Mandy cursed as the bottom of her crutch caught on a stone and caused her to wobble precariously. She repositioned herself on the damn things and started her little trek again.

She honestly hadn't known what to expect when she had started this, and she was starting to think that she should have gone to the St. Mungo's apothecary, as it would have been less trouble and easier to get to. Only...Snape was the best potion maker in London, and he was slightly familiar, even if he was still slightly scary.

It didn't end up taking as much time as she expected, even on the crutches and now she was standing outside a quaint little whitewashed building. And that's all she was doing. She wasn't sure if she should just walk right in, or if she should ring the damn gong. She attempted to open the door with one hand, and tried to keep the crutch under her arm, but it fell as the door swung open. She looked at the crutch lying on the ground and at the open door and she sighed. "Bugger."

She braced her hand on the other crutch and reached down for the fallen one, wavering slightly as she picked it up. "There we go," she said to herself as she hobbled into the shop.

Hearing the commotion at the front of his shop, Severus left his simmering Dreamless Sleep Draught, and went to discover what it was. The girls had gone home already, as he tried to get them out the door earlier on Fridays. Striding into the front of his shop, he saw a young woman on crutches. "Oh dear," he muttered, "this will not have been a good day for her, from the looks of it." He strode forwards and placed a chair in the middle of the shop, closing the door behind her as she entered.

"Welcome to Hyacinth Elixirs, Miss..." He recognized her, and started filing rapidly through his memory to recall her name. "Brocklehurst?" He helped her sit, and stood before her. "What can I help you with?"

She sighed as she collapsed into the chair, propping the crutches on the floor next to it. She did have to say that she was surprised her remembered her. He'd had several hundred students over the course of his teaching career.

"I need a few potions," she trailed off and laughed nervously. "Of course I need potions, why else would I come?" She cleared her throat and began again. "I need two potions in particular. I need a weight loss potion." Color filled her cheeks in a rosy blush. "And I need an insomnia potion, well, one to get rid of insomnia."

Severus strode to the one wall, and plucked a potion that was emitting a slight purple tinge from the shelf. "This is a basic Sleeping Draught. You'll only need to take one spoonful of it." He studied her carefully. "As for the other... Miss Brocklehurst, I daresay you do not look as though you require a weight loss potion at all. Were you prescribed one, perhaps?"

She frowned. What did he mean it didn't look like she needed one? Of course she did, she wasn't blind was she? "No, I wasn't prescribed one. But I still need to lose twenty pounds to reach my target weight. Exercise alone isn't cutting it."

"Forgive my rudeness Miss Brocklehurst. You look to be healthy, to my eyes. When that is the case, weight loss potions can cause more harm than good. It would be... unethical for me to brew you one without a Medi-Witch or Wizard's approval." He nodded as she blinked at him. "Weight loss is an easy area to get things going very wrong. I would need to brew you a specific potion, according to your body type and the amount of weight you need to lose." He looked at the woman before him, not understanding why she felt as though she needed to lose weight. "I may be able to brew a minor one, to start with, but by going the potions route, you are signing on for long-term use, and there is evidence that they may be addictive. I would advise against it, in your case, Miss Brocklehurst, for you are certainly not overweight to my eyes."

She didn't understand why he was saying that. She saw herself in the mirror everyday. She was fat, she was. She had been every since she was a child. At school she'd been a miserable porker, and Eric had left her for another, thinner woman and her parents were always saying what a freak she was. They thought she didn't know what they were saying, but she did. "I need it," she whispered, staring at her hands.

Snape could read her sorrow in her eyes, as well as hearing her thoughts. Sighing, he realized that by probing, he'd made this into his problem. He saw the pain, the anguish, and couldn't bring himself to make a snide remark. It was far too like kicking a puppy. In for a penny, in for a pound, Severus Snape. He knelt before the girl and looked at her. "Miss Brocklehurst. I understand that you are hurting, but you must trust me when I tell you that your perception of being overweight is all up here." He tapped her forehead gently. "I know that it is hard to believe when a former teacher, whom you probably didn't like all that much, says so, but have you known me to be less than honest?" He sighed, remembering how hard it was to be a young person, and to feel like a failure. At least she hasn't been the one to get the one she loved killed, he thought bitterly. "I have made my share of mistakes based upon perceptions that were wrong. Trust an old man when he says you don't need it. Anyone who suggests otherwise is an utter pillock."

Her eyes stung, and she wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She wasn't sure if he believed what he was saying, or if he was only telling her what he thought she needed to hear, and she couldn't shake the feeling that he was right...but, there had to be a reason that people left and she was sure it was her weight. "How much do I owe you for the Sleeping Draught?" she asked. She would see a medi wizard to get that potion prescribed. She couldn't exercise with a broken ankle, after all.

"Miss Brocklehurst, it is on the house for today. With more sleep, perhaps you'll actually realize I am speaking the truth." He helped her out of the chair, and picked up her crutches. "Do see a Med Witch, you should have that ankle looked at." He smiled, a sad smile, and spoke one last time. "And those who tear you down, Miss Brocklehurst? They often are the people who have the most to hide. Be stronger than them, and like yourself."

She positioned the crutches under her arms, tucked the potion into her back and attempted a smile for him. "Thank you," she said. "For the potion and the advice." She would see a medi witch, but her ankle had already been as healed as it was going to get. She needed the potion, he just didn't seem to get that. She needed it.

Severus sighed as he watched her go. She was going to come back with a prescription that some jerk of a Medi Wizard would agree she needed. Never had he been the type to want to go after the people who had hurt someone else, but he felt quite strongly that were the people who had convinced that young woman that she wasn't enough to walk through the door to his shop, he'd not hesitate in showing them some of his more interesting poisons. Face it, Severus, you're a marshmallow. He shuddered. He was turning soft.

{Summary: Mandy goes to buy some necessities. Through the interaction Snape realizes something horrible about himself.}