Disclaimer:
The Harry Potter Universe was created by J. K. Rowling.
No monetary profit is being made from this
writing
Summary:
Snape rescues a student.
PG - Drama
~~~~~~~~~~
NEVER AN ABSOLUTION
"Avada Kedavra!" she screamed, but missed.
Meanwhile in his room,
Professor Snape sat bolt upright in bed, his crystal glowing bright red,
alerting him to the inarguable fact that someone had performed an Unforgivable
Curse in the school. The worst of all
unforgiveable curses no less. At once,
the Potions Master Sprang to his feet, the book he was reading falling to the
floor.
"Avada Kedavra!" but again, she
failed.
There was no time to
inform Dumbledore or the others. By
then, it would be too late.
"Come to join me?" Moaning Myrtle asked,
peeking out from behind her cubicle.
Merlina sobbed and took a
deep breath as she tried to perform the killing curse again.
Snape burst into the
girl's bathroom. Myrtle gave a shrill shriek
and disappeared down the nearest toilet with a splash. Merlina stared, terrified, dropping her wand.
The Potions Master surveyed
the area, wand out. He pulled the
terrified girl behind him.
“Show yourself,” he demanded.
Not a soul came forth.
Snape waved his wand. “Specialis Revelio.” Mists swirled, but nothing else.
"What in the name of Merlin …” Snape whispered,
puzzled.
Merlina swallowed as Snape turned to her.
Snape demanded.
"You’re the only one here,” Snape said.
A miffed noise came from
one of the cubicles.
“The
only living one,” the Professor
said. “You know how dangerous it can be
to wander the castle at night… What in the name of Agrippa possessed you to-”
"I … I couldn't sleep, Professor."
Snape could tell the poor
girl was terrified, but he wanted answers.
"No less than six curses were performed here
tonight," he said. "Do you
care to explain to me what in the name of Merlin occurred here?”
"I … I …"
"I'm waiting.
It was a particularly good dream you interrupted, so your explanation
had better be good."
Merlina took a deep breath.
"Did you perform those curses?" Snape asked
slowly, not sure he wanted an answer.
"I … Yes, Professor." Merlina's head was still hanging.
"Need I tell you that what you have done warrants
expulsion, at the very least, a severe
warning or even a surrender of your wand and banishment form our world from the
Ministry of Magic? And even up to twelve months in Azkaban, perhaps six given
your age." Snape gave her a stern
look as he picked up her wand. He did
not hand it back to her. She was
shivering so badly, she would have dropped it again and as for her actions, she
may never hold it again.
"No, Professor, you don’t need to tell me
that.” Her voice shook.
"Then why in the name of Merlin would a First Year
Ravenclaw…"
"I… I was practicing, Professor."
"Practicing?
For what?"
Merlina sniffed. "He Who Must Not be Named rose last
year, Sir … The Death Eaters have already targeted my family."
"So that's what this is about. It is still no excuse, mind and very foolish
… Believe me, I’ve seen that curse in action…"
"I know, Professor."
"Come with me."
Myrtle peered out of the
toilet door.
"So you're not staying?" She sounded
disappointed.
Snape glanced at
Myrtle. She looked sad. The tattered state of filthy Merlina’s robes
also now caught his attention.
"Care to explain how your robes attained such a
deplorable state?"
"I … I was aiming my wand at the mirror and … it …
it backfired, Professor."
Snape looked over at the
mirror. "Again … very foolish … If
you had blasted the mirror, it would have shattered. And if it had backfired, you …you would have been…
" And suddenly, it dawned on him.
He stared at the small girl, shocked beyond belief. "You …. You …. were trying to curse yourself…"
Merlina backed off, then burst
into uncontrollable sobs, collapsing to the cold, stone floor. Snape was at a
loss why an eleven year old girl would want to end it all. “But
why…” Even Snape’s cold heart now felt for her.
"It's so hard!"
she wailed. "The teasing … every
single day… 'I doubt you'll live up to your namesake … 'she's so small we could
take her home in a suitcase…' It gets worse and worse every day!"
"Come with me," Snape said, gentler this time,
helping her up.
Moaning Myrtle looked
sympathetic. “They teased me about my
glasses,” she said sadly. “If you do
die, we can play hide and seek.”
Though her sobs, Merlina
managed a tiny smile.
Snape sighed as he took
the teary girl to his office. He felt
uncomfortable as he took out his wand.
“Robulus Repairo," he said, the magic mending her
torn and dirty robes.
"Th … thank you, Professor”.
Snape sheathed his wand
and placed hers upon his desk.
"You're not the only student who has suffered the
cruelty of harsh words," he said.
"I went through more than my fair share of it too."
"You did?"
Merlina asked in surprise.
"One gets used to it," Snape said.
"But it hurts so much."
"I know," Snape said gently. "But I also know escaping doesn’t hold the
answer. It's learning how to deal with
it and I certainly had a lot of practice."
By the tone of Snape's
voice, she surmised he was still carrying grudges and nursing old wounds.
"So you're saying don't let what they say bother me?"
Snape nodded. "And promise me you'll never do anything
so utterly foolish again."
Merlina swallowed. "I … I promise, Professor."
"It may sound like a cliché, but a mind, especially
a young one is a terrible thing to waste."
Merlina smiled for the
first time in a long while.
"Thank you, Professor."
She hugged him. Snape
almost pulled back, feeling very uncomfortable and quite relieved when she let
go.
"I am afraid I'll have to take points from
Ravenclaw. You were out after hours and
as for your cursing… Seventy points," he said. "The Headmaster will also have to be
informed, as will your parents."
Merlina took a deep breath
and closed her eyes for a few moments.
"They'll send me to St Mungos, won't they?"
"I'm sure they'll be very worried for you,"
Snape said. "Now off to bed with
you before I decide to take more points off and don't even let me catch you
performing so much as a slug eating curse."
"My nights of cursing are over, Professor."
"Glad to hear it.
Now, let me get back to my book."
"What
are you reading, Professor?" Merlina inquired, curious.
"The Lord of
the Rings.”
“I love The Lord of
the Rings,” Merlina perked up.
“Aragorn and Gandalf are my favourite.”
Snape chucked. “It’s good to have an escape now and then,
but not to live there.”
He felt uncomfortable as
she hugged him.
The little girl smiled and
found her way back to the Ravenclaw dormitory.
Her sleep was not restful.
As Snape had predicted,
Dumbledore and the girl's parents were shocked and beyond worried. Merlina had
been given more than a stern talking to and taken away from the school for a
time.
* * *
When she returned to Hogwarts
in a few months, no one could ever tell that this cheery girl had tried to take
her own life in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
She often visited Myrtle helping cheer the depressed ghost up.
On her way to
Transfiguration, Merlina caught site of Snape and smiled at him as if to say
'thank you.' And she swore she saw him
smile back before he turned around, robes swirling behind him. Despite what others thought of him, he would
always be her favourite. He saved her
life and given it meaning and she wondered if he would ever put his own past
behind him. She hoped so as she entered
her classroom.
*