Recap:
"Albus. You know don't you? You know who her real parents are." He smiled at me.
"I have my suspicions."
"Who do you think they are?"
"I thought you said that you didn't care?" Oh great, I forgot about that.
"Goodbye Severus." And with that, he ushered me out of his office, wondering just who Amelie's real parents were.
CHAPTER 22
Neville's P.O.V.
Snape strode into the classroom, his cape flapping dramatically behind him.
"Silence!" I noticed how on-edge he was, and how Amelie still hadn't returned from her meeting with Dumbledore, after 4 hours! I raised my hand.
"Longbottom?" He asked in a dry and bored tone.
"Where's Amelie sir?"
"Miss Leveridge is in her dorm...recovering."
"Recovering from what?!"
"That is none of your business." I was starting to get worried now.
"I think it is."
"Oh? And how so?!" He snarled.
"She is my...friend. And I want to know what has happened to her." I could have swarn Snape was being purposely unhelpful.
"Detention Longbottom."
"What?! Why?!"
"For backchatting a teacher." He drawled. I clenched my fists. I was so close to walking over there and punching him right in his abnormally large nose, but seeing as he was Amelie's 'Dad', I refrained myself.
"Meet me in my office after dinner."
As soon as I was released from Potions, which was my last lesson of the day, I ran straight to our common room, to see no sign of Amelie.
"Hermionie. Could you please check in your dorm for Amelie?"
"Why..?"
"I haven't seen her all day. And Snape said that she was recovering from something."
"Oh, ok." A minute later, she returned down stairs.
"She's not in there."
"What? Where is she then?"
"How am I meant to know?! Why don't you try the rest of the castle?" I sighed, and ran out to the grounds. After checking the lake, Hagrid's hut, , most of the corridors and the Library, but still no luck. I even sent Hermionie into all the girls' toilets. Soon enough, I had to go to dinner, so I checked with Harry and the others.
"Have any of you guys seen Amelie?"
"What? Why?" Why couldn't Ron just answer my question?!
"Because, I haven't seen her all day."
"No, sorry."
"I haven't seen her either. Should we be worried?" Harry asked, seemingly the only other person concerned about Amelie.
"I'm not sure..." We were interupted by the looming figure of Snape.
"Longbottom. Detention. Now." He grabbed my collar and hauled me up out of my seat.
I marched after him to the dungeons.
"Today you will be alphabetising the potions cupboard." He gestured to the cupboard brimming with jars and viles of strange ingredients.
After what seemed like hours, I'd finally finished, and had managed to get even more anxious about the whereabouts of Amelie.
"Sir." He looked up from his desk.
"Do you know where Amelie is?"
"I though I already answered this question. I sent her to her dorm."
"But Hermionie said that she wasn't there."
"What?"
"And I checked everywhere else except..." Oh god. Please don't say that she's there.
"Except where Longbottom?" He snarled.
"Except the Forbidden Forest."
"What?!" He shouted, before sprinting out of the castle, with me following just metres behind.
"Amelie?!"
"Amelie?" We shouted, our wands ready to attack.
We pounded through the forest, until we came to a small clearing. Moonlight seeped through the leaves, and illuminated the unconscious girl lyring curled up on the floor.
"Snape! I've found her!!"
"Amelie?!" We rushed over to her side, and knelt on the floor.
"Amelie?" Her breathing was shallow, and her pulse was weak.
"Amelie?" Snape tilted her onto her back to reveal a massive gash, running down the side of her face, oozing blood onto the floor.
"Oh no! Amelie! What's happened to you?" I breathed, leaning closer to her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"We need to get her to the hospital ward!" I shouted at Snape, who just knelt there, staring at her.
He carefuly scooped her up into his arms, and we ran back to the castle.
"What happened?! Severus?" Madame Pomfrey shouted, as we barged through the hospital doors.
He lay her down on a stray bed, and collapsed into a chair beside her.
"We...we found her in the forest...unconscious..." I finally managed to say, tears dripping down my face.
Madame Pomfrey dashed over, with some sort of potion, and dabbed it onto Amelie's face.
"How did this happen?"
"I...I don't know...We just found her there..." I fell into the chair next to Snape, and squeezed Amelie's hand in mine.
"I have a pretty good idea." Snape growled. He seemed pretty pent up about what had happened. Which was very suprising.
"You don't think it was-"
"Malfoy." And with that, Snape stormed out of the hospital, without so much as a backward glance at Amelie.
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Amelie's P.O.V. 4 hours earlier.
I ran from Dumbledore's office, tears streaming down my face, and just kept running.
I soon found myself in the middle of the forbidden forest. Memories of my third birthday, trips to the park and family days out filled my mind, as I remembered who I thought were my parents. I curled up on the floor, crying.
I lay there, for what seemed like hours, until I heard a rustling sound.
"Wh..who's there?" My voice was uneven, because of the sobs I was choking back.
"Who do you think." Malfoy stepped out from behind a tree, his wand pointed at my face.
"Oh. It's you. Back to try and kill me again I see." Malfoy stared at me, confused.
"Why are you crying?"
"Why do you care?"
"I don't, I just wanna know, before I kill you."
"I just found out that my real parents weren't actually my real parents, and that my proper parents were wizards who ditched me at birth."
"Oh."
"Yeah. So if you're gonna kill me, kill me now. Because I have nothing to live for. The parents who loved me are dead. My real parents disowned me before I could even sit up. And Snape will never love me like a daughter. So go ahead. Cos I'm sick of people saving me."
Malfoy looked at me, confused.
"Won't your boyfriend be upset?"
"Who, Neville?" He nodded. "Probably. But I'm easily replaceable. So just do it!"
"Oh. Ok then." He walked closer to me.
"Avada Kedavra!" I slumped to the floor, as Draco laughed, and walked away.
"Father will be pleased." He muttered, walking out through the trees.