Severus... Reformed / SNILY (COMPLETE)

Chapter Ten

Severus wearily dragged himself to Pringle's detention. It had been set for eight o'clock, at curfew exactly so he could be sure to be caught out of bed afterwards. Also, it was in the dungeons, where chains hung from the ceiling and the caretaker had all sorts of torture devices. He wasn't particularly going to enjoy this, even if his pain resistance was high.

He knocked on the door apprehensively. There was a muffled grunt in answer. Severus took this as his cue to enter, and was dismayed to be greeted with the evilly grinning caretaker, holding a whip. Severus gulped. He hadn't been beaten in over twenty years – could he really go back to this?

He was instructed to stand facing the wall and he obliged, waiting for the crack of the whip. When it came, Severus hissed lowly in pain. This was a bare minimum of what the Cruciatus was. Five, ten, fifteen, twenty... Severus lost track of how many times the whip made contact with his back. He could feel his shirt in tatters and blood was dripping down, onto the floor. He was now huddled there, gasping in pain, and gave a sigh of relief when the last blow had struck.

"Go, boy." The caretaker was still smirking madly, and Severus struggled to his feet and limped out the door before Pringle could be persuaded to punish him any further.

*

Severus managed to get to the third floor before he fell against the wall, gasping and shaking, drenched in sweat and blood. His back stung and his vision spun; he didn't think he could get back to the dormitory tonight. Perhaps he could sleep here? It had been so much easier when he was a Slytherin; their dormitories were downstairs, not upstairs, and Slytherins looked after their own. After a while, someone would have gone looking for him, even if only to see whether the Marauders had been at him again. But, this time, Lupin was in the Shrieking Shack, undergoing a painful transformation, though keeping his head for once, and Severus didn't know the other Ravenclaws enough. It was Clearwater's bloody fault he was in this state anyway.

He got to his feet and hobbled in the direction of the Hospital Wing. Only a few more steps. Three. Two. One. He entered the Hospital Wing and threw himself on a bed. Then he took a vial of Dreamless Sleep from his pocket and downed it. Black oblivion was instantaneous.

*

Poppy was not pleased to find another bleeding student in her nice clean hospital. Especially not one who hadn't called for her help and simply knocked himself out with his own drugs, and a first year to boot. Deciding that it wasn't worth adding to the poor boy's pain, she began applying Dittany to his back, watching the gashes mainly heal. There would certainly be scarring. What was Pringle thinking of? That sadist. She vowed to have a stern word with the new caretaker.

The boy stirred, and dark, intelligent eyes stared at her with recognition.

"Morning, Poppy," he greeted, yawning and wincing as he sat up.

Poppy stepped back, shocked. "How do you know my name?"

The boy's smile diminished. "Erm, my mother told me. Eileen Prince."

"Ah," she hummed in understanding. Eileen had been a good friend when they'd both been in Slytherin. "How is she?" She asked, while continuing to heal the extensive wounds.

"Surviving. Not living."

Poppy frowned, but the boy was turned away from her, on his side, and didn't see. What did that possibly mean?

*****

A.N. Sorry, I know this is a short chapter, but I couldn't be bothered to write any more now. If any of you diligent observers are wondering why Poppy didn't notice any other scars on Severus' back from his childhood, it is because: primarily, his back is covered in blood, and secondly, she sees what she knows, or what she wants to. She has not encountered child abuse before and simply assumed they are new scars.

Also, this is a slight insight into Eileen's mother. Previously, I revealed that she is dying. However, Poppy may take a trip to hunt down her old friend. And remember, I said 'may'. She may not. Look out for the next chapter!