Chapter Text
McGonagall hadn't always wanted to be a mother. She had been content to work at boutiques and rise to the top of fashion trends when she was younger. Her obsessions lasted her through her first century, past the point where even witches could have children.
And then.... then it hit. On her 112th birthday, she remembered it well. Friends came around, some with children in tow, and she had to excuse herself to cry.
It had been very confusing, but she supposed that the heart, mind, and body were almost never on the same page, so why should they be on the same page about this?
There was magic one could perform to have a child, no matter one's age or gender, but even then, it was dangerous and often resulted in debilitating dysphoria. And she didn't have a partner of either gender to help her. She had looked for a while, but she just.... couldn't find any. There were plenty of interesting mages that she could have just married, but in the end, she didn't really love them. She didn't really understand it herself, but she never could wrap her mind around the idea of a romantic partner.
So, she had done the next best thing. She had taken classes, received training, and read all sorts of books before applying to be a teacher at Hogwarts.
The headmaster, Dumbledore, welcomed her in and she became the Transfiguration teacher, and, eventually, the Head of house for Gryffindor.
Now, it was like she had many children. She tucked in the ones with homesickness and helped those who caught that year's version of dragon pox. She laughed along with them, made sure they ate more vegetables than candy (or at least the same amount of vegetables and candy) and helped with any issues some of her new children had with their friends.
Then, she would watch them grow up, and they would leave, but many would come back to spend some time with her and play a game of exploding snaps as though it were Sunday evening in the common room again.
It was wonderful. Plus, Minerva was able to get children out of bad situations when she saw it. She didn't have too many that needed help like that, thank Merlin, but it happened often enough she knew exactly what to look for. She never missed those signs a second time as her mind replayed them to her in horror over and over again when she lay awake at night.
Still, it was all worth it. Every second of it.
This year was different. The students were arriving and Slughorn was nowhere to be found, leaving his Slytherins without a head of house for the evening.
Minerva didn't need to be asked. She elbowed past Professor Sprout to volunteer to handle the Slytherin students.
Minerva had also taken on the duty of welcoming the first years to Hogwarts and telling them how the Sorting would happen. The first years were always her favorite. She never grew tired of their awe in the light of the school, having just crossed the lake and seen it in all its glory. She wished she could assuage all of their nerves and tell them it would be alright, but the nerves wouldn't go away until the Sorting was over.
Still, Minerva tried.
She stood in front of the new batch of first years, giving them her faint smile. This batch already looked like they would be a handful. Especially the three students whispering to each other despite her having cleared her throat to get their attention.
She knew exactly who they were. James looked just like his father. Potter genes were strong, after all. And Sirius Black was easily recognizable himself. It was interesting that the two should be talking. Potters were typically Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors while Blacks tended to be mostly Slytherins. With them was a boy Minerva had been told about. Remus Lupin. A werewolf child who certainly looked like one. Scrawny, aged beyond his years, and scarred. Still, he looked happy enough to be talking with Potter and Black.
Minerva cleared her throat again and the boys looked up at her.
She nodded and began her beginning of year speech.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. The School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," she said, enjoying the shivers of nerves and excitement she drew from the group in front of her. "I am glad to see you have all made it in one piece. The Giant Squid must not have been hungry tonight."
There were a few looks of terror before the children seemed to realize she was teasing, and they started to laugh.
Minerva smiled, about to go on when she saw him.
The child looked so much like his mother, Eileen Prince. Minerva had heard that Eileen had turned down a marriage with Abraxas Malfoy and had love married a muggle. That, of course, wasn't a problem. What was a problem, however, was the child himself. He was thin. Too thin. His face was gaunt, his eyes just a little sunken in. He didn't have the puppy fat 11 year olds were supposed to have as they began to transition from children to teens. His hair was lank and greasy and tangled. A girl with red hair (perhaps a Weasley relative) was actually helping him with it, using a tiny brush she must have had in her bag.
He lifted a hand to grab her wrist, face twitching in an annoyed kind of pain, and Minerva felt her stomach sink when she saw how thin his wrists were. When the sleeve of his school robes slipped down, Minerva was certain she saw the edge of a bruise.
Minerva cleared her throat and worked her way through the rest of the speech, explaining that the Sorting hat would put them in one of four houses, but her mind was already on that boy.
Her Gryffindors could handle themselves for a bit. She would tell the prefects to take care of the children and keep them occupied while she went to the Slytherin dorms and spoke with them first. Then she would take the boy aside from whatever house he got sorted into and directly to Madam Pomfrey. Things should go normally from there and then she could give her lions their start of term talk then or in the morning.
Tomorrow, she would have to visit Eileen and see if she was the one to do this, or if she needed help herself. Either way, it would be unpleasant.
Minerva let the first years into the Great Hall where they lined up and she stood by the stood with the hat on it.
Minerva knew the feast would be a long one, as every moment the hat took to sing made her more and more antsy.
Finally, the Sorting got underway and she read each name, wondering which one belonged to that boy.
The Sorting nearly started off with a riot, as Sirius Black was sorted into Gryffindor. Gryffindors went wild and the pure blood Slytherins cried out in outrage. Minerva simply gave Sirius a smile and directed him to her house.
James and Remus, it seemed, would not be separated from their new friend as they went to her house too.
The red haired girl turned out to not be a Weasley or a Weasley relative. Lily Evans was also a Gryffindor.
Severus Snape. That was the boy's name.
He walked up to the stool, looking a little shaky. Minerva couldn't tell if it was from nerves or something else.
He sat down, thin hands on thin knees and Minerva gently placed the hat on his head and hoped he would be placed somewhere he could be happy.
"SLYTHERIN!"
At least it would be easy for Minerva to track him down. She watched him go, now noticing the limp he walked with and tried to hide.
She looked back at the first years that were left and kept a sigh to herself, wishing she could just skip to after the feast.
........................................
Minerva walked quickly to the dungeons after alerting the Gryffindor prefects she would be a bit late in coming to give the lions their talk. Slughorn hadn't shown up during the feast and the rumor was that he was sick after eating something a previous student had brought for him.
She soon reached the Slytherin dorms and murmured the password, stepping in to find all of the students waiting for her.
She looked around the common room and smiled. "I'm sure you're aware that Professor Slughorn is sick tonight, so I will be giving you your talk."
She cleared her throat and said, "The house of Slytherin is one of nobility and wisdom. Acting only after you think things through is an important part if being a Snake. You will watch out for each other, and be gentle with one another. Some of you young ones may be under the impression this is a house of backstabbers and Dark mages. I must impress upon you that it is not. You are to be leaders one day, and you are to work together with other houses to achieve your goals, understand?"
She got nods from the younger students and noticed a few eye rolls from pure-bloods, but no one said anything.
"Now, that hall has the girls dorms. You will find three or four to a room and your names are on the doors. If you are to experience any difficulties with your roommates, you shall let me or your head of house know when he returns. Boys dorms are down that hall and the same rules apply.
"Reminder that Madam Pomfrey will, over the course of this week, host lessons in puberty and other such things. The first years will have theirs before lunch tomorrow to start. Be sure to be there as this is a mandatory assembly. Are there any questions?"
She answered a few questions, now looking for Severus in the crowd. She began to panic internally when she couldn't see him. When the questions were over she pulled over a prefect. "Where is Severus Snape?"
"Hmm?" the teen asked, looking around. "Crap! Professor, I counted the first years twice, I promise! He should be here!"
"Don't worry, I shall look for him," Minerva said soothingly. "Help get the first years settled in their rooms and let me know if you have any trouble."
The teen nodded and she left the common room after looking around one more time.
After a moment of consideration, she took her cat form, sniffing at all of the scents to be found in the corridor.
Students, young and old, dungeon smells, lake, algae.
There. Her heart nearly stopped as she smelled blood. Not menstruation blood, but the blood from a festering wound.
She followed the trail down the hall where it stopped in front of a small one person bathroom. It was usually a looked over room, and one that could be locked from the inside.
Minerva gave a soft meow of worry. She considered how to proceed, when the door opened and dark, almost black eyes, looked out at her.
Severus was kneeling on the floor, and seemed relieved when he saw her.
"Thought I was hearin' things," he said in an accent that was some strange mix of upper and lower class.
Minerva considered transforming, but he opened the door wider and she saw he had taken off his robes. He didn't have the typical undergarments of a magus child on. Clothing made to be covering and treated differently than muggle undergarments. Mage undergarments were often meant to be decent for outer wear, as you needed to be able to strip out of contaminated robes quickly at times in public settings if you happened to get magic or potions on them that might eat through to you.
Instead, he wore just muggle boxers. There was a worn out tank top on the floor with a simple kit of bandages he was trying to address wounds with.
And the wounds were terrible. He had been belted severely enough the welts and cuts wrapped around his sides and over his shoulders. She couldn’t see the backs of his legs, but she didn't like the careful way he sat.
He had hand shaped bruises on his arms, and, without the scarf he had worn through dinner, she could see the hand shaped bruise around his throat.
She backed up quickly, aware that she was only seeing this much because he thought she was just a cat.
She turned her tail to him, and began her transformation, her back popping in complaint as she shifted.
She heard him gasp and the door slammed closed.
She cleared her throat when she was back in human form and very gently knocked on the door.
"Mr. Snape?" she asked.
She could only hear the scrambling behind the door as he rushed to get dressed and grab his things. Then, it went silent and he made no move to open the door.
"Severus?" Minerva asked, so, so gently.
He didn't respond again, and she tried to the handle.
He hadn't re-locked it, and it opened under her hand.
He was dressed again, complete with the scarf around his throat. He was pale and trembling and on the verge of tears.
"Please, Ma'am, it weren't what it looked like."
"I think it was," Minerva said. "You're not in trouble, dear. I want to get someone to take a proper look at your back, alright?"
She stepped back, and he didn't follow, eyes brimming with tears.
"Nothin'-nothin' is happenin'-," he said softly. "Nothin'. I'm just clumsy, see? Nothin'-"
"Severus. Come with me," Minerva said more sternly.
He jerked as his legs moved before his brain was ready, and he followed her down the hall.
She made sure he stuck with her as they left the dungeons and walked sown the halls to the infirmary.
Severus couldn’t stop trembling, his gaze very distant.
"What's wrong, dear?" Minerva asked. "What are you afraid is going to happen?"
"Ye'll call my parents," he said in a whispered. "And.... and nothin' happened but you think it did. And...."
"Will you be in trouble with them?" she asked, saddened by the notion, but it wouldn't be the first time she'd heard of it.
He nodded despite himself.
"I'll ensure you are safe," Minerva promised. "Try to relax. I will handle everything."
Severus didn't relax.