Stone Angels
Deserving Love
Author note- For
those people who feel I’ve been too liberal with the number of abuse cases in
this story, I suggest that you do some research. My choices of characters and
their situations was based on my evaluation of how ‘high risk’ their situation
is compared to the statistics that I’ve found.
Disclaimer- I
don’t own any characters except Arianna and Averill, everything else belongs to
JKR.
Stone Angels
Deserving Love
Severus Snape hed hed Arianna over
the color and fabric swatches. She was far frailer than he had first believed.
He had waited patiently, liste int intently as Madam Malkin clucked over her
measurements. When they were finished, the two girls, Minerva, and Molly were
sent behind some curtains with an assistant before he was accosted by the
verbose woman.
“What in Merlin’s name has happened
to those children?” she asked, concern was written across her face and voice,
“Were you listening to those measurements? That child is eleven years old and
looks seven. I also know a concealment charm when I feel one. And the older
one! She flinches if I reach towards her, it’s as though she’s terrified I’ll
beat her. Minerva’s the only thing keeping her from complete panic.”
“They are our wards,” stated
Professor Snape coolly.
“They are the grandchildren of
Lillianna Black. I’d bet my store on it,” she replied easily.
Snape tensed at that realization,
“Is it that obvious?” he asked worried that their outing did more harm than
good.
“To anyone who knew Lillianna it’s
more than obvious. Arianna looks just like her. Please, tell me what befell thhildhildren.”
“It’s not my place to say.”
“Professor Snape,” called Hermione
as she stepped from behind the curtain, “Is this okay? Professor McGonagall
charmed my hair back.”
Severus was speechless. Hermione
was more than transformed. Her long, usually frizzy hair was pulled into a
French twist that cascaded tight shining curls from the top. The robes she wore
resembled a French Renaissance style dress in blood red with black and gold
trim. It was very Gryffindor yet very dark. It fit her so well; the red and
black making her appear almost porcelain and her curls so much darker. The gold
seemed to make her eyes glow.
“It’s missing something,” sighed
Madam Malkin thoughtfully, “Oh, I know!” with a flick of her wand, a black
ribbon stitched with a gold rose pattern tied itself around her neck.
“Breath taking,” mued Sed Severus
Snape.
Before she could do more than blush
prettily, Arianna stumbled out from behind the curtained area.
“Sorry, I stood up too fast, “said
Arianna standing up straight and smoothing her s. Ss. She wore emerald green,
cream, and silver robes and her long dark hair was tied back with a cream bow.
“Wonderful!” exclaimed Madam Malkin
as Minerva and Molly followed Arianna from behind the curtains.
Molly waved her wand and whispered
something in Latin before turning to the younger girl sternly, “Tell one of us
immediately if you get dizzy again.”
her feet.
The red haired woman looked
distress as she placed a gentle hand under her chin and lifted the young girl’s
eyes too meet hers, “Honey, we’re only trying to look out for you. I want you
to get healthy but you have to tell us when you start to feel bad so we can
make it better.”
Arianna nodded and tentatively wrapped
her arms around Molly Weasley.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been
there, how long it had taken her to do what she had done. He didn’t know how
long it had taken for the imperius curse to wear off or his body to stop
spasming from the cruatius curse. It didn’t matter though, as he curled into
the fetal position he wished to crawl from his skin. After a time, he felt
gentle hands dress him and take care of him. It wasn’t until a potion was urged
down his throat that he came to his senses.
“Min-Min is sorry Master Draco.
Min-Min was supposed to protect Master Draco. Master Lucius gave Min-Min robes
and bound her solely to Master Draco totecotect him,” said the house elf with
tears in her eyes, “Min-Min failed in her duty once again, she will iron her
hands later. Come on now Master Draco, Min-Min has all ready packed everything.
Master Lucius made Min-Min promise that if anything happened she would take you
to Master Snape or Master Dumbledore. Hurry; hurry Little Dragon your Mother
left to have tea with Mistress-Ugly-Hag-Lestrange. They plot nasty evil
things.”
Min-Min gave him a small smile
before taking his hand and aperating away.
Hermione looked in the floor length
mirror and was stunned by what she saw. The deep red of her robes gave her skin
a gentle glow making her look healthier than any concealment charm alone could.
Her long hair, which hadn’t been cut in years, was twisted up so that the curls
fell in ringlets around her face and shoulders.
“Molly and Minerva say we are
ready,” he said sternly.
“It doesn’t look like me,”
whispered Hermione as he stepped behind her to gaze into her eyes through the
mirror.
“What, pray tell, did thi think you
looked like you silly girl.”
Her eyes left his and fell to the
floor, “Horrible-hairy-Hermione,” she whispered so softly he nearly didn’t
hear, “Know-it-all and busy body. Only wanted by boys who think she’s desperate
enough to be easy and people who want her to do their work for them.”
His face softened echoes of
‘Snivilus’ ringing in his head, “you are a very beautiful young woman
Hermione.”
“She looks like a princess from a
fairy tale,” giggled Arianna twirling in.
Severus Snape took a step back,
surprised by his lack of control of his mouth, “Is there anywhere else we need
to go?”
“Madam Patil’s,” answered Hermione,
“it’s the only place that carries the potion that controls my hair.”
“This will be the last bottle you
buy, Miss Granger; you are too good with potions to be wasting money on such
over priced things.”
“Will we be able to do any brewing
before the start of term?”
“Albus is planning on adding a
potions lab and training room later today,” said Minerva, “While we are at
Madam Patil’s, we’ll buy several books on charms. The most important one is
titled “Charms every pureblood witch needs to know”.”
Hermione nodded having seen many of
her year mates with the book.
As they made their way out of Madam
Malkins, Arianna held Molly’s hand and chattered away. Once and a while she’d
fall silent and shrink against the older woman’s legs. Hermione, walked in
silence, observing the difference in the way people moved around them. It
wasn’t until they entered the small shop and they were accosted by twin squeals
of recognition that Hermione began to worry.
“Miss Patil! Miss Patil! If you
would please refrain from that infernally childish squealing!” snapped Snape
with a glare.
“Sorry Professor,” they squeaked.
“Hermione, you look absolutely
wonderful,” gushed Pavarti, “why didn’t you let us do this to you last year.
You’ll have every boy in the school chasing after you.”
“Maybe you’ll even melt an Ice
Prince’s heart,” giggled Padma, “Oh! Could you just imagine?”
“I will not,” replied Hermione
seriously, “Besides, I hate to be the one to break it to you but your Ice
Prince is gay.”
“What a ibleible thing to say
Hermione Granger!” Parvati stomped, “unless you’ve seen it with your own eyes,
don’t say something like that.”
Hermione, her eyes twinkling with
mischief, “Your Ice Prince BlaiBlaise Zabini in the charms classroom after the
Valentines dance last year.” She smirked at the stunned look on the other girls
face.
“Ah, Minerva!” cried Madam Patil as
she stepped from a back room, “What can I do for you today?”
“Two sets of books for the ladies
and Hermione’s hair potion,” smiled Minerva.
“Will that be all?” asked Madam
Patil smiling at the girls.
“We’ll look around a bit,” replied
Minerva.
“Minerva,” said Molly softly, “We
shouldn’t stay too long. Arianna shouldn’t be allowed to get too tired.”
Draco winced as they appeared on
the far side of Hogsmeade. Every fiber of his being seemed to be alive and very
much in pain. His carefully toned body seemed to be rebelling against him. Well
muscled legs barely supported his insignificant weight and he found himself
relying heavily on his house elf and childhood friend. As they skirted around
the edge of the small village, Draco could see the towers of Hogwarts in the
distance. It seemed as though a mountain was between them with the distance
they had to travel. With every step he found new agony leaving him wonder if he
could make it that far.
They had only been in Madam Patil’s
for a few minutes when she felt it. The familiar twisting of her stomach
followed by the over whelming dizziness that would quickly lead to a headache
and weakness that left her helpless. Stumbling and afraid she reached Professor
Snape.
“Professor Snape,” she gasped, “I
need to go home.”
Looking down and seeing the girl so
pale, he scooped her up and turned to find his companions.
“Minerva, Molly, Hermione, It’s
time to go,” ordered Snape.
When Molly peered at the small girl
she was surprised to see her eyes squeezed tightly shut. One small hand pressed
against her temple in an obvious gesture.
lasslass=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>“Parvati is you fire on the Floo?”
asked Hermione.
“Good idea Hermione.” Smiled Molly,
“May we use you fire?”
“Severus, Molly, take the girls
back and I’ll find Albus. We’ll join you at Hogwarts.”
Minerva made her way out the door
while Hermione and Molly collected their books and followed Professor Snape
through the fire.
Once they reached
with peace and Quiet while her professors worked to ease Arianna’s pain. With
nothing else to do, she picked up her new book and began reading.
“Knight to E five.”
She woke up slowly, the gentle
vibrations of his voice tickling her cheek. Opening her eyes, she was greeted
by the sigh bla black. Her first reaction was panic, until she felt long
fingers smooth her curls. She felt more than heard the gentle reassurances that
she was safe.
“Do you feel better, Miss Granger?”
“How long did I sleep?” He gently
adjusted his grip on her so she was sitting up.
“Just about three hours,” he
replied silkily.
“How did I…?”
“You had a nightmare, Mr. Potter
and Mr. Weasley tried but you would neither wake nor calm.”
“Arianna, how is she?” asked
Hermione.
“She will be fine, she has tired
herself out.” He looked down to gage her reaction before continuing, “Molly
will begin treating the damage caused by long term poisoning this evening.”
“Where is she?”
“Sleeping,” sighed Ron, “Ginny and
Luna decided to sit in with her incase she has a nightmare or wakes up.”
Hermione sighed and watched as Ron
made his move, “how long have you been playing?”
“About two hours,” answered Ron
happily, “The Professor is the most challenging person I’ve played.”
Hermione laid her head back down
and listened to his heart beat and breathing. Around her, Snape and Ron talked
about strategies while she fell back to sleep.
Harry, Albus, and Petunia walked
along the edge of the forbidden forest. Albus walked arm in arm with Petunia.
Harry walked a little ways ahead of them, giving them plenty of space to talk.
Just as he reached the edge of the lake, he saw something glint in the sun.
“Headmaster, is there anyone else
that’s supposed to be out here?”
“No Harry, why do you ask?”
“I saw something,” he replied
uneasily, “there it is again.”
“Do you have you wand?”
“Always, sir.” He produced his wand
instantly.
“Petunia, dear, Remus is coming
this direction,” said Albus softly, “Walk towards the ce ane and have him come
out here. Call Dobby and have him escort you to the tower. We’ll join you
shortly.”
“Headmaster, it stopped moving.”
“Be ready Harry,” warned Dumbledore
as they made their approach.
Min-Min lead the disoriented boy
through the edge of the forbidden forest. It was slow going, for every two step
they took, they stumble through three. Draco was quickly becoming less and less
coherent. Each time he stumbled and fell it took more time for him to stand up
again. By the time they reached Hogwarts grounds, she could barely coax Draco
to his feet.
“Almost there Master Draco,” cried
Min-Min, “We have to make it onto school grounds before they notice we’re
gone.”
With a little more coaxing from the
worried house elf, he was able to drag his battered body to his feet. They
stumbled on, around the lake, towards the school until he fell beneath a tree,
all consciousness fleeing. Min-Min was about to levitate the unconscious boy
when the object of their search came around the lake with his wand drawn.
“Master Dumbledore!” cried the
house elf, “I’s is sorry. Min-Min failed Master Draco. He’s is hurt Master Dumbledore.
The Mistress be hurting him everyday, Master Dumbledore, sir. The Mistress does
unspeakable things to the Little Dragon.”
While Dumbledore dealt with the
upset house elf, Harry moved to check over the unconscious blonde. With the
first touch, the pale haired boy seemed to ripple like water before revealing
his far more pale and bruised face. The second time his fingers touched that
skin he jerked away, as though he had been burned. Dumbledore, finished with
the house elf, watched in pleasantly surprised silence.
“Did you know?” Demanded Harry as
months of anger and frustration at his own situation found new direction. He
turned flashing green eyes on the usually jovial man, “Did you know what you
were sending him into without his father to protect him. She makes Lucius
appear to be a saint! Did you know, just like you knew what you were sending me
to face?”
wizard replied, only a defeated sigh, “I had been warned by Professor Snape. He
was terrified of what would happen to Draco and nearly begged for me to find a
way to keep him at the school over break.”
Green lightening flashed through
Harry’s eyes as he pulled his neatly folded invisibility cloak from the now
ever-present bag, “You just sent him anyway, unprepared and unable to defend
himself. You fed him to the wolves!”
“He had to choose Harry,” answered
Dumbledore wrapping his power around him like a cloak, “For everyone’s safety
he had to choose.”
“Why not just ask him?” He gently
wrapped the blonde in his cloak and picked him up, “I did. He answered and I
believed him.”
He was so angry that he left
Dumbledore standing by the lake. Angry tears streaked from calmer emerald eyes
even as he approached Professor Lupin.
“Who do you have there Harry?” asked
the Werewolf.
“Draco,” he replied easily, “Tell
Dumbledore that Ron and Neville won’t understand. Professor Snape, Hermione,
and I will deal with it.”
Professor Lupin nodded silently,
his heightened senses telling him more than many people knew. He watched
proudly as Harry carried the boy that taunted, tormented, and made his life
miserable to the safety of Hogwarts halls and the care of his Godfather.
Somehow, despite the gruesome tale
playing across his mind, Harry managed to pull himself together before he
reached the statue guarding the door. When he entered, he was surprised to see
Professor Snape and Ron finishing a game of chess. Hermione sound asleep on
Snape’s lap.
“I can’t believe it’s a draw!”
cried Ron loudly, “I’ve never been beaten and with you it’s a draw!”
“We will have to play again Mr.
Weasley,” replied Snape with a sneer.
“You realize, Ron, that if you wake
‘Mione she’ll hex your nose off,” said Harry trying to sound normal,
“Professor, will you come with me, I found something outside that I know you
will want to see.” He caught Snape’s eyes and tried to convey his need.
With a terse nod, Snape said, “Lead
the way, Potter.” One fluid motion and he was on his feet, Hermione and all.
Snape wasn’t sure what was going
on, only that the look of need, shadowed by worry and anger, in his eyes made
him follow the dark haired boy to the boy’s dorm. As soon as the door was
closed and warded Hermione indicated she was awake and wanted down.
“What’s under your cloak, Harry?”
she inquired as Professor Snape set her on her feet.
“Conjure another bed, Slytherin
colors please.”
Hermione did as asked though both
she and Snape gave him strange looks. Once the bed was finished, he climbed in
making sure Draco was stretched out in front of him. The blonde’s head and
shoulders rested on his lap as he gently removed the invisibility cloak.
“Draco!” gasped Snape, “How did he
get here?”
“I was too mad at Dumbledore to ask
details,” Replied Harry, “A house elf named Min-Min was with him. She spoke to
Dumbledore then left. I… When I touched him the concealment charm failed and
when I touched him again I… I saw something. It was like the visions I get from
my scar only through Draco’s eyes. I can’t believe Dumbledore sent him back
there. He knew! Just like he knew what was happening to me.”
“Tell us what you saw Harry” ordered
Hermione.
“It was his mother; she used
Imperious and Crucio on him. She… she also raped him,” Harry was embarrassed
and angry at the same time.
“Did you use the incantation?”
demanded Snape.
“No,” hissed Harry, “Please help
him Professor. He’s in pain, do something please. I brought you in here because
he’s your Godson and you’re all he has now. He deserves the chance to have some
sort of life with people who love him.”
Professor Snape was completely
stunned. Had it not been for the iron control he perfected for dealing with
Voldemort, he would have been standing with his mouth agape. Despite her shock,
Hermione had the sense to call for Dobby to bring them anything they needed.
Authors Notes- I’m not happy with this chapter and it may be
rewritten but it has been a long time since I posted and though everyone would
like at least this much.