Showered:

She opened her eyes and felt herself yawn. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Nobody was here. She sat there doing nothing for a while, until finally the office door opened and Madam Pomfrey walked out. She was smiling at me and had a pad of paper in one hand, a feather in the other. Lucy felt her face crumple into confusion. Once the nurse got to the girl's bedside, she paused to write something with the feather.

She finally stopped and lowered the pad into the girl's hands. Lucy looked down at the squiggles and lines she had drawn. Unfortunately the child had never been taught to read or write, so her efforts would be useless. She must have seen the confusion on Lucy's face, since Pomfrey snatched the pad away and stomped away. Great, now she was mad. Before she could hit Lucy, or worse, the girl had to get out of there.

She jumped out of the bed, tripping in the process, but quickly got back up and ran out of the big doors. She ran up many flights of stairs and turned many corners, almost hitting walls as she abruptly turned corners.

All of a sudden, people started to flood the halls. She couldn't breathe. I'm going to run out of air. Even still, she turned the corner she was closest to and bumped into something hard. She looked up and saw a very creepy, dragonfly-like woman. Lucy swore her eyes went bigger than the stranger's, and she turned around only to bump into a short, fat man. She was cornered. She felt the air rush out of her lungs and slumped against the wall, bringing her knees up to her chest. She started to try and bring some air into her lungs, but she only started to breathe really fast and shallow. She felt her eyes water and her throat go dry.

xXx

"What do you mean she's gone?" An irate potions master roared. "I left for a few hours to teach my morning classes and you lost her?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't think-" A scared Poppy stuttered.

"No, you didn't." Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. "What happened?" He asked, looking back up.

"Well, I . . ." Poppy paused and looked at Albus as if to ask for help; help that she did not get. "I came out of my office to check on her, and brought a notepad and a quill to communicate. I wrote down that she needed to get cleaned up, and that I would show her to the washroom. Cleaning spells aren't as good as the muggle way, despite what some might think. I handed her the paper and she seemed to not understand. I don't think she can read . . ."

Severus huffed. Albus gave him a knowing smile.

"Anyways," She glowered. "I don't think she can read and I got frustrated. I was trying to help her, and how can I when she doesn't understand? Especially when she's so young. I took the pad back and ran back into my office to calm down and by the time I returned, she was gone."

"And you never thought to make sure she was all right." Severus deadpanned.

"Severus, this won't solve anything, we should find her before something happens." Albus finally decided to speak up.

"Before something happens? Something has already happened, Albus. In case you hadn't noticed, the girl is missing!"

"Yes, let's go find her."

"Uh," Poppy was now staring at the door that had just opened. Severus and Albus turned and saw the girl fighting to get out of Sybil's grip.

"Let her go! Now!" Severus ordered.

"Someone's getting protective." Poppy walked off. She was unbothered by the answering growl.

"I was just trying to help this young girl. She seemed lost, so I tried to bring her to Albus' office, but nobody was there . . . Oh hello, Albus. I didn't see you there." Severus cleared his throat. "Oh, yes and then when I touched her, I saw that she will have a very dangerous next few weeks. She has had a good life, but things will turn for the worse in time to come." Severus scoffed whilst rolling his eyes. "What?" Sybil demanded. Severus just shook his head.

There was a thud as the girl finally got out of the woman's restraining arms. She ran under the hospital bed and disappeared. Severus walked slowly over to the bed and got on his hands and knees to look at the young, frightened girl. Since she couldn't hear, he tried to plead with her with his eyes to calm her. She nodded, comprehending. She slowly inched to the edge of the bed and Severus moved, so she could get up.

Now, both up and calm, she looked down. She opened her mouth as if to speak, and then closed it, her face red with anger. Albus dismissed himself for lunch, and Sybil had already snuck out. It was just Severus and the girl.

He gestured to the bed and she nodded, finally sitting down. Severus left once she was sleeping, afraid to leave her alone while conscious, but needing to return to his professor duties. Not that he liked doing it. Not that he had a choice.

xXx

Her eyes flew open, she could hear something. It sounded distant and low, but still there. She spotted Albus with Severus and Poppy in a deep discussion. They hadn't noticed her yet. She got off the bed and walked over to them. Still, nobody noticed her. She tapped on Severus' arm. He looked down at me, eyes as big as that scary lady's.

"Why-" She cleared her throat. "Why are you whispering?" She whispered as well. That was strange; she could have sworn she spoke normally.

"Can you hear?" Poppy gasped.

She nodded. "Why were you angry?"

"I wasn't. I was frustrated. But that's not your fault. I'm sorry." With that, she rushed into her office, slamming the door behind her. Lucy winced at the sound.

"Come, let's take this conversation to my office." Albus suggested. Severus knew there was no use arguing and Lucy looked to Severus for guidance, so they followed Albus together.

Once they finally got to his office, Albus made his way to a nice chair behind a massive desk cluttered with papers, feathers and books. "Sit." He commanded gently. Immediately, Lucy ran to the nearest chair and plopped herself in it. Severus sat down just after her, but not without a resigned sigh.

"You need not be frightened of us." Severus told the girl. Lucy stared at him.

Albus took this moment to interrupt their nonconversation. "What is your name?"

"Lucille Anne Drake."

Severus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, closing his eyes.

"And what is your age?" Albus pressed.

Lucy put up nine fingers.

"Are you sure?"

Lucy nodded. "Severus saved me on my birthday." Severus' head snapped to her face as she said this. "I mean Mr. Severus." She said quickly.

"Who is your mother?" It was Severus who asked this time. Albus looked to his professor with a hint of humor. Severus was not a stupid man.

Lucy opened her locket and showed the men.

"What about your father?" Albus asked.

"Tenebris Drake."Lucy spoke so low, she didn't even know if she actually said it. Neither of the men reacted to her admission, so maybe she hadn't. But unless they asked her to repeat herself, she wasn't going to say it again.

"Are you magical?" Severus wanted to know.

A tear slid down her check as she shook her head. This was the moment. Now that she revealed herself as a squib, she would be returned to where she belonged.

"How would you know that?" Albus asked, thoughtfully.

Lucy shrugged.

Albus seemed to be done with questions, so Severus chimed in. "Where will she go?"

Albus cleared his throat. "I have decided, after careful thought, that you may stay here at Hogwarts until you are eleven. If you have not performed some form of magic by that time, we will have no other choice but to find somewhere else for you." Seversus scoffed. His employer had a surprising knack for letting his duty to protect children be forgotten when it was less than convenient.

Lucy nodded in understanding.

"Good, then we are done here." When Albus was done with a conversation, so would everyone else be.

"Basement?" The girl asked.

"Whatever do you mean?" Albus looked perplexed.

"Basement?" Lucy repeated.

Severus took a deep breath and looked at Albus. "It's where I found her. Where she lived."

"Severus has a spare bedroom." Lucy nodded, glad she wouldn't be in the cold basement. Severus glared at Albus. Was there no one else? Albus stared back at Severus with no signs of changing his mind. He had decided and so it would be done.

Severus led his new charge to the dungeons, so she was still in the basement, in a way. But she would have her own room to herself. She liked the living space; it was chilly, but not cold. A fire going in the living room warmed her sufficiently.

"I'm sure you would want a shower now, Lucille." He said. "While you are in there, I will fix up your room."

"Lucy."

"What?" Severus paused on his way to another room, looking back to her. "Fine. Lucy, you must want to clean up. The door on the right."

xXx

Lucy stared at the shower. It had a tub and a slightly damp shower curtain around it. For a while, she watched the water fall into the tub. The water was cold, but she couldn't reach the other knob from outside the tub. She reached out her hand, letting the water run over her hand until she couldn't feel it anymore.

She climbed over the top of the tub and did the same with her feet and her other hand. Once her extremities were numb, she moved completely under the water. Her clothes and hair let go of the dirt and grime feeling she didn't realize was there. She looked at the bottles on the shelf and chose the one that smelled the best to put in her hair. As the soap washed out, her eyes burned, but she welcomed the feeling. The tears she released felt needed.

She tried to use the same soap to clean her clothes, but all she did was create suds. Her clothes took forever to rinse out. Once she felt like she wasn't going to make more progress, she turned the water off. She stood there dripping for a long time. Once she was no longer dripping, she opened the door and welcomed the warmth of the fire. She sat on the stone ground in front of it and closed her eyes.

Severus was busy trying to be busy. He stared at the essay in front of him, but he wasn't reading it. He was regretting every life choice he made leading up to this point. Stupid mistakes made as a child leading him to darkness and a life of servitude. First to the evil wizard, then to the good one. It hardly felt different.

Lucy watched him as the fire dried her. He felt her watching him and it made him feel guilty for one choice especially. If he had convinced Daisy to stay that night, maybe Lucy would have had a different story. But he knew that wasn't true. Daisy always forgave Tenebris. It's what made her an Evans. They were always too quick to forgive. Unless pushed too far.

He collected the essays and stood up. He looked at the girl and finally noticed the small puddle around her.

"You're meant to wash your clothes separate from your person." He wasn't sure if he had the energy to educate her right now and she seemed clean enough, so he sighed. "We'll discuss it tomorrow."

Lucy watched him walk to the last door in the short hallway. When the door closed, she returned her attention to the fire.

xXx

Severus found her in the same place the next had not even retrieved a blanket or pillow. She laid in the fetal position on the stone in front of the ever roaring fire. Lucky to be in the castle where fire is tended by the house elves.

He left her to her sleep, not trying to repeat the last time she was startled. By the time he was ready for the day, she still had not stirred. He frowned, wondering if she should be moved. After careful deliberation, he left her where she was and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast.