Author Notes:

This fanfic is based on a crazy dream I had after watching Game of Thrones before bed. Basically it's Hogwarts in the Game of Thrones world.

I am currently on season 6 of Game of Thrones (TV), but I already know a good deal of spoilers, which this story may have. I do not know all the details, so if this story does not make sense based on the show, that is why.

Anna Snow is 16 and Severus Snape is in his 20's-30's (he started teaching in the books at 21, and since there is no Harry Potter in this storyline, his age could be anywhere in between, I'll leave it up to the reader for now).

Chapter 1

Anna Snow timidly knocked on Headmaster Dumbledore's door.

"Come in," a kind old, familiar voice answered.

The door opened on its own as Anna expected it would and though the headmaster didn't sound upset, she still felt nervous entering the room. Dumbledore waved his hand and the door slowly closed on its own behind her.

"I presume you know why I have called you here?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically. He waved Anna to come over and sit in the empty sofa chair across from his mahogany desk, which was cluttered with various books and papers.

Anna panicked as she walked over to his desk, "I'm sorry. I should have left when told. I just wanted…"

"You're not in trouble my dear, not at all," Dumbledore interrupted her, "now please sit." He motioned to the maroon chair across from him.

Anna felt relieved and sat down, "So this isn't about…."

"Oh it is," confirmed Dumbledore. He held up a dainty white teacup with black trim and a floating white teapot bearing the Hogwarts crest floated over and poured some tea into the cup. "Tea?" He offered the teacup to Anna.

"Sure?" responded a very confused Anna. The teacup magically floated towards her and she grabbed the handle with her right index and middle finger. Meanwhile, Dumbledore had found another teacup for himself and had the floating teapot magically fill his cup.

"Do you remember what I told you about Professor Snape?" asked Dumbledore. He waved away the teapot.

"You said we had something in common," answered Anna, "which is pretty vague Headmaster." She took a sip of her tea.

"Yes, well, it is not my place to tell another's secret," said Dumbledore, "without their permission of course."

"Sir?" questioned Anna.

"When Professor Snape commanded you all to leave class early, why did you stay?" asked Dumbledore.

Anna looked down into her teacup. "I... I wanted to help."

"Why?" pressed Dumbledore.

"I just… I had a feeling…" Anna stammered. She wasn't sure how to explain it to the headmaster, but right before Professor Snape's outburst, Anna had heard an all too familiar sound, one that makes her heart race to this day, the sound of chains clinking.

However, Anna was able to bring her mind back to reality and realized it was just a student carelessly clanking his cauldron with a metal spoon. It was Professor Snape that had panicked, and in his fear, he lashed out at the class and told everyone to leave. Anna wasn't sure why, but in that moment she felt a strange connection with the professor and wanted to help. She remembered him trembling when she had touched his hand. It wasn't anger, but fear that had caused his outburst.

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to Anna. He gently rested a hand on her shoulder. He may not know Snape's story, but he knew Anna's well enough to believe that she could help the professor. "I want you to share what happened to you with Professor Snape," Dumbledore spoke and emphasized what he said next, "but only if you are okay doing so."

Anna looked up into Dumbledore's eyes in stunned silence. She had only ever shared her past with a handful of people and never went into all the details.

"Only if it's okay with you," Dumbledore emphasized again. He did not want to pressure the girl, but he felt that she could help Professor Snape and that it would be beneficial for both to have someone to talk to that understood the horrors they had faced.

Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew Dumbledore well enough to know that he wouldn't ask this of her if he didn't think there was some benefit to it.

Also, if Professor Snape had gone through a similar experience as her, it would explain his reaction in the classroom. It would also explain why Dumbledore wanted her to take interest in Professor Snape and why he was asking her to share her tragic history with him..

Even though Anna had seen many healers, she never felt anyone truly understood what she went through. It was hard to find anyone else who went through what she had. Professor Snape might be someone she could relate to. At least that is what the headmaster was strongly hinting at.

Anna breathed out. She had made her decision. "If you think it will help."

"You asked to see me, Headmaster," a deep, cold sounding voice came from the door. Professor Snape had entered the room without making a sound. Anna didn't even hear the door open and she was sure Professor Snape's timing wasn't just a coincidence.

"Ah, perfect timing Professor Snape," Dumbledore waved the professor over to him and winked at Anna, confirming her suspicions that the Headmaster had planned this all along. The door closed behind Snape as he walked toward the headmaster.

"You know Anna Snow of course," Dumbledore motioned to Anna. Anna placed her teacup on the headmaster's desk and stood up to be polite. She was a student after all.

"Yes," Snape answered coolly, "The girl who doesn't listen."

Anna started to regret her decision when she saw Professor Snape's scowl, "Headmaster, maybe this isn't such a good idea…"

"Nonsense," Dumbledore waved his wand to magically move a stack of books in the corner of the office, revealing another maroon chair, which he then magically flew over to them. Another wave of his wand and the two chairs turned to face each other, "Now Professor, I would like for you and Miss Snow to talk."

"Excuse me Sir?" asked a confused Snape.

"The two of you have a lot more in common than you think and I would like for you to listen to Miss Snow," Dumbledore motioned for Snape to sit in the new chair he had floated over.

Snape was flabbergasted, "She's just a child,"

"Yes, well age doesn't matter when it comes to the past does it?" Dumbledore countered.

Snape opened his mouth to speak, but was unsure as to what to say next.

Anna, who had kept quiet during Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore's argument, took advantage of the silence to speak, "Professor, I am truly sorry for not leaving when you asked, but I know, I'm almost certain, you heard it too."

Professor Snape's scowl was replaced with stunned silence.

Anna, feeling brave, continued, "It was just a student carelessly messing with his cauldron, but it made a clanking sound. For anyone else, this sound doesn't mean much, but for me and I think for you too," Anna rolled up her sleeves to reveal two red rings around her wrist, permanent scars from her time as a captive, "it still makes our hearts race, our hands tremble."

The room was silent as Anna spoke; you could hear a pin drop. Anna rolled her sleeves back down, hiding the scars that constantly remind her of the nightmare she had lived through.

"I will leave you two to talk," said Dumbledore. He rested a hand on Snape's shoulder and lowered his voice so it was only audible to the professor, "She's sixteen, no longer a child. It would do you some good to open up to someone." Dumbledore then looked at Anna and spoke in a normal voice, "Take as long as you need."

Anna Snow and Professor Snape stood in awkward silence until they heard the door close behind the headmaster.

Anna took a deep breath and broke the silence, "Professor, I know the headmaster thinks this would help you, but if you aren't comfortable, I understand and I won't force you."

"No, it's alright," said Professor Snape, "but maybe we should sit down." Anna nodded and sat down in the chair she was sitting in before, though now it was turned to face Professor Snape. Snape took a seat across from her.

The teapot with the Hogwarts crest floated over. Snape procured a teacup with his wand and the teapot poured him some tea. The teapot floated over to Anna.

"No thanks," Anna said to the teapot and it floated over to Dumbledore's desk, landing next to Anna's empty teacup.

"Your wrists," Snape spoke in a much gentler tone that Anna had ever heard from the professor. He was known to be strict, cold, but now he sounded warm, almost kind. "What happened? You don't have to go into the details..."

"I was taken captive," Anna kept it simple for now. She hardly knew the professor and she also wasn't sure what may trigger him.

"How old were you?" asked Snape.

"Nine," answered Anna.

"How long?"

"It felt like an eternity, but it was four years."

The room fell silent. Anna watched as the professor fiddled with his fingers. He obviously wanted to know more. Maybe Dumbledore was right, maybe talking about it would help the professor. He may have been freed from his physical chains, but his mind was still trying to break free.

"Professor," Anna spoke to get his attention, "You can ask me anything. I don't mind. I've already talked to multiple healers. This isn't the first time I've shared what happened to me." She hadn't meant to ramble on like that and it was then she realized how much she really did want to speak with someone, someone who could understand the trauma she endured.

"How do you do it?" inquired Snape.

"I'm sorry. Do what professor?" asked a confused Anna.

"You said you heard the same sound, the chains, but you sat there just like all the other students, and I," The professor stopped talking. They both already knew what happened next. He wasn't proud of it.

Anna rested her hands on the Professor's, "My heart still pounds, my hands still tremble. Even after years of help and support, I'm not better. I may never be, but the first step… the first step to get to where I am is to talk about it."

Snape looked her in the eyes. This was the second time their eyes had met, but this time there was no anger in those dark eyes. She didn't feel like she was burning under his gaze. No, it was a different sensation this time. She could feel her heart fluttering.

"If it helps, I can tell you what happened to me, maybe without all the details for now," Anna offered, placing her hands on her lap before she got too lost in his eyes.

Snape nodded his headed, a silent approval for Anna to go ahead.

Anna breathed in and breathed out slowly to help herself relax before telling her story, "We were attacked. My father was a great fighter, but there were just too many. I was pulled from my mother's arms.

I could have been raped and killed, like so many other women and children, and that would have been the end, but instead, being who I was, the daughter of Jon Snow, I was taken as a prisoner.

I was kept in chains in a cold, dark room where I was tortured."

Anna stopped to take a deep breath. Talking about it still made her heart race and she could feel herself shaking. She breathed out and focused on her feet. She could feel them on the floor. She was no longer a prisoner. The man who had taken her could no longer hurt her. She was safe here.

"How did you escape?" Professor Snape asked, eager to hear more.

"I didn't really," Anna answered, "There was another war.

It was the first time I saw the outside in years; the light was blinding. I was forced to wear a cloak as being a girl made me an easy target for men, which had the added bonus of blocking out the sun.

We ended up being spotted anyway, and a fight broke out. In doing so my captor had let go of the chains that had kept me bound to him. I didn't have time to think. I just ran.

I had no idea where I was. I was malnourished, weak, so I didn't get far before I became exhausted. I was far enough away I couldn't hear the fighting, but I kept walking. I was too scared to stop moving, that I walked all through the night and it wasn't until morning I came across a stream that I finally decided to stop for a drink.

I was tired and hungry, but with my hands being chained, finding food would be difficult. I also knew I had to keep moving. My only hope was to find another city. So I walked on for another day until I found a road. I knew it was dangerous to walk on the road, so I kept in the forest, with the road just in view.

When I arrived at the city at the end of the road, I panicked. Who do you trust after you have been a prisoner for so long? Who were your allies? Who were your enemies? I had no idea how long I had been gone from the world. I didn't know who was in power. I didn't even know if my parents were still alive. So I hid in the forest and just watched. I would sneak into the city at night though to look for food.

One night I got caught. I was terrified and when he asked for me to show him my hands, I did so right away. It was the first time I ever saw magic. One flick on his wand and the chains around my wrists fell to the ground. That was the first time I met Headmaster Dumbledore."

Anna ended her story there. She had clenched her hands at some point during her recount of the past. She slowly uncurled her fingers, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath in and slowly breathed out. "You are safe here," she thought to herself as she felt her body relax.

"Are you alright, Miss Snow?" Professor Snape asked. He didn't believe anyone could have gone through what he had, until now, and he was worried that he might have pried too much.

"I will be," Anna spoke honestly, "it's never easy to remember the past, but telling it is freeing in a way. I always feel sort of relieved afterward." She smiled kindly at the professor.

"I…I was seven" Professor Snape started, but his body began to tremble as soon as he started speaking.

"It's alright," Anna interrupted him and tenderly rested her hands on the professor's hands, "You don't have to tell me or anyone until you are ready."

"It's only fair," Professor Snape countered.

"That's not how healing works," Anna argued, "I told you what happened to me because I have come to terms with it. I don't want you to tell me what happened to you until you want to tell me..."

"I want to tell you," Snape interjected, removing his hands from hers. Anna was taken aback by his harsh reaction.

"Sorry, I didn't mean…" he quickly apologized when he saw the pained expression on Anna's face. "I want to tell you."

"When you're ready," said Anna, "I will be here to listen." She understood the professor's desires all too well as she once felt the same.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Professor Dumbledore had returned, "I know I said to take as long as you like, but it's getting late and it's time for Miss Snow to head back to the dormitory."

"Yes headmaster," Anna stood. She hadn't realized how late it had gotten. She looked back at the professor, who had also stood, but it felt awkward to talk to him with Dumbledore in the room, "umm... Goodnight professor."

"Goodnight Miss Snow," Snape responded.

Dumbledore held the door open for Anna to go out. He rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "There will be plenty of time for you two to talk."

"Thank you, headmaster," Anna smiled, "Good night."

"Good night," Dumbledore responded before gently nudging Anna on her way. He then closed the door and turned his attention to Snape, "How did it go?" He walked over to his desk.

"Fine," said Snape.

"Fine?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Snape, but didn't feel it would do any good to press the matter. He sat down at his desk. "I see. Would you like to talk to Miss Snow again?"

Snape hesitated. He wanted to talk to Miss Snow. For one he felt he owed her his story because she had shared hers, and the other reason was that he felt she was the only one he could talk to, but he also was afraid of getting too close to a student.

"Do you think that is wise?" Snape questioned Dumbledore's motives, "Students and teachers aren't supposed to have outside relationships."

"Rules are just guidelines Severus," countered Dumbledore, "and there are exceptions to every rule." Dumbledore paused to see how Snape would respond, but the professor remained silent. He seemed lost in his thoughts, but Dumbledore had a hunch and he decided to see if he could confirm it, "Are you are fond of Miss Snow?"

"No!" exclaimed Snape in a bit too defensive of a tone.

"It's alright…" Dumbledore responded, "We'll worry about it should it come to that, but back to my first question, would you like to talk to her again?"

"Headmaster, I assure you there is nothing going on between me and Miss Snow," contested Snape.

"Would you like to see her again?" Dumbledore asked again, ignoring Snape's denial.

Snape was peeved, but he answered Dumbledore anyway, "Yes."

"Good," Dumbledore smiled, "She has a free period after your class. You can use that time to talk in your office or wherever you feel comfortable. The weather is quite nice this time of year…"

"This is a set up isn't it," Snape scowled.

"Yes," Dumbledore didn't feel any need to lie, "You may have not told me everything Severus, but I know enough about your past that when I met Miss Snow… well it wasn't hard to put the two together. Other members of the staff felt the same. It was just a matter of timing…."

"Why now?" asked Snape.

"Because of the incident in your classroom," Dumbledore stood, "Miss Snow reached out to you." Dumbledore's eyes locked onto Snape's, "You two need each other."

"She's a student," Snape weakly argued.

"But she won't always be," Dumbledore rebutted, "I can't force you, Severus, so the decision is ultimately up to you." He waved his hand at the door and it opened, signaling their conversation had come to an end, "Goodnight Severus."

"Goodnight Headmaster," Snape sighed before leaving the Headmaster's office. He was still angry at Dumbledore for meddling in his life, but he didn't have anything else to say and it was late.