A Ward of Hogwart\'s

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. I do own Rebecca and other characters NOT associated with JKR and such. Thank you.

A Ward of Hogwart’s


Chapter Two


Visit to Poppy


Professor Snape led Rebecca through the winding corridors, up to the hospital wing. He noticed that she remained quiet, probably scared of what would happen now, and rightfully so, If only she had spoken up in her first year here, challenged her parent’s right to raise her. But she was a timid child. She would not, nor could not, bring herself to defy her parents even after all the things they obviously put her through. He semi-admired that in her. It showed she did have a fair amount of courage. Her problem was in the choice way, albeit, wrong way, to display it.

He glanced back at her to make sure she was keeping up. She wasn’t, so he slowed down to match her limping pace. She kept her head and eyes downcast never daring to look up. He did notice that she cradled her right arm, holding it close against her side as she walked as if trying to hold herself together.

Damn her parents…. and damn the rules…..

He strode into the hospital ward followed more tentatively by the thirteen-year-old child and called out in his booming voice. He knew the mediwitch would be there, as she has been since his days as a student.

“Poppy!”

“No need to yell, Severus, I’m right here. I’ve been expecting you.” Madame Pomfrey entered from a back room carrying a trey that she sat down on a desk before approaching the two. Tsking heavily she reached out and tilted the girl’s bruised and battered face up for a better look. The elder’s witch’s eyes narrowing as she delved into the scared child’s eyes before they darted away. “Take a seat on that bed, Miss Robinson.”

“I will wait outside.” Snape said and turned on his heels scurrying out of the examining room.

Rebecca watched him leave then turned her sad eyes back to Poppy who stood staring down at her hands firmly on her hips. The scowl on her face churned Rebecca’s stomach. The need to throw up seemed almost overpowering. It was bad enough that she had to go through this with her parents. She didn’t need this now. The mediwitch towered over her, intimidating and non-yielding. She felt her face flushing knowing what was going to be done now.

“Well, what’s the excuse this time, Miss Robinson?” The elder woman’s voice asked just a bit more harshly than she intended. The young girl immediately hung her head refusing to look up. Poppy’s face immediately softened and slowly she reached out to touch the child’s shoulder, to let her know that she wasn’t being reprimanded in any way shape or form. At the touch, a gasp of pain emerged from the battered child and she flinched. A flinch that spoke of pain and suffering from more than a child should be allowed to endure. A flinch that screamed out that the child was expecting a beating for making the gasp in the first place.

Poppy’s heart broke at that sound. Her expression changed from a frown of disappointment to another set expression, one of compassion. She knew that look, seeing it many times over the reign of Voldemort and his loyal Death Eaters. She had seen many broken and battered women in their wake. Many, too many, looked exactly like this child before her, sitting sad and dejected on the hospital bed. “It’s more than broken bones and bruises this time isn’t it Becca?” She asked her voice softening in tone.

Rebecca turned her reddened face away to look at anything but the nurse. The shame and fear evident in the shaking of her voice as she spoke. “No, Madam Pomfrey…. just….. just a few…bumps and bruises.” She knew by now that it wouldn’t do any good to lie about pastpast. They knew about the abuse. “I…I think I have another broken arm…though…”

Poppy reached out gently and tilted the child’s face back to search the girl’s fear filled eyes. She was brave, to be sure. The tears would fall, but not in the company of another. The tears would wait until later, when the child was alone. When the child quieted once more, Poppy declared. “I’ll be sure, make no mistake, you are getting a ‘FULL’ examination. Nothing can and will hide from me.”

Rebecca cringed. “Its just my arm the rest is fine… really.” Her voice wavered, the terror in her eyes echoed the tremor in her voice.

“We shall see, Child…we shall see.” Poppy declared.

“No…Please…Madame Pomfrey…”

Poppy knelt before her and captured the girl’s chin in her hand, forcing her to look right at her. Brown eyes held brown. “Rebecca, if you have been…abused…it is my responsibility to see the extent of the damage and correct it.”

Rebecca’s eyes lowered not able to keep the gaze long. “You can’t correct it, Madame Pomfrey.”

“Perhaps not, but I can…heal it and try to make it more…tolerable.”

Rebecca stared out over the woman’s head towards the door where her Professor had left. “Can you make it stop?” She whispered and Poppy bit her lip, not quite sure if she meant the pain or the abuse.

“I can make the pain stop, only you can make the abuse stop.”

“How?”

“Let’s just take it one step at a time child.” Poppy indicated for the girl to lie down. “Lets get the obvious healing done then we can work on the…rest.”

~_~_~_~_~_~_~


Severus sat silently in the outer office, his fingers white from a death grip he had on the armchair. He was trying to turn out his fury on her parents, but it wasn’t happening. The more he though of it, the more angry he became. He could feel the anger boiling just under the brim. Seeing that girl, that child, in such pain and utter hopelessness made him even madder than before. He was never one for compassion, never once having any care or worry for a student or co-worker, but this…this was something that he couldn’t tolerate.

“No child should have to go through that.”

He muttered as his hands clutched into fists unconsciously as he recalled his own horrific childhood of abuse and depravity, the many years of torture by his own Uncle, abuse that not even his parent acknowledged yet knew all about. From the age of six, he was sent to live with his Uncle Samuel. Samuel Eli Snape was a strict man who ruled with an iron hand and leather belt. His rules were laws and disobedience wasn’t tolerated but punished. His parents thought that it would do him good. They thought that the firm raising would be the better for their son, in the long run. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The abuse only forced him onto the path he walked. A path of hatred fueled by anger, a path that ultimately led him to the Dark Lord. A path that he didn’t want to see Miss Robinson take. He didn’t want her walking on his path of hatred. His hand clenched and unclenched as the thoughts flashed in his mind one at a time, His resolve was adamant by the time the hour went by. “By the Gods… I’ll make her parents suffer as she had.”

He was pacing the floor when Poppy finally emerged from her exam, She silently closed the door before turning to face him, her face set in her familiar steel mask, yet she took one look at Snape and her mask of professionalism crumbled as tears formed in her eyes.

“We have ‘GOT’ to do something, Severus.” The woman suddenly exclaimed in open bitterness. “That poor girl has suffered through enough. That child, in that exam room has a fractured arm broken in not one, but ‘THREE’ places, she has two unset broken ribs from who knows how many kicks she had received while on this so called summer vacation. One rib has actually managed to puncture her right lung. Its amazing she is breathing yet alone alive.”

Poppy was pacing and tossing her arms around in her agitation as she listed the many injuries the child had. “She has so many bruises and lacerations all throughout her body in alternate stages of healing… and…” The older woman paused feeling her chest closing after going over the list of ailments. She fiy toy took a deep breath and continued with the worst revelation of them all. “Severus, she’s been sexually assaulted, viciously. I’ve repaired what I could physically…but mentally…she’s only a child, only thirteen, she didn’t deserve…” She stopped again and looked back at the door biting her lower lip with a sad shake of her head. “Unfortunately she has reached puberty and have had her menses for a year so I had to performed a contraceptive spell and a post-conception one. If she is pregnant by any chance, it will rid her of the fetus. I didn’t think it was wise to tell her what I did. I didn’t want her to have to worry about a pregnancy. The poor child.” Poppy wiped a tear from her eye. “I need to inform the headmaster of all this.”

Snape felt his chest knot up as he nodded not taking his eyes off of the closed door. “How is she at the moment?”

“She’s sleeping. I gave her a dreamless drought and she should be out for a time.”
She replied as she removed her apron to leave her infirmary. “Do you want to come with?”

His eyes darkened in his decision he shook his head and headed for the outer door. “Kindly tell Albus that I will be back when…’THIS’… is finalized. By my word, she will not have to endure this ever again. ”

Poppy’s hand rose to her chest in surprise as the tall man stormed down the hall and out of sight. She had never seen him show such concern for a student before. In a way, it was comforting.

It showed that he was at least human, for once.


Thank you to Buttercup for her review: I like to think that Snape would have some compassion. Even to a defenseless Ravenclaw student. Please keep reading and let me know how I am doing with this story.

Read and Review Please!

RWH