Senses

Chapter 11

Severus rolled over in the large bed afforded to him by his unwanted position. Images of the girl hidden away in his room filling his traitorous mind. The whining pleas that had filled the room when she had taken the salve inside, the way she reached for his hand trying to place it inside her. He had relented at the very end when he feared that she would harm herself if she didn't get what she wanted.

Like a stubborn child, she had clawed at her own skin forcing his hand, quite literally. The feel of her natural release on his fingers was something that—despite his best efforts—lingered even in his restless sleep. He felt lost in his own depreciation. His deeds lowering his self-worth even further. The actions he had taken in her care settled darkly inside his heart and he knew he could never believe himself above the men who had done this to her.

A deep sigh returned him to his back and his hand came to rub his brow. He turned his head towards the mirror he'd set on his bedside table. She had put up a small fight before bed, even with a warm snack to fill her stomach, she had fought the call. He had sat beside her for nearly thirty minutes letting her hold his hand against her chest.

His heavy eyes were trying to tell his brain that something was amiss in the image but it took him a rather embarrassing amount of time to register that she wasn't in her bed. His body came up, taking the mirror quickly into his hands. He adjusted the dials along the side trying to find where she had gone. She'd never left the bed before on her own, a fact that sparked his sleep deprived brain with worry.

When the mirror landed on the corner of the room, he could see Granger curled up impossibly small. Her hands were in her hair clawing at her ears. Her head was down and she was rocking slightly. Severus sat himself up straighter, tilting the mirror to try and get a better angle. At the same time her head fell back hard into the corner, her face twisted in pain. Her eyes were wide open; the dark red pools spilling down over her cheeks staining her pale skin.

"Crisse!" Severus cursed loudly, coming to his feet so quickly he nearly fell over from the rush.

He tossed the mirror to the bed and hurried to the end where he'd set the suitcase. He didn't even notice the two large tennis ball eyes that were watching him, hidden in a dark alcove. He pressed his wand to the locks on the outside before throwing it open. Another wand flick made the spiral staircase appear and he was inside in seconds, the lid closing and locking automatically behind him.

Severus thumped heavily down the stairs before taking the turn he needed. He was on his knees before her in moments, his wand immediately pressed into her temple; the diagnostic spell rushing past his lips so fast it almost ruined the cast.

Severus gritted his teeth as the reading floated into the air. The pressure behind her eyes was too high, the scar tissue having made her eyes too hard to adapt. He hadn't given her the medicine to remove it for fear of over stimulating her but now he found he had no choice. If he didn't bring her eye pressure down, he risked permanent brain damage.

Severus pushed away, quickly going to the cabinet. He rifled through the various potions inside before pulling out what he needed. A deep retching noise turned his head and his own stomach churned as her snack of oatmeal with diced strawberries came up all over the front of her dress and legs. The color of the mixture as unsettling as the noise that followed.

He pulled out a long thin needle as well knowing that the potion would not act quickly enough on its own and fell back down to his knees in front of her. Reluctantly, he cast a full body bind, freezing her look of pain in place. His own eyes burned as he took her cheek, resting the ridge if his palm beside her temple.