A/N: Please be aware that this story starts off pretty dark. There is mention and mild description of rape and abuse throughout. Mild language. Don't read if this bothers you!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I'm just playing on J.K. Rowling's playground!

Now, on to the story.

Severus was in his office grading the essays of insolent third years when he heard it. It was loud and shrill, and he hated the sound of it. There was so much pain and terror in that scream that Severus got out of his chair and went to find the source, if only to make it stop.

He didn't have to go far, for nearly right outside his classroom was a girl, curled into a ball on the floor, gripping her hair and screaming like a banshee. Her back was to him, so he couldn't see her face. Severus really didn't want to deal with this, but he desperately needed her to stop; he could already feel another headache coming on.

Sighing, he went to her, glaring all the while. She seemed to be completely unaware of his presence; he could still leave. But… looking at her more closely, he could see that she was shaking and covered in sweat. Her hair was disheveled, and she was panting when she wasn't shrieking. Severus almost felt bad for her.

Moving to see her face, he realized who it was: Hermione Granger.

If he was really honest with himself, Severus had always liked Miss Granger. She was eager to learn, and her desire for knowledge was intensified by the lack thereof in her classmates. Granted, there weren't many this year; few students had returned to Hogwarts for their seventh year. The school was more or less put back together, with only small projects awaiting completion. Major things had somehow been finished in time for the new school year, much to his dismay; Severus had been hoping for a year off.

Not to anyone's surprise, Miss Granger was the only one of the Golden Trio to have returned that year. N.E.W.T.s were being offered the next summer for those who had fought in the war and did not wish to return. Severus didn't know what Potter and Weasley were up to, nor did he particularly care. It was better for her in a way, he supposed, seeing as she didn't have the two copying her every homework assignment. But her loneliness was also visible. She didn't talk to anyone. In the Great Hall, she sat by herself, and left as quickly as she could. The girl seemed so withdrawn. He had been worried about her since term began.

Now, looking down at her, Severus hesitated. He'd never been the most comforting of people; he usually did more harm than good. But he had to do something. He couldn't just walk away, not now that he could see how bad it was.

"Miss Granger?"

No response. It was as if he weren't even there. He tried again, but still got nothing. He was at a loss; he hadn't ever seen a student in such a state. Would it be better to take her to the hospital wing, or figure it out on his own? Unable to think of a way to get her to Poppy without having to deal with it anyway, he knelt down beside her. Severus slowly reached a hand out to lay on her arm, and as soon as he made contact, she froze.

Then her arms were around his waist. She was crying into him, and he could feel her trembling. She hadn't even looked to see who was with her; did she know it was him, or was she just looking for comfort from anyone? Taking in her state, he decided she was probably too distraught to care who it was at this point.

Gradually, her breathing slowed, nearing a normal rhythm. He was contemplating pulling her off of him when it began to speed up again, followed by an odd snapping sound. What was that? It was coming from behind him, but they were alone in the corridor. His mind was running through all the possibilities when Miss Granger cried out; just a short, high-pitched sound. The snapping had ceased, at least, and she was relaxing again.

After her breathing had been measured for a few minutes, Severus cleared his throat.

She moved away from him slowly before looking up at him. Her brown eyes were puffy from crying, and tears were still trickling down her cheeks. As recognition and fear ran across her face, her features settled on something akin to shame before she hung her head.

"Professor... I'm horribly sorry you had to see that. It doesn't usually happen this way."

"What do you mean by that, Miss Granger?"

"Well, I can usually feel it coming, but sometimes, it just hits me."

Severus raised an inquiring eyebrow. What on earth was she going on about?

"It was a panic attack," she clarified.

He continued to look down at her. Prolonging the silence almost always led to more information. Miss Granger did not disappoint.

"I have PTSD, sir."

Severus wasn't surprised by this; most of the students who had fought in the war had some sort of stress issue. Miss Granger had been on the front lines after being on the run for almost a year. If anybody had a disorder, it would be her.

"From the war, I presume?"

The girl looked back up at him before shrugging.

"I suppose some of it could be attributed to the war, yes, but not much of it."

Now he was taken slightly aback. Possibilities of the darkest variety began flashing in his mind, and he was disgusted by all of them.

"Would you like to talk about it, Miss Granger?"

Severus was almost shocked to ask so willingly, but he found that he really wouldn't mind talking to her if she so desired. Since the war had ended, he'd been able to start being himself again rather than a double agent. His Occlumency wasn't necessary; he could be more open with people than he had been. He wanted to, to some degree, but he wasn't really sure he knew how. And, in truth, he did enjoy his effect on the students. It made his days slightly more bearable. He liked teaching, just not the idiots that had been pushed on him these past few years, and he was sure there were more to come.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Severus looked back down at Miss Granger. She looked surprised by his invitation, but she nodded. Rising, Severus offered his hand to help the girl up. She took it with a quiet 'thank you' and he hauled her to her feet, concerned when she almost fell back down. He put an arm around her back for support in case she really did fall, and he could feel her shaking.

He led her back to his office and sat her in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He summoned his house elf, Tinky, and ordered tea for the two of them. Hopefully, it would calm her some.

It was then that he noticed the blood dripping from… well, where? It seemed to be coming from somewhere on her right arm, but there were no injuries he could see on the part of arm not covered by her robes.

"Miss Granger, your arm."

Startled, she looked down, likely noticing for the first time. She blushed.

"It's nothing."

Not convinced, Severus looked again before he saw it. In truth, he was surprised that he'd never noticed it before, but better late than never.

"Don't lie to me, Miss Granger," he snapped. "Remove your glamour."

She started chewing her lip as she nodded. Pulling back her sleeve, she removed it, and he fought the urge to suck in a breath. There were marks from wrist to elbow on the inside of her arm, and one about halfway down was the cause of the bleeding. She was wearing a rubber band, and it was wet with her blood.

Severus almost wished that he hadn't asked her to remove it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what had brought her to this, but he could tell that she needed somebody to know, and he'd already gone and offered. Why he did these things to himself, he would never know, but he kept doing it. Oh, well; maybe he'd learn one of these days.

Not sure why he was doing it the Muggle way, Severus rose to get her a bandage. When he knelt down in front of her to wrap it around her arm, she sighed, and a lone tear fell.

"It helps. I know it doesn't look like it, but it does. If I feel the panic coming, I snap it against my wrist until I'm sure I won't be pulled into it. It keeps me grounded…most of the time."

He nodded, understanding vaguely. He had limited knowledge of the disorder, and was aware that there were many things that could be done to fight off an attack. He realized then that he was still knelt in front of her, and he moved to sit in the chair next to hers, turning it so he was facing her.

"Um, Professor?"

He rose an eyebrow, looking at her expectantly.

"It's just… nobody knows about this. Not here, not at home, not anywhere. Could we keep it between us?"

Severus thought about this for a moment. Was she really this alone? He couldn't help but wonder how she was so alone that she was coming to him. Him, of all people.

"Of course. You can tell me anything, Miss Granger, and it will be kept in confidence."

He really didn't know why he was making himself available to her. Sure, he was the only one aware of her condition, but he could make her tell Poppy. She was sick; she probably needed more help than he could give her. But… there was a part of him that just wanted to do it himself; that little bit just wanted to be the one to make her pain go away. She deserved better. Miss Granger was, indeed, 'the brightest witch of her age'. The fact that she had been worn down to this point was truly sickening.

It hit him then: he cared for the girl. He wasn't sure how much or for how long, but he was certain that this was the case. But, nothing could come of it. He would do as he had been for the past six-and-a-half years and no more. Severus couldn't allow himself to do more because he didn't have the slightest idea what would come of it. There was certainly no way in hell this girl could return his sentiment, so he would do what he'd always done and ignore whatever feelings he may have. With that said, he could at least be there for her, as a guardian of sorts. He wouldn't allow any harm to come to her as long as he could help it.

She gave him a small, grateful smile before taking a breath.

"Okay. I think I would like to tell you, if that's alright."

She worried her lip between her teeth for a moment before continuing.

"The bastard was a heavy drinker, and an angry one at that. He had nothing to live for but the drink. Until she came into his life, he had no inclination to change his ways. He saw her through the window of the bar before she entered, and he ordered her a drink when she came in. Eventually, she came and sat near him. They talked for a very long time before he realized that he cared about her. He had just met her, but he wanted to make her happy. In about a year, he had sobered up enough that she married him. They were happy together. Really and truly happy.

"He had visions of the perfect family. A little boy would be his firstborn, with a younger sister to protect. When his wife became pregnant, they were elated. He couldn't wait for his son.

"The day the child was born was a day of celebration. There had never been happier parents in the world, until the man held his firstborn in his arms. He looked at the child with a father's love before he looked. Really looked. The child in his arms was a girl.

"So it wasn't his perfect vision. He could live with that. He would live with that. The first three years were good, but then the girl's younger sister was born. Here he was, with his wife and two daughters. By the time the eldest was five, he had begun to loathe her. She was all that stood between him and the family he had always wanted. He was drinking again, but he wasn't nearly as far gone as he'd once been.

"One night, he was sitting in the library, alone in front of the fire. His glass of scotch was sitting on a bookcase near the door, but he didn't want to get it. He called his older daughter, and when she came, he told her to get his drink. Wanting to please her father, she went to do as she was asked, until she realized something. The shelf was much too high. Sighing, she began to climb the shelf before reaching for the glass. Her hand hit it, and it fell to the floor and shattered.

"All of a sudden, her father was upon her. He yanked her from the shelf and onto the floor. The girl had started school, so he was sure only to bruise her torso and parts that wouldn't be seen. He looked down at her with nothing but pure hatred, and took pleasure in beating her.

"This continued until the girl was eight. One cold morning, the girl opened the door to leave for school, and she screamed. Leaning against the front door was the body of her sister, with her throat cut and blood on the ground. Her parents came running to see what was wrong. Her mother came first, and she broke down crying before she reached the door. Her father came to the door and stared down, stunned, at his dead little girl. Then he looked at his eldest. His eyes were filled with rage; if she'd been a son, this wouldn't have happened. He grabbed her arm and pulled her upstairs. He threw her down on her bed, raped her, beat her, and sent her off to school. When she got home, her sister's body was gone, her mother was curled up in bed, and her father was in the library with his scotch."

She was snapping the rubber band again, and Severus reached a long hand out and caught her wrist, stopping her from hurting herself further. She looked up at him, her brown eyes wet with tears.

"Things continued this way for about three years, until something happened. The man was in his chair by the fire in the library. She knew he'd be there, nursing his drink. Gathering her courage and her anger, she marched in and smacked the glass from his hand before taking the bottle and throwing it against the wall. His glare was murderous. Rising, he pushed her down and drew out a knife before stabbing her in the side. He called for his wife, who dragged herself out of bed. Upon her arrival, she took in the scene surrounding her. Her husband was running a bloody knife down her daughter's arm, there was scotch all over the room. She looked at her husband and sighed, indifferent to everything going on around her. Outraged at her lack of pride in what he'd done, he rushed at her, knife raised, and killed her as the girl watched in horror. The girl could only look at the way her mother's throat was slit. It was identical to the cut on her sister's throat years before. It hit her in that moment. Her father had been out drinking the night before she'd found her sister's body, and had come home angry. Her sister was a sleepwalker. Her father had killed her sister. And her mother.

"And now he was going to kill her.

"But, when he reached her, something strong and electric shot from within her. He staggered back, and as he fell, the knife fell into his chest.

"She slumped to the floor, shaking uncontrollably. She had no idea what just happened, but she did know that she had somehow just killed her father. That night, she fled the house. She lived on the streets of her small town for months before she was found. One morning, she woke up between two buildings, and a police officer was standing over her. His eyes were full of pity as he helped her up and took her to the nearest orphanage. That's where she was when a woman came to give her a letter, and told her that what had happened with her father was real. It was normal; she was just special. When the older woman left, the girl left, too. She was back on the streets. How was she supposed to stay there when she knew what she was, but didn't know what to do about it?

"The woman found her before the school year. That was the first time she came to the Wizarding world, and she fell in love. It felt like the home she'd never really had.

"She resolved very early on that her life would be kept from everybody. She would just be a girl that nobody paid much attention to. This was a fresh start, in a brand new world that she never knew had existed.

"She was going to learn everything she could possibly learn while she was here. This was where she was going to stay; she needed to absorb knowledge. And as she learned, she noticed that it was slowly putting her together."

By the end of the tale, the girl was sobbing. Severus found himself with his hands on her arms, telling her it was alright. He couldn't believe what this girl had been through.

He contemplated her story. It was a horrid tale, and he felt slightly sick to his stomach. Never, in all his years of teaching, had he considered laying hand on one of his students, not even the most dunderheaded. This girl had suffered through her father for six years, lost her sister, watched her mother die, lived on the streets, and plenty of other things since she'd come here. He couldn't help but admire her strength.

She had gone through so much already; what could he protect her from? Miss Granger was a more-than-capable witch, and Severus wasn't sure what he could do for her. If she asked for anything, he could do his best to be of service but, beyond that, he was at a loss. Maybe, though, that would be all she really needed.

With a new-found respect, Severus looked at Miss Granger, only to find her asleep, looking more peaceful than he'd ever seen her.

A/N II: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think; this is my first fan fiction, and I would really like to know how I can improve. As of now, the plan is to keep updates on Wednesdays. Thank you again!