Hogwarts
It had been hours since they’d arrived at Hogwarts. Dumbledore whisking the professors away to an emergency meeting after leaving Dalia in the infirmary with Madame Pomfrey. The Medi-witch attempted to reason with the girl, run a scan even just look at her injuries but with each attempt her magic would lash out, not letting her close.
She instead left the girl to wash up and headed to the staff meeting.
“Sorry to disturb you headmaster,” she said, as she came through the door and stepped into the room, “I am having some trouble with our new patient.”
“Ah yes, we were just finishing up but I daresay you should take Severus with you. I feel he could perhaps help; she seems to respond well to him.”
The staff turned to look at the headmaster as though he had grown a second head, no one felt more comfortable in Snapes presence. The dour man himself looked up in surprise before simply nodding and walking with Poppy out the door.
Poppy side-eyed the man as they walked swiftly through the deserted corridors, the halls in the faculty tower having been made off-limits for the time being, before she simply grabbed the man and pulled him to the side.
“What is going on?” She questioned.
“We don’t have time for this Poppy, there is a patient that needs our attendance.”
“Oh please,” she said rolling her eyes at his stubbornness, “A mystery girl comes in battered, bruised and covered in blood, all the faculty are pulled into an emergency meeting, and she responds well to You.” She finishes giving the man a pointed look.
The man sighs in frustration, running a hand through his hair.
“The girl is Dalia Black-“
“Mr Potters-”
“Yes, Potters sister. I don’t know what happened to her, just that she needs immediate medical attention.” The man snapped before resuming his walk to the infirmary, his strides longer now than before so that the Medi-witch was barely able to keep up.
He once again burst into the room, eyes scanning the beds for her and there she was, sat, reading the prophet like she had not a care in the world.
“You really do have a habit of making an entrance.” She said, watching him over the paper. Poppy behind him was astonished, the girl hadn’t spoken a word since she arrived, and the woman eyed Severus from where he stood next to her wondering why she would speak now.
“Stand up.” He said, as he stepped to her bedside. “I need to preform a spell to scan your body for any injuries, then I will treat you for those injuries. Understood?”
The girl hesitated but stood, anyone but him would likely have missed her nervousness, she was adept at hiding it.
“Well.” She said, clearly feigning impatience to cover her fear.
He performed the scan, balking inwardly at the results. She had hairline fractures in her feet that had clearly been healing for some time, a dozen bruises and scratches, some much deeper than others, a broken finger and fractured ribs. He would never have guessed. Another worrying fact then, the girl can hide pain terrifyingly well.
He reached down into his bag, pulling out two vials and one larger pot.
“This will help with pain; this one will help speed up the healing process. You should take half of these now and half later,” He said, placing the vials on the bed next to her “and you will need to rub this on any bruises you have. Daily for about three days.” He finished placing the tub on the bed too.
The girl picked up the first vial, swirling it in her fingers as the liquid almost sparkled within, before she popped it open a drank half, and doing the same with the second.
“Anything else?” She asked much more quietly than before.
“You need to rest; you should try and sleep.”
The girl looked towards him and then behind him at the baffled Medi-witch, frowning. Severus followed her gaze, and then turned back to her.
“Madame Pomfrey will not try to do anything while you sleep,” he declared, giving the witch a stern glare. “I promise you that.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” The girl whispered before climbing back onto the bed. The professor stared at her for a moment before backing away and pulling the curtain around the bed, leaving it open just enough that the girl could see the door from where she lay.
“Don’t forget that salve.” He said, turning away.
Poppy walked over him holding another vial of deep purple liquid. “Perhaps you should give her some-“
“No Poppy, you are under no circumstances to give her that. Especially not under false pretences.” He hissed, glaring at the potion knowing the woman had a penchant for giving her patients whatever she thought they needed, whether they wanted it or not. The girl would never trust him again if Poppy drugged her to sleep.
“But-“ “I promised her Poppy.” He cut her off before fleeing the room. He needed air.
Dalia Evans Black, Lily’s first child. He had asked the headmaster why she did not attend six years ago, and the headmaster simply said perhaps she’d been a squib, what a fool he’d been. He been so angry that Lily would sleep with that Mutt just to go on and marry Potter that he hadn’t thought beyond the vile image of them together. No child of the black line would be a squib, especially not with how strong a witch Lily was as well.
He'd failed her. Again.
The headmaster intended to instate the girl as a student, a fifth year to be exact, in the next school year. He was currently asking which staff members would be willing to tutor her through the summer and give her extra lessons through the school year in hopes that she could pass her O.W.Ls.
It was not unheard of, but difficult, she would be two years older than all her classmates. Let alone struggling with the trauma of whatever had been done to her before. Severus stood looked up to see he was standing at the bottom of the stairwell leading to the astronomy tower, he didn’t even remember the walk. He had walked these steps hundreds of times by now, often finding solace in the place as a boy and more so now.
His mind flashed back to the young woman, she looked nothing like Lily, her eyes a pale grey, as opposed to Lily’s vivid green, her jet-black hair fell in matted ringlets and her skin was sallow and pale much like his own. A lack of sunlight he supposed, from being locked away.
No, the girl had nothing of the vibrancy he remembered in her mother, or even the wonder that was held in her brothers eyes. She was haunted and hurting, and he would look out for her. He had to.