A/N Hello! Here's a new story! If you've followed me here from Nightmare into Dreams, don't worry, I have another Winchester Brothers/Hermione story in the works, and will be publishing that one shortly. I plan on writing both stories simultaneously, because I'm CRAZY like that! For those of you who don't know me, I'm a long time writer, but this is my first SSHG story. I'm a little nervous, since this is a very large ship, and there are a lot of talented writers in it. Anyway, I don't want to say a whole lot, other than this is unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizeable

Severus ran up the stairs to the Astronomy tower, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was still following him. The Marauders had been tormenting him again. For the past six years they had been beating him up and teasing him, just because he was in Slytherin and was a little socially awkward. Why he thought this final year at Hogwarts would be any different, he didn't know.

He reached the top of the stairs, out of breath. The autumn's cool breeze swept through his long, black hair has he leaned down, placing his hands on his knees, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. You would think he would be in better shape as he spent most of his time running from Gryffindors lately. They seemed to be picking on him a lot more lately. He didn't know what he did to deserve all of this new attention. He hadn't changed any of his habits. It had been two years since he last had any meaningful contact with Lily Evans. But it seemed that was no longer the catalyst. It seemed just his mere existence was enough to cause them to hex him.

A dull thud on the battlement's stone floor stirred him from his musings. He whirled around, whipping his wand out from the sleeve of his robe and pointing it in the direction the sound came from. He was taken aback for a moment when he was met with nothing but the empty battlement. Then he heard a gentle moaning. He looked down, and almost dropped his wand in shock.

Lying on the floor was a girl, in muggle clothing. She looked like she had been living in the outdoors for months. Her hair was wild and frizzy; her clothes were covered in dirt and grime. She was currently lying on the floor and her entire body was twitching. Every time her body convulsed, she let out a moan, but from where Severus was standing, it didn't even look as if she was conscious. But he wasn't a good judge, because he couldn't see her face from where he stood.

Apprehensively, Severus began slowly creeping forward to where the girl lay, keeping his wand up, just in case. He didn't know where she came from, and the fact that she just appeared in the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts, a place where you couldn't Apperate in or out of, was very suspicious. The closer he got to her, the more he realized that some of the dirt and grime he saw on her was not, in fact, dirt and grime. Some of it appeared to be her own blood. Her left arm appeared to be carved up.

He knelt down next to her, and rotated her arm so he could get a better look at the injuries on her arm. He couldn't help the gasp he emitted when he saw that the injuries on her arm were in fact letters, forming a word. Mudblood. He dropped her arm back to her side on the stone floor and backed up from the girl. He ran his hand through his hair, beginning to panic. What was he supposed to do? She was obviously a witch, a muggleborn to be specific. He needed to tell someone. Get her help as she was obviously injured. But what if they were to blame him?

It wasn't exactly a secret that he had joined up with a lot of aspiring Death Eaters in the school, that he supposedly had prejudices against muggleborn witches, as evidence by his treatment of Lily two years ago. The girl didn't look like she was much older than him, but he couldn't place her face, but that didn't mean she wasn't a student at Hogwarts. He kept raking his memory trying to place her face, trying to remember if there had been reports of muggleborn witches going missing this year. He couldn't remember. The year was still new, it was only early October, and he hadn't been paying that much attention to the goings on with the outside world. He had been focused on his studies and avoiding the Marauders at all costs.

He looked back at the girl. Her twitching was subsiding, but it was still there. He made a quick decision and put his wand back up the sleeve of his robe. He walked over to her, and lifted her into his arms, and clutched her close to his chest, making sure he didn't jolt her too much. He began briskly walking down the stairs of the Tower, making his way to the hospital wing.

"Help me, please! Madame Pomfrey!" he shouted as he entered the Hospital Wing. He carried the girl over to an empty bed and set her down.

Poppy Pomfrey came running out from the storage room. "Severus, what's wrong?"

Severus gestured toward the girl lying on the bed. "I don't know what's wrong with her, but she seems to be injured pretty badly."

Madam Pomfrey rushed over to the girl and began examining her. "Where did you find her?"

"She just appeared in the Astronomy Tower," Severus answered.

Madam Pomfrey paused in her ministrations and turned back to face him. "What do you mean she appeared?"

"Exactly what it sounds like, Madam Pomfrey. One minute I was alone in the Tower and the next there was a dull thud and she was lying on the floor, looking just like this."

"Looking just like this? Are you certain?"

Severus nodded. "Well, she was twitching slightly but that subsided after a few minutes. But yes, she was looking just like this. I didn't do anything to harm her. I brought her straight here."

"Severus I wasn't accusing you of causing any harm to her, I just need to know the specifics so I can treat her properly. But the fact that she just appeared is a bit troubling. I need to notify the headmaster immediately." She flourished her wand, conjuring a Patronis sending it up to the headmaster's office, before turning back to the girl, running diagnostic charms.

Severus backed up until his back was pressed against the farthest wall and watched as Madame Pomfrey began running her wand over the girl, a frown permanently on her face.

The floo roared to life and the headmaster stepped out of the grate and walked over to the medi-witch.

"What's the trouble, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked as he approached.

"This girl has been tortured, Albus," Poppy spoke quietly, so Severus had to strain to hear what she was saying.

Headmaster Dumbledore walked closer to the girl and peered down at her over his half-moon glasses. "Where did she come from? She is not one of our students. Is she a muggle?"

Poppy shook her head. "Muggleborn," she said, turning over the girl's left arm for Dumbledore's inspection. "If she's not a student here, then who is she?"

"Where did you find her?"

Poppy gestured toward Severus. "Severus found her in the Astronomy Tower. He says she just 'appeared.'"

Dumbledore spun around. "What do you mean, appeared?"

Severus took a deep breath, ready to defend himself. The headmaster would probably accuse Severus of injuring the girl. He always found a way to blame things on a Slytherin.

"Exactly how it sounds, sir," Severus started. "I was in the Astronomy Tower, I heard a sound, and there was a girl lying on the floor."

Dumbledore turned back to Poppy. "What kind of torture was she made to endure, other than having derogative terms carved on her arm?"

Poppy took a deep breath. "She's been hit with the Cruciatus curse multiple times, she's very malnourished, if I had to guess I would say it's been months since she's had a decent meal. She's exhausted, so I would also guess that it's also been months since she's had adequate sleep. And there's some kind of dark magic around her that I can't trace. I don't know what it is, but something about her doesn't seem right, Albus. And the fact that she just appeared here in Hogwarts, makes me feel very uneasy," she sighed. "Albus, this poor girl, who knows how long she's been held by his followers."

Albus nodded and leaned closer to the girl, waving his wand. "You're right about the dark magic. I'm not entirely sure what was used on her, we'll have to wait for her to wake up to get answers to the questions about how long she was held captive by Death Eaters and the extent of her treatment. Heal her, and make her comfortable. I've always said that Hogwarts would provide help to those who need it, and this dear girl needs it. Contact me the minute she wakes up." Albus turned and walked over to Severus. "My dear boy, I don't know why you were up in the Astronomy Tower tonight, but it's a good thing you were, or else this poor girl may have perished. Twenty points to Slytherin for your chivalry."

Albus moved back to the floo, but was stopped by Poppy's sudden outcry.

"What's wrong?" Albus said turning around swiftly.

"The carving on her arm, it won't heal. No matter what spell I use, it keeps opening back up. Even using the dittany. It refuses to heal," Poppy said, her voice thick with emotion.

Albus closed his eyes. "Bandage it, hopefully it will heal on its own. Let me know when she awakes." With that Albus strode to the floo, threw in powder, said the name of his office, and was gone in a flash of green.

Severus remained where he was standing, unsure of what to do, trying to take in the information that had passed between the headmaster and the medi-witch. Words like 'torture' and 'dark magic' hung in his head, unable to let go. The theory that she had been held by Death Eaters made his blood run cold. Throughout the summer, he had been actively recruited by Lucius Malfoy to join the ranks of the Dark Lord. It seemed knowledge of his remarkable skills at potions making had reached the ears of the Dark Lord, who had decided he needed Severus' skill for himself. Severus was granted the year to make his decision, but it was implied that denying The Dark Lord was not an option.

Looking at the girl in the bed, who looked to be no older than himself, he couldn't help but feel sick that he had even been considering joining their ranks, as if he had a choice. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat at the thought of being forced to join with them and perform horrendous acts on innocent girls like the one lying in front of him. But if he didn't join, The Dark Lord wouldn't hesitate to do those horrendous acts on him, or worse.

"Severus, dear, are you alright? You look like you're going to be sick," Madam Pomfrey asked, tearing Severus from his thoughts.

Severus shook himself out of thoughts of Death Eaters and visions of his own death to look at Madam Pomfrey. "I'm fine," he said, and then glanced behind her at the girl. It looked as if Madam Pomfrey had performed a cleansing charm on the girl. Her face was now free of the dirt and grime that had clung to it, and she looked so young. She didn't have the traits of someone traditionally beautiful, but who was Severus to judge, with his large hooked nose and long stringy hair, he wasn't exactly Adonis. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked.

Madam Pomfrey gave him a small smile. "She will be fine, right now she's resting, her body is exhausted. Once it catches up on sleep and feels that it is healed, she will wake up. Probably within the next twenty-four hours or so. Nothing to worry about."

Severus continued to look at the girl. She would be fine. She would be awake in the next twenty-four hours. He desperately wanted to be here when she woke up. He knew if he wasn't, Madam Pomfrey and the headmaster wouldn't fill him in on anything that she says, but if he could just stay he would ensure that he was here to hear what she had to say. Maybe Death Eaters didn't hold her; maybe a random radical had just picked her up.

"Madam Pomfrey, would you mind if I stayed here tonight?"

She sighed. "Severus, there's nothing—"

"Please," he begged. "You know if I tried walking back to my rooms tonight, James or Sirius, or both would stop me and I would just end up back here anyway. I'm just asking to stay here tonight."

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Fine. But only for tonight. Tomorrow morning you will wake up and attend classes. No sticking around for her to wake up. Even if she wakes up while you're in class, she will still be here when you are finished. Understand, Mr. Snape," she finished, giving him a pointed look.

Severus broke out in a huge grin. "Yes, ma'am." He walked over to the bed next to the girl's, lying down. He stole one more glance at her before Madam Pomfrey began lowering the lights in the ward. Once it was too dark to make out any more features, he closed his eyes and lost himself to sleep.

So, what'd you think? Please, let me know with a review. If you're new to me, I do have a toddler whom I take care of all day. I can't promise to update regularly, but I'm going to try and update at least once every week/week and a half. If you would like to beta for me, please PM me and let me know! Until next time!