Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

*

Revelations and No Regrets

*

"He has hundreds of cuts and wounds all over his body," sighed Madam Pomfrey with extreme seriousness. "Some of the charms have been really strong, as he has wounds even on some of his internal organs. Nothing life-threatening, but painful, and difficult to heal." Then, with a very quiet voice, she added, "Of course, there are still the rapes. I don't even know how many."

James and Peter both nodded grimly, while Sirius concentrated on comforting Remus, who looked very pale. The werewolf did not take this well at all. While James had been taking Snape to the Hospital Wing, Peter had alarmed the other two Marauders. Now, they were all in the Infirmary, listening to Madam Pomfrey's description of Snape's injuries.

"Erm... Madam Pomfrey?" asked Peter then hesitantly. As the mediwitch glanced at him questioningly, he continued, "What about his voice? I think that they accidentally cut off his vocal cords, at least that's what I gathered. Can you fix that?" He sounded almost desperate.

Now, the mediwitch gave them even a deeper sigh than before. "I'm afraid not, Peter," she said quietly. "It indeed was an unfortunate mix of a Cutting Charm and a Silencing Spell. Accidentally mixed magic is always serious business, and dangerous. He has lost his voice completely, and I fear that trying to fix that would only damage him further."

The blond Marauder nodded, now a bit paler than before. Remus, however, had gone paper white, and was now clutching on the unconscious teen's hand as if that could help his friend.

"He can't do magic anymore?" asked Sirius very quietly. "Will he even be a wizard?"

Now, however, it was not Madam Pomfrey who answered. "It doesn't have to mean that," Peter said. "I have an aunt who was born deaf, so she never learnt to speak. She communicates with sign language, and somehow, though I don't know how, she can even cast spells. There's a special way to do that without the ability to talk. That should be possible for Snape, too."

"That is very good, young Peter," a gentle voice said from the doorway. "However, I fear that is all we can do for poor Severus." With a sigh, the Headmaster turned towards Snape, and Remus, who was sitting by his bedside. "I'm sorry, my boy," he said quietly. "At first, I failed to keep you safe, and now, I've failed your friend as well. I don't even know who to punish for this. There were not even magical traces, were there, Poppy?"

The school nurse sighed also. "I'm afraid not, Albus," she said quietly. "Nothing that could be traced back to anyone. I'm afraid that his tormentors shall not be caught."

"But we do know who they are," spoke up a voice. Everybody turned towards James. Peter nodded slowly in agreement, while everybody else looked just confused. Then, comprehension spread onto Remus's and Sirius's faces, and they both nodded, too.

"What do you mean, James?" asked Dumbledore seriously. "Did you see them for yourself?"

At this, James hesitated a bit. However, at the hard glances he got from his friends, he soon made up his mind. Drawing out the Marauder's Map, he tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," he muttered. In an instant, the moving dots appeared to sight.

"This is ingenious," Dumbledore said in quiet awe. "How trustable is this thing?"

"It can tell where Professor McGonagall is even when she's in her Animagus form," Sirius supplied him. "It'll tell where everybody is -- and I do mean everybody. Nobody in the school grounds can go unnoticed. And it never lies. It can't, we made sure of it."

"You did this yourself?" The Headmaster's eyebrows shot high. "Very impressive, boys. Impressive, indeed. I'm sure Filius would be excited to hear how you achieved such a skill." Then, he turned serious again. "Now, however, I am much more at hurry to get the guilty ones punished," he muttered, glancing at the unconscious form on the hospital bed. "Those monsters shall not escape their due fate." And with this, he gestured James to follow him, no doubt to give him the full list. Then, he returned the Map to James, and left, the teen following him.

The three Marauders glanced at each other. They'd never seen Dumbledore in such rage.

"I wouldn't want to be one of those Slytherins at the moment," Peter finally muttered fearfully. His friends merely gave him rapid nods. No, they did not want that, either.

*

It was bright. Much too bright... But at least, he didn't hurt anymore. Not much, anyway. Much encouraged by this notion, Severus dared to squint his eyes open.

Even in its befuddled state his brain immediately recognized his surroundings. He was in one of the private rooms of the Hogwarts Infirmary, although he did not recall getting there. The last thing he remembered was the pain, and coldness... Potter and Pettigrew. They hadn't hurt him, though. What a miracle, that. They usually did not hesitate to harm him however they could.

He tried to call for somebody, but no sound came out. Confused, he tried again, but again, there was nothing to be heard. Not even the faintest whisker of sound could escape his lips.

Severus did not like this. He did not like this at all. Instead, he became terrified as the rest of the details of his torment flooded back into his mind. Had he truly lost his voice?

"Ah, you're awake at last. A good thing, that. Your friends will be here in a bit." Madam Pomfrey had come in and began now fussing around. "Have no worry, dear."

Now, the Slytherin tried to just talk instead of calling out. However, again, he got not a sound out of his mouth. Not a single word, or even a whimper. It was horrifying.

The mediwitch noticed his efforts, and her face took on a gentle but wary look that promised no good. "I'm afraid that you lost your voice, Severus," she said gently. "It is permanent. You will never be able to talk again." At seeing his terrified expression, she continued hastily, "Not to worry, however. Peter Pettigrew has promised to teach you the sign language his deaf aunt uses for communicating, and there's even a special technic that will allow you to do magic."

Severus just shook his head. She didn't understand, she couldn't. He'd had a sister who had been born deaf. As soon as it had become clear that she didn't hear and couldn't learn to talk, their father had arranged an "accident" to make sure that she wouldn't burden their family anymore. As soon as his father found out, he would be considered another failure -- and another burden. And his father would not stand any unnecessary burdens weighing himself.

"Severus?" asked a careful voice from the doorway. Looking up, Severus saw Remus. He glanced at Madam Pomfrey, who nodded slowly after examining his expression closely for a moment. So, Remus slipped into the room, immediately going to the side of his friend's bed.

"Merlin, Severus, I'm so sorry," the werewolf sighed in deep regret. "They only attacked you because you helped me. Without me, this would have never happened."

Severus, however, just shook his head. No, this was not Remus's fault. He'd made the decision himself, and thus, it was nobody else's fault but his. Or, rather, his housemates' fault. Severus had always known that he would once have to choose between his loyalty to his House and his friendship with Remus. He also knew that he couldn't have chosen differently, and that no matter what the results were, he had chosen right. The mere fact that he had been punished for his choice by the Slytherins proved that.

Severus didn't regret taking Remus's side in the matter. The only thing he regretted was not keeping his ware and thus allowing the bastards access to himself. He'd paid dearly for his unwatchfulness, and would pay even more dearly once his Father found out.

Now, he had only paid with his body and voice. To his Father, he would pay for his choice by his life. Well, not for his choice, but for the failure that was a result of it.

But he still wouldn't choose otherwise.

*