Protection In The Dungeons

The Long Nap

I opened my eyes Snape was standing next to me. I saw a chest on the table in front of me. I reached over to open it, but Snape grabbed my hand for a moment to stop me. "Remember what I said, Ms. Strand."

I didn't remember. I looked at him. "About what?"

Snape sighed wearily. "You must be careful, Ms. Strand."

I raised an eyebrow. (Or at least I tried to raise an eyebrow.) I was getting sick of his cryptic comments. "What do you mean? Stop speaking in weird stupid sentences. Just spit it out already!"

Snape looked at me, slightly annoyed. "Five points from Hufflepuff for your demanding arrogance."

I pursed my lips to prevent myself from cussing him out.

He went on. "You must be careful. Don't go prying into things you don't understand." He motioned to the box. "Because once you understand what you don't, you can never go back. You may hurt yourself or others and not just physically in your pursuit of higher knowledge. And if that happens, it will be on your head, Ms. Strand. Don't go after things that you don't understand and don't try to un-"

I woke up to a noise. What was he trying to warn me about? What was happening? I heard the noise again. A camera shutter. I pulled on my a jacket and my favorite slippers, and I ran out to check on things. My heart stopped. A boy in my year I believe his name was Colin. He had his camera in front of him as if in the middle of a photo shoot. I heard something behind me, and something deep inside me told me not to look. But I made the mistake of looking at Colin's camera. I saw one eye: it looked like a golden pool of sinister death. I tried to scream, but I couldn't open my mouth. Now that I think
about it, I couldn't look around either. Then I blacked out.

• • • • • •

    I woke up what I assumed was only a few hours later. I had a bitter tasting liquid I opened my eyes and nearly had a heart attack. A very concerned professor Snape was standing over me, holding an empty potion vial.

    As soon as I opened my eyes he made his face look as bored as possible, but I could tell he was actually concerned for my well being. "Do you know who you are?"

    I nodded. "Katria Lilly Strand."

He tensed up when he heard my middle name, but continued with his questions. "How old are you?"

"Eleven."

He jotted down some notes with his quill. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I saw Colin frozen. In the hall."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He held up five fingers.

"Four and one thumb." I answered.

I could tell he was amused by my answer. "You're not wrong..."

I looked around. I was in the Hospital wing. I saw a few other kids including Colin in the hospital cots. "What happened?"

"A big snake froze you, and you've been petrified for six months." He explained.

"A big snake? Six months?!?"

"Are you going to repeat everything I say?" He asked, annoyed.

I shook my head no, twisting the bedsheets. Snape put his hand on my hands to stop me. "Don't do that. It's very aggravating."

"Sorry. I'm just processing the fact that I just lost SIX MONTHS of my life!!!"

Snape frowned. "Don't use that tone with me, young lady."

I adjusted my pillow, so it was against the head and leaned back on it. I sighed heavily. "Do you have to be such a git?"

Snape's face went purple. He looked like an angry human plum. He looked me dead in the eyes. "What did you call me?"

I looked down. I knew I messed up. I saw him move out of the corner of my eye, I instantly remembered my years in foster care, and the unkind families that I used to live with. I tensed up, sure that he was going to hit me. "I'm sorry! Im Sorry."

Snape's expression changed. "Ms. Strand, why did you tense up like that? Has someone been hitting you?"

I shook my head no, but the look in my eyes betrayed me. THANKS A LOT STUPID EYES!

He looked at me, and grabbed my arms. "Who's been hitting you? Why did you tense up when I moved?"

"Until I was five I lived in America in the foster care system. And not all of the families were... nurturing." I explained.

Snape clenched his jaw, and stood up. "Get some rest, Ms. Strand. You need it." He left me alone.

I'm not sure why he reacted that way, but I guess if I had found out that a child had a past of abuse, I would have behaved that way too...