Once he was sure there was nothing more he could do for Potter, Severus went over to assess the damage to the Longbottom boy.  "Longbottom, exactly where is the pain?"

"M...my back, sir," Neville said groaning. 

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but what part of your back.  Is it your lower back, upper back, or both?" Severus said.

"Um, I don't know.  Both, I guess," Neville said.  He probably should know exactly which part of his back hurt, but the pain was so intense that it made it difficult to pinpoint the exact location. 

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Severus asked. 

"If I am, I can't feel it above this pain," Neville said.

"Alright, I'm going to touch your back.  Let me know when it begins to hurt," Severus said before softly placing his hand on the boy's lower back.

Neville let out a bloodcurdling scream the moment his professor touched him. 

Severus immediately retracted his hand.  "Well, I would definitely say your back is broken.  How badly remains to be determined."

"A...am I going to be paralyzed?" Neville asked fearfully.  He wasn't completely stupid.  He knew what a back injury could end up meaning for him and it scared him.  He didn't want to be paralyzed.

"It's a possibility," Severus told him.  He wouldn't lie.  He'd never lied to make anyone feel better and he wasn't about to start now.  It wouldn't do Longbottom any good for him to lie anyway.  Though he supposed giving him some hope wouldn't be a bad thing.  "However, you can limit the risks of that by remaining still.  Try not to move around too much.  If you do have a spinal injury, it'll only make things worse."

"Y...yes, Professor," Neville said.

Severus got up and went to check on other victims.  He noticed Ginny Weasley on the ground on the other side of the room.  She hadn't moved since he got there.  He immediately made his way over.  "Ms. Weasley, are you alright?"

"My head hurts and I feel dizzy.  And I'm really tired," Ginny said.

Severus sucked in a breath.  He knew enough to know that those were the symptoms of a major concussion.  "You have a concussion, which means you must try to stay awake."

"I'll try, sir, but I'm really tired," Ginny said quietly.

"Professor!" someone called.

Severus turned to see Finnegan and Thomas leaned over an injured third year.  He immediately went over.  "Weasley, get over there and keep your sister awake," he said without even turning to see if he was listened to.

Severus leaned down in front of the injured boy.  The child had a large gash on his head and he was very pale.  Severus brought two fingers down to feel for a pulse.  After a minute, he pulled them away and sighed sadly.  The boy was gone. 

"Professor?" Seamus asked.

Severus shook his head in answer.

"Professor Snape!"

Severus turned to see Granger huddled by Potter.  He immediately rushed over to them. 

"He's really pale, Professor and he's bleeding a lot," Hermione said worriedly.

Severus sighed.  She was right.  The makeshift bandages that were wrapped around the boy's arms were soaked almost all the way through.  If he didn't get help soon, he wasn't going to make it.  "There's nothing we can do right now."

Severus than noticed something on Potter's right hand.  He turned it over to see that something was carved into his hands.  It was the words ‘I must not tell lies'.  "Miss Granger, would you happen to know where this came from?"

Hermione followed his gaze to Harry's hand and cringed.  "It was Professor Umbridge.  She makes him use a blood quill during detention."

Severus swore under his breath.  "And you didn't think to tell anyone before now."

"Harry didn't want us to.  He said Dumbledore couldn't really do anything anyway since Umbridge was brought in by the Ministry," Hermione said.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  A blood quill is an illegal object.  Using it on anyone, let alone a student, could get someone a lengthy term in Azkaban, Ministry employee or not.  Potter should've told someone, and if he didn't, you should've," Severus said harshly.

Just then the transparent form of Nearly Headless Nick came into view.  "Oh, Merlin's Beard!"

"Sir Nickolas," Hermione said.

"I assume you're here on the headmaster's request," Severus said.

"Actually, former Professor Lupin asked, but it was on the headmaster's orders.  They want to know the status of everyone, especially Gryffindor," Nick said.

"The status is very bad," Severus said.

"I can see that," Nick said as he glanced down at Harry.

"You need to tell the headmaster that he needs to get us out of here," Severus said seriously.

"He's going to want somewhat of an account of injuries," Nick said. 

"Potter and Longbottom are the worst off.  Longbottom has a broken back, possibly a spinal injury and Potter...  Well, I think Potter is self-explanatory.  Also, Ginny Weasley has a concussion.  You can mention that too," Severus said.

"Any casualties?" Nick asked.

Severus glanced over at the third year he'd just seen.  "At least one, probably more.  The dorms are caved in.  It's likely that anyone inside were killed."

"I shall check," Nick said before gliding towards where the doors used to be and disappearing.  He returned seconds later with a grim look on his face.  If a ghost were capable, he would probably be sick right now. 

"Well?" Severus asked. 

"There's nothing left of it.  The Ceiling almost completely caved in and so are most of the walls.  I didn't need to check.  No one can survive that," Nick said.

Severus was quiet for a minute as he thought about all the young lives lost.  He forced it to the back of his mind though.  He couldn't do anything about those children.  He had to focus on the ones that could still be saved.  "Get to the headmaster.  Tell him that he needs to get in here soon.  If he doesn't..."  He glanced down at the Potter boy.  "Let's just say that another name will be added to the casualty list.

Nick nodded and glided through the walls.

"Professor, do you think we'll get in time?" Hermione asked. 

Severus looked down at the severely injured boy. He took a good look at the boy's current state and how quickly he was deteriorating.   Again, he felt the need to be brutally honest.  "It's doubtful."