Chapter 14: Petrified

Snape stopped dead in the corridor.

He raised his wand and began to survey his surroundings carefully. He was certain he'd just heard screaming and yet there was no one around to make such a noise. He double checked that the suit of armour in front of him definitely didn't had any students behind it before heading on his way.

'It must've been Peeves,' he thought, striding back to the dungeons. 'Always up to no good.'

When he arrived at his quarters he went straight to bed, too tired even to check on Lucy. He knew she'd be fine, no doubt busying herself with her homework. Besides, even if she was still up it would be her own fault in the morning when she couldn't focus on lessons.

He couldnt remember if he's changed or not and fell on the bed all the same. All he could manage to do was blow out the candle on his bedside and go straight to sleep.

*

Snape's sleep was restless. When he finally did fall asleep for sometime he found himself in a suffocating dream. He was stood in a pitch black corridor so lit his wand quickly. He held his wand in front of him and found it was much smaller than it usually was and looked particularly feminine. Shocked, he flicked his head to the side and found he had brunette hair and then it struck him:

It was as though he was standing in Lucy's shoes.

The sounds of hissing and banging pervaded his ears and he couldn't seem to escape them. His heartbeat was haywire as he tried desperately to work out why he was seeing a dream through Lucy's eyes. Before he could deduce further he saw the ginormous body of —

Snape's restless slumber halted when he sat bolt upright in bed. He looked down and saw he was still in his robes, he was himself, and then leapt off of the bed as if he'd been burnt. Still not conscious enough, he stumbled to the door and slammed into it in a panic. He then tore it open and dashed to Lucy's room and flung open the door.

"Lucy?" He demanded as he strode into the room.

But he was met with silence.

He flung back her covers and found the bed to be empty. Panic ripped through him as he ran to the Potions classroom where his desk was. Perhaps Lucy had left a note for him?

Snape flung vials onto the floor so they shattered and scrabbled through the loose parchment sitting there but there was nothing, no clues at all for him.

He pressed his fingers to his temples. "Think, think, think..."

He was scanning through the castle in his mind, he'd been here long enough to know every nook and cranny of this place and it all lived in his head. Where had he been last night in his dreams? It was a tunnel somewhere and so that certainly meant a secret passage. He went through all the passages he knew and tried to remember which one was pitch black and then his eyes opened abruptly.

"Of course," he murmured before bolting out of the room and up the stairs into the hallway.

A few students from Slytherin were already lingering about and they were surprised to find the Potions Master pelting down the corridor, caps billowing behind him, already at this hours. Snape ignored their stares and moved on, he knew exactly where this passage was as he'd used it many times in his youth to hide from those who wanted to harm him. It also led to the library and so was the best route to take if he wanted to get there without being tormented.

He found the door in question and let himself in to the pitch black corridor.

"Lumos Maxima," he breathed and his wand lit up so he could see several metres in front of him which made his journey into the passage much easier.

Snape crept along the passage swiftly and silently, hoping that it would in fact be empty and he'd arrive in the library in a matter of minutes. He'd shake his head at his stupidity, head to the Great Hall for breakfast and then find his daughter at the Gryffindor table. She'd tell him later she slept in the Gryffindor girls dormitories that night as she felt safer with more people around. He'd scold her a little and promise her to tell him where she was going in future and staying with him was much safer. All the same, he'd be glad to see her ag—

He jumped in surprise and stumbled back just as his wand went out.

"Lumos Maxima!" He barked again and wished so desperately that this charm would last for longer.

His eyes were wide and his breathing laboured as he stared at Lucy lying there, a look of pure horror on her face.

Snape knelt down and looked at her. He was then brave enough to reach out and touch her hand. He flinched. It was stone cold. There was no other explanation other than she'd been Petrified. Whatever was attacking had got her.

"Keep your head," Snape muttered, feeling tears spring up behind his eyes. "Remain calm."

He lifted her rigid body up and began to walk. He only got so far before he had to relight his wand, his shaking hands made the task difficult and it took a long while before he made it out of the passageway. But eventually he'd made it and went straight to the hospital wing.

"Madam Pomfrey," he called.

She seemingly came out of no where and gasped when she saw Snape. Snape must've looked as pale as Lucy. "Professor! Oh goodness, set her down just here — " Madam Pomfrey gestured to a spare bed and set her down just as Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall arrived.

"Another student has been Petrified," Madam Pomfrey called to them. Snape had to bite his tongue, he didn't want the whole school knowing. But no doubt word would spread fast. "Professor Snape found her."

"Who? Who is it?" McGonagall strode forward and Snape turned to look at her.

"Lucy."

McGonagall's hands were over her mouth. "Severus, I'm — "

"There's nothing you could do," he couldn't meet her eyes.

"I can assure you she felt no pain," Dumbledore shook his head, standing at McGonagall's side. "Where did you find her?"

"A secret passageway. She was trying to get to the library, I suspect — " Snape hated to carry on, he would simultaneously be admitting he had failed to parent. "She's been there since last night."

"How did you know she was there?" McGonagall's distraught face wasn't doing anything to improve Snape's mood.

"I was patrolling," he lied. "I wanted to ensure no students were attempting to hide from the upcoming days lessons and so I took it upon myself to do a thorough search. I stumbled upon her in the hidden passageway to the library."

"It must've been quite a shock." She breathed.

Snape said nothing and glanced down at Lucy's terrified face, it was even worse in the daylight. He could see every detail on her face highlighting just how frightened she must've been last night when the attacker approached her.

Dumbledore's voice interrupted Snape's thoughts. "I understand this will be something quite much to you, Severus, so I will allow you a day off of teaching to digest it."

Snape looked at him. "I want your word. I want your word she'll be saved."

"Madam Pomfrey will do everything she can to save all the students here. Professor Sprout assures me that the mandrakes will be ready in a weeks time but until then Lucy will have to remain here."

Snape was distraught. "It's a straight yes or no, Albus. Will you be able to save her? Give me your word."

"I'm afraid I refuse to talk to you like this, Severus," Dumbledore turned on his heel. "Enjoy your day off."

Snape said nothing as the two Professor's left and sat at Lucy's side on the chair by her bed. He couldn't bare to look at her face any longer and instead held her hand and stared out of the window.

*

Some time passed and he couldn't bare Madam Pomfrey's sympathetic gaze for another minute. So Snape got up with a final promise to Lucy he'd be back before walking out and leaving. He'd only turned the corner when his anger rose considerably, he'd run into Shona McGuire.

"Why aren't you in lesson?" He looked down the end of his nose at her.

Shona shrugged, she had a mouthful of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and the nearly empty box sat in her hand. "It's no fun without Lucy. Where is she by the way?"

Snape was livid. "You," he spat. "You are the most irresponsible person I have ever met. You have put Lucy in more than enough danger and I'm sick of seeing you strutting down the corridors as if you own the place! You're the reason she's now Petrified, you drag her along into your stupid games because you get a kick out of it because you're a blithering idiot. Well just you wait, I'll be informing Dumbledore of all the things you've done, including skipping lessons and you'll be on the Hogwarts express before you can — " he knocked the box of sweets out of her hands. "Dare think about protesting."

Shona swallowed her mouthful of sweets. "Would it kill you to say my name? I didn't know it hurt you that much. Nor that you thought so much that I'm a piece of — "

"I know you're a piece of — "

"Fine. Seeing as you're making me leave, I'll say this," Shona scooped up her box of sweets. "You're a git." Shona turned on her heel.

"Stay away from Lucy!" He barked at her viciously.

"Don't worry Snivels!" Shona reported back. "I'll stay away from you both, and I'll keep up the good work of being an idiot!" She reached the end of the corridor and turned.

'Lucy and I will do fine without her,' he thought to himself smugly before also turning on his heel and heading the opposite way to Shona.