voice low. He was looking at her carefully, seemingly confused and concerned by her reaction.

'The headmistress?' The sense of relief that flooded Sophie's body was so intense that she was thankful for the wall behind her because without it, she would probably have ended up in a trembling heap on the floor.

'Correct,' he was still looking at her with an odd expression on his face. Sophie pulled herself upright and schooled her features into a sneer. A flicker of something passed over Snape's face - was it amusement or irritation? Either way, it was replaced again almost instantly by the usual calm, blank mask. 'Come now, we don't want to keep her waiting. You also need some breakfast and a pain relief potion.' Sophie felt her sneer becoming more pronounced at the mention of the pain relief – what was with this man constantly forcing unwanted potions on her?

Snape turned, evidently intending to lead the way back downstairs but Sophie hesitated, feeling her cheeks getting hot again – why did she always end up having to ask this man's permission to pee? Resentment prickled and she was suddenly even more annoyed and angry than before.

'Come on please Sophie!' His voice was sharper this time. Sophie took a step towards him and then stopped, realising that she had little choice.

'I need… can I use the bathroom first please, Professor?' The tone of her request was so rude that she was ultimately surprised by the fact that Snape merely nodded.

'Of course, child. Come down when you're done.'

Of course, Sophie took as long as possible in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet for several unnecessary minutes and washing her hands five times. Then, knowing that Snape could only be pushed so far, she slowly made her way out of the bathroom and down the stairs. She suddenly felt awfully self-conscious of her pajamas and wished that he'd given her the time to get changed into something a little more presentable. The last time she'd seen the headmistress she'd been dressed in Snape's old nightshirt and this time she was still in her nightclothes, although admittedly these ones were much better fitting. Even so, Sophie was sure that the headmistress would imagine that she was a right slob.

Sophie hesitated on the threshold of the living room, wondering briefly if she ought to knock but then decided against it and slouched into the room. She immediately saw the headmistress and Snape sitting on opposite armchairs, a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits balanced on the coffee table between them. They were clearly in deep discussion but they fell silent when Sophie entered the room. Sophie stopped walking, feeling even more ill at ease.

'Good morning, Sophie,' the headmistress said softly, 'you are looking so much better than the last time I saw you.' Sophie scowled at her and transferred her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other.

'Come and take a seat, Sophie,' Snape said, gesturing her onto the sofa next to him. 'There's your morning pain relief on the table,' (he flicked his wand and it appeared out of thin air), 'and I'll get Mim to bring you some toast.' Sophie opened her mouth to say that she didn't want either but then she realised that the headmistress was watching her carefully. Resentfully, she shut her mouth and slouched over to the sofa, plopping herself down so abruptly that it jolted her back and she hissed in pain.

'Merlin child, have I not told you to be careful?' Snape said tiredly, picking up the potion bottle and uncorking it before offering it to her.

'I'm fine,' Sophie hissed, trying to hide the fact that her eyes were watering.

'We are not having this argument again this morning. You will take your pain medication now.' Sophie glanced over at the headmistress who was still watching in silence. Would Snape really give her something nasty in front of another adult? Sophie doubted it but then again, the headmistress might be in on it too. This thought was so utterly factitious that even Sophie knew that she was being irrational. Her hand twitched towards the bottle. As much as she hated to let him win, Snape was right about one thing - her back was killing her and it felt as though somebody was running white hot knives up and down her skin.

'Good, now, Mim!' The house elf appeared out of thin air at Sophie's elbow and handed her a plate of thick cut white toast with butter and honey and a glass of pumpkin juice. The toast smelled and looked so appealing that Sophie's stomach gave a low rumble of anticipation. She clenched her abdominal muscles, hoping that the adults hadn't heard it.

'How are you doing Miss Winterchild?' Sophie looked at the headmistress and then shrugged. 'Have you settled in to Professor Snape's house?'

Sophie looked between the two adults and then back down at her toast and shrugged again. What was the headmistress expecting her to say in front of Snape? Anyway, it wasn't as though she hadn't settled in to the Potion Master's house – her room was comfortable and she had enough books and toys to occupy her for weeks. It was just that she didn't quite trust the man – he was playing some sort of game with her and Sophie had yet to work out the rules. Hadn't he told her that he would punish her if she broke the rules? It hadn't been a deliberate course of action but somehow Sophie had ended up pushing endless boundaries over the past few days – she'd been late to almost every meal, she'd refused to eat the meals he'd served her, refused to take the potions he'd offered her, she'd pretended not to hear him when he spoke or been deliberately offhand when she did reply. Snape hadn't reacted once and now she was getting more and more on edge waiting for him to react, to do something. At least she'd always known what was coming at her aunt and uncle's house. Snape was an unknown quantity. He was clearly just waiting for her offences to pile up. The coming punishment would be out of this world. Sophie suppressed a shudder and stared down at her toast, her hunger instantly vanishing and leaving a sour queasiness in its wake.

'Very well Miss Winterchild, it's early days yet,' the gentle tone the headmistress had used on her previous visit was back and Sophie suddenly felt embarrassed and then, by default, angry.

'It's fine here,' she said abruptly, picking up a slice of toast and biting into it. There were a few moments of awkward silence following her words. Sophie held her mouthful of toast on her tongue, unwilling to crunch it and make a noise. It was getting soggier by the second. She felt her mouth filling with saliva and knew that she had seconds before she would have to either spit it out or be sick.

'Severus, did you know that Ginerva Weasley has just been made first reserve Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies? Such an honour for one just out of school…' Sophie realised that the headmistress had deliberately engaged Snape in conversation to give her time to eat some toast. Somehow, she managed to swallow her bite of soggy toast. She took a long drink of pumpkin juice before she attempted another bite.

Although the two Professors charted amicably together, all but ignoring her, Sophie's appetite had all but vanished and she found that she couldn't manage more than a few bites of the toast. The butter and honey didn't give it enough lubrication and it seemed to stick in her throat even with the pumpkin juice. Worried that Snape would make a fuss over how little she'd eaten, Sophie tried to keep eating, then coughed as something stuck. Without meaning to, she caught Snape's eye.

'If you don't want it then don't force it, Sophie,' his voice betrayed the merest hint of irritation. Sophie scowled at him but placed her plate on the coffee table, feeling relieved.

'You've barely touched that.' Sophie's scowl deepened as the headmistress threw in her two Knuts worth. 'Why don't you have a biscuit instead?' Sophie caught Snape's eye for a second time and was surprised when he nodded assent because he was normally fairly strict about no sweets or dessert until she'd at least eaten some of her main course. She took a shortbread dragon off the plate and had to fight the smile that flickered across her face as it turned a full circle in her hand and tried to nibble on her finger. It seemed almost a shame to eat it.

'Well, I'm going to make a move now,' the headmistress stood up, 'I brought you a small gift, Miss Winterchild.' Sophie felt her face flushing with embarrassment as she stared up at the older woman. She couldn't deny that she was intrigued that the headmistress had got her a gift, but she also felt so awkward that she almost wished that she hadn't bothered. The headmistress placed a gift bag on the coffee table beside Sophie's uneaten toast. 'It's just a little something to try and help you to relax and feel more like yourself.'

Feel more like herself? The sneer came unbidden – Sophie really had no idea who she was anymore. The years spent in the so-called care of her aunt and uncle had wiped every shred of the child she'd been before from existence. She heard Snape clear his throat meaningfully and knew immediately what he wanted.

'Thank you, Professor,' Sophie was surprised by how dull her voice sounded. She shoved the shortbread dragon into her mouth and watched impassively as Snape escorted the headmistress out of the room. As soon as they were out of sight, she pulled the bag towards her and glanced inside.

The bag seemed to contain a random assortment of objects – a thick sketch pad, bound in green leather and a set of coloured quills bound in a matching leather wallet, several small bottles which upon closer inspection proved to be small bottles of different essential oils – lavender, chamomile, orange, sandalwood and clary sage, alongside a magical aromatherapy candle. The instructions told Sophie that one drop of oil into the candle would make it burn with that smell until it was extinguished. Finally, there was a book – The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. Wrapped around it was a small piece of pink parchment on which the headmistress had written.

Dear Miss Winterchild,

I have always held a place in my heart for Muggle fiction. This book was one of my favourites when I was your age. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did then, and still do. It has always helped me immensely to escape into another world entirely when I'm feeling upset or stressed.

I wish you a speedy recovery,

Minerva McGonagall.

Sophie flicked open the book and read the first line. In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit… She heard an exhalation of breath over by the door and looked up suddenly to find that Snape had silently re-entered the room and was watching her carefully.

'Well Sophie, I think you should probably go upstairs and get dressed for the day.' Sophie looked down at herself, remembering with another stab of embarrassment that she was still in her pajamas. 'Once you're dressed, I was thinking we should make a start on some of your holiday assignments. I also think it might be beneficial to you if we were to maybe revise some wand-work. As your Professor, I am allowed to supervise your spells and I can authorise you to use spells during a lesson-type environment.' Sophie felt her stomach sinking slightly as he mentioned wand-work. She saw another flicker of frustration crossing Snape's face, before the normal blank mask appeared, and realised that she hadn't been very good at hiding her thoughts. 'Judging by your results from the end of year exams, I think you could really benefit from some one-on-one wand coaching, Sophie.' Of course he was right, and this fact just made Sophie feel resentful and angry because she knew just how rubbish she was at anything that required the use of a wand. She felt her heart rate speeding up and her hands curling into fists. If Snape noticed her rising anger, he ignored it. 'It would also be good for you to start some of your assignments as I'm sure you don't want to be doing them all in the last week of the holidays.'

'I've already done the bloody assignments!' It burst out before she could stop it.

'Language, Sophie! I have told you before that I don't tolerate the use of foul language. This is your final warning.' Snape gave her a calculating look. 'Are you sure that you've already completed all of your assignments? I only got the titles from your Professors four days ago.' What did he think she'd been doing in her room for the past four days? Sophie glowered at him. 'It's not as if you've shown much aptitude for holiday assignments in the past.' Sophie jumped to her feet, heat flooding through her and her anger now totally out of control.

'ONLY BECAUSE THEY LOCKED ME IN THE BASEMENT AS SOON AS I GOT HOME! I WANTED TO DO IT! YOU STUPID STUPID GIT, WHAT DO YOU THINK…?' Sophie clapped her hands over her mouth, realising what she'd said. Anger and annoyance at Snape was still bubbling through her veins. She wanted to scream at him, Merlin she wanted to run at him and punch him in the centre of his stupid, smug face. Instead, when he took a step towards her, she found herself retreating as fear flooded through her, warring against the anger, neither winning or losing against the other. The contrasting emotions were so intense that in that instant she couldn't think or feel. Automatic self-preservation had her ducking away anticipating a slap as Snape advanced. Her back came up against the wall and her ability to think returned abruptly as she realised that she'd retreated as far as she could go. Snape was still walking slowly towards her and he was between her and the exit. Wildly, she cast round for another route out of the room.

'Calm down child, it's okay. Take a few deep breaths before you make something explode.' Snape had halted several feet in front of her, seemingly trying to give her some space. The fear and anger were still raging out of control, neither one winning and she was too confused and too full of the opposing emotions to get a grasp on the situation. 'Listen to me, Sophie. You need to breathe and you need to calm down.' He started breathing slowly in and out. It took her several minutes, but eventually Sophie found herself mimicking him. Gradually her breathing came under control and her heart rate slowed. She could still feel the simmering resentment towards him but it was under control now.

'Better,' Snape said approvingly. He was still looking at her with concern and Sophie felt her irritation rising again.

'I'm… I'm sorry, sir!' She raised a trembling hand to brush her hair out of her face. She could feel sweat dripping down her back and now that the anger had lessened, she was starting to feel chilled.

'Sophie, I would also like to apologise for what I said; it was thoughtless and ill advised.' He seemed to mean what he was saying but she was still too angry to properly forgive him. Instead, she scowled at him and shrugged. 'Very well child, why don't you show me your finished assignments?' Resentfully, Sophie shimmied round him, remaining out of arms reach at all times and quickly left the room. She'd been intending to fetch them downstairs for him to look at but she realised that he was following her up the stairs. Didn't he trust her at all? Sophie stomped her feet down on the wooden landing as she crossed over to her room and made a point of slamming the door back against the wall.

'Careful, Sophie,' she heard the familiar calm baritone voice from behind her and felt even more annoyed.

'There!' Sophie picked up the pile of completed essays on the desk and shoved them into Snape's waiting hands. 'Do you believe me now?'

'Watch your tone please, Sophie,' Snape replied, looking at her carefully with his expressionless obsidian eyes. Then he looked down at the completed essays in his hands and raised his eyebrows. 'Well done child,' he said softly, taking Sophie so completely by surprise that she found herself staring at him open mouthed. 'You've put in a lot of work on these. I can't deny that I'm both surprised and impressed. Once again, I apologise for doubting you.'

He seemed to be waiting for her to say something so Sophie griped out a mumbled, 'It's okay sir,' which seemed to appease him somewhat.

'As your written work seems to be above average standard, shall we focus on improving your spell-work?'

'Like that's really a question,' Sophie mumbled. If Snape heard her, he chose to ignore her.

'Come down to my office once you're washed and dressed, Sophie and we'll go through some spells before lunch. Bring your new copy of The Standard Book of Spells Grade One.' Sophie glowered at him as he left the room but did as she was told.

****SS****

The child slouched into his office without knocking around twenty minutes later. Severus looked up from Secrets of the Ancient Craft, opened his mouth to admonish her but then closed it again immediately after deciding that he really couldn't be bothered to fight the battle right now.

'Come and take a seat, Sophie.' He gestured to a small table he'd set up over by the window, having decided that he didn't really want to dictate from behind his desk and that a less formal setting might actually help the child learn. 'I thought we could start with some Charms today.'

'Whatever…' Severus sighed to himself and stood up, making his way round the side of his desk.

'I thought we'd start at the beginning of the book and see how we get on,' he said, extending a hand for the textbook she was clutching to her chest and sitting down in the closest chair. He flicked through a few pages of introduction and stopped at the first spell – how to make objects spin. Flicking his own wand, he summoned a Knut from his purse, which was hanging on a hook behind the office door. 'Sit down please Sophie.' Sullenly the child flopped into the chair, sinking down so that she was almost horizontal. Severus swallowed down a flicker of annoyance and tried again. 'This is probably one of the first spells that Professor Flitwick introduced you to last year – how to make objects spin, so we'll try this one first.' Sophie sighed loudly, as if bored. Severus ignored her.

'Charms is an emotional subject, unlike some of the other subjects that rely heavily on wand-work like Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts which are more logic and science based. As you progress in this subject, that will become more and more evident. You cannot, for example, cast a Cheering Charm without some notion of how the spell will make the person you are casting it on feel. That is, you cannot simply point your wand and say the words. You have to mean it. You have to want it. Most of all you have to know how it will make them feel and imagine that feeling as you are casting the spell. Another example is a colour change charm, which I know you also covered last year. How does the colour yellow make you feel? How would changing the colour of the object in question to yellow affect its aura?'

'I really don't care.' Once again, Severus ignored her rudeness, quickly wiping his mind clear of all emotion before he could betray his rising irritation. He looked back at the book in front of him.

'For this particular charm, we are making the Knut spin on the table. If you yourself were to get out of this chair and spin on the spot right now, how do you think it would make you feel?'

'Dizzy.' Came the sullen response. In spite of himself, Severus hid a smirk.

'Imagine yourself spinning, right now,' he said patiently. 'You are felling giddy yes, but you are also feeling perhaps a little bit silly and frivolous, perhaps you are also feeling positive and jovial…' He stopped as the child gave a very obvious eye roll. 'That's enough, Sophie. Sit up please and get your wand out so we can practice the wand movement. It's a simple jab forward, like this,' Severus demonstrated, 'as you say the word Conversus. It's quite a simple spell, really. Con-vers-us,' Severus stopped, realising that the child hadn't moved an inch. 'Get your wand out, please.' His voice was starting to betray his irritation and, for the first time, Severus actually questioned his own sanity in deciding to pursue a charms class now when he was so tired and the child was being so obstinate and uncooperative.

'I left my wand upstairs.'

'How did you suppose we were going to learn wand-work without a wand?' He asked smoothly. Sophie shrugged. 'Go and fetch it.' When the child hesitated, he raised his voice slightly. 'Now, Sophie, and be quick about it.' Maddeningly slowly, Sophie got to her feet and slouched out of the office. Severus exhaled quickly and then inhaled, counting to ten as he did so. By the time the child returned, having taken more than twice the amount of time it should've taken her to go to her bedroom, he felt in control once more.

'Right, let's practice the wand movement together - a sharp jab, like this.' Together they jabbed their wands. 'Now try saying the incantation aloud. Con-vers-us. The emphasis is on the first syllable, the Con.'

'Con-vers-us,' her voice was still sullen, but at least she'd got the stress on the correct syllable.

'Very good, Sophie. Now I want you to shut your eyes, Sophie.' The child gave him a look that would've curdled a love potion.

'Why?'

'Because I've asked you too.' Her expression slid into a sneer that he himself would've been proud of. Then, after one last suspicious sigh, she did as he had asked. 'Good, now I want you to imagine that it's a bright summer's day. You are standing in a pool of sunlight. You spread your arms out on either side of your body and then you start to spin, slowly at first and then faster and faster. You are feeling giddy and joyful. You…'

'This is so lame…'

'Try it please, Sophie. I need you to conjure up the sense of what it feels like to spin.' He gave her a few seconds. Looking at her face, he doubted that she was even attempting to do as he'd asked. 'Now, open your eyes Sophie and whilst focusing on the feeling you've just conjured, I want you to try the incantation and the wand movement at the same time.' She threw a look of pure hatred in his direction before she did as he'd asked.

'Conversus!' Predictably, nothing happened.

'That's okay, Sophie. Let's try again. Close your eyes, please.' She huffed and closed her eyes.

'Think about spinning in…'

'Okay, okay I'm thinking about it.' It was his turn to stifle a huff of annoyance at her insolence. She opened her eyes, still scowling.

'Conversus!' She huffed again, her scowl deepening. 'It's not working!'

'I can see that, Sophie. Put down your wand on the table and place both hands like this, palms down side by side.' He put his own wand down and demonstrated.

'I knew it wouldn't work!'

'Just do as I've asked please, Sophie.' He waited till she'd followed his instruction, albeit and very obviously resentfully. 'Now, we're going to do some breathing exercises.'

'This is so fucking pointless.' Her words were whispered but Severus heard them clearly. His patience, which had been teetering on the edge for some time now, snapped completely.

'WINTERCHILD! THAT IS ABSOLUTELY ENOUGH.' It was the first time that he'd raised his voice to her since he'd brought her to his house. Predictably, she looked terrified. Severus drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. 'I believe I have given you multiple warnings, child. I absolutely do not tolerate foul language...'

'But I can't do it, sir!'

'You can do it, Winterchild. The standard of your essays show me that you aren't a dunderhead, however hard you pretend to be.'

The child's obvious fear of him seemed suddenly to be trumped by her rising anger and frustration and she jumped to her feet, her fists clenched, her body trembling all over.

'I'M NOT PRETENDING! I'M TRYING! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'VE BEEN TRYING FOR THE LAST YEAR AND I JUST CAN'T DO IT.'

'I understand…'

'YOU DON'T BLOODY UNDERSTAND, THIS WHOLE THING IS FUCKING POINTLESS! IT'S SO STUPID AND POINTLESS AND YOU ARE STUPID TOO! I DON'T WANT TO DO IT! I CAN'T DO IT! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST FUCK OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU STUPID GREASY GIT! I NEVER ASKED TO BE HERE. I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO COACH ME. I JUST… I CAN'T DO IT! I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO IT! I…'

If Severus had been slightly less exhausted and slightly quicker off the mark, he might just have been able to prevent what came next. As it was, he reached for his wand a split second too late just as the windowpane in front of them exploded inwards, showering them both with shards of razor-sharp glass.


Please let me know what you think - I haven't had much response for this fic yet and I'm wondering if it's worth continuing. The next update won't be till December as I'm off on my honeymoon for a month.