A/N: This was written for the little girl elephant (Susan Bones) in the Build a Zoo challenge on HPFC. Word count: 1,869

Slytherin Through and Through

Susan's stomach twisted as she did her best to complete Professor Carrow's assigned essay in a way that wouldn't arose any anger but also wouldn't compromise her morals. It was an impossible task, but she'd been trying her best for the past hour.

Flipping through her book, she realized some of the information she needed wasn't there. She groaned, pushing back from the table and stretching her arms out in front of her. She glanced around the packed common room. Spending time where the Carrows could get you was inadvisable and had led to the common room being busier than ever before.

No one else in her house had bothered to take seventh year Muggle Studies, so she knew there was no chance of anyone having the book she needed.

That meant she had to make a trip to the library. It was either that or getting punished by Carrow for not completing the assignment. Dread made her stomach feel like a lead weight. The Carrows loved to prowl the halls in the evenings, and they were especially fond of visiting the library, where they could question students on their reading choices and come up with reasons why those choices required disciplinary action. If Susan was found reading about Muggles, she knew what would happen, even if she stressed that it was for an assignment Carrow herself had assigned.

For nearly half an hour, she sat at the table with her essay staring up at her, but finally, she knew she had little choice.

Pushing herself up from her chair, she threw her bag over her shoulder, willing herself not to appear as terrified as she felt as she left the Hufflepuff Common Room behind.

Arriving at the library, Susan was met with a tight smile from Madam Pince. She did her best to smile back and not let her fear show. She knew she wasn't successful. She could certainly see the weariness in Pince's posture that she couldn't conceal after months of the Carrows terrorizing her sacred space.

Susan shivered as she navigated her way through the shelves, though she took comfort in the fact that Pince's look when she arrived hadn't been one of warning. That meant the Carrows weren't currently in the library, only that they could appear at any time.

Hands shaking, Susan pulled a Muggle Studies book off the shelf to inspect its contents, followed by another, and another. Frowning, she placed them back one by one. No new books had been added since the Death Eaters' reign had begun, and the Muggle Studies books Hogwarts had weren't the sorts of books that could help Susan.

"Need help?"

Susan gasped, whirling around and pressing her hand to her rushing heart.

"Sorry!"

Daphne Greengrass took several steps forward, reaching out as if she were going to do something before thinking better of it and stopping herself, hands falling to her sides.

"I didn't mean to scare you," she continued. "It's just that you seemed to be having a hard time."

Susan gave her a sceptical look. Greengrass's family weren't known Death Eaters, but the other girl was still a Slytherin. Their house had become more insular than ever with the new regime in place. Susan cast a distrustful look around for anyone else wearing green.

"I'm alone," Greengrass said with a frown. "I just wanted to know if you needed help finding something."

Susan inspected Greengrass for signs of deception, but she couldn't find any.

"It's Professor Carrow's Muggle Studies assignment. I can't find the right book for it."

There was no harm in admitting that much, but the words made Greengrass grimace.

"I'm not in that class," she admitted, "but that sounds like something more likely to be in the restricted section."

Susan sighed.

"That's what I was afraid of."

Pince would probably let her into the restricted section if she asked and said what it was for. The librarian knew as well as any of the students what the Carrows' assignments were like. But that section of the library gave Susan the creeps, and she had already come to hate the library enough.

"I could go with you," Greengrass offered, brow furrowed. "If that would make you feel better, that is."

Susan bit her lip as she considered it. She would feel better with someone by her side, but she didn't trust Greengrass to have her back if something were to happen.

"Thank you," she said, voice trembling.

Greengrass offered her a small smile that eased Susan's anxiety somewhat.

When she left the library ten minutes later, it was with a small wave towards Greengrass and another small smile.

It became routine. Each time Susan realized she needed a book from the library, she worked up the courage to go only to discover Daphne already there.

Her anxiety never disappeared, but it eased knowing there'd be someone to defend her if needed. And, after several trips, she did trust Daphne to defend her if the need arose. The Carrows appeared a few times while the girls were together, but when they saw Susan in the presence of a Slytherin, they merely observed instead of interfering.

Susan wondered if the Carrows thought Daphne was corrupting her to their way of thinking, but if anything, Susan felt it was the opposite. The more she talked to Daphne, the more she was drawn to the girl who was nothing like Susan had come to expect from a Slytherin.

Their conversations only skirted around dangerous topics. They never outright discussed the Carrows or You-Know-Who or the war, but Susan got the feeling that Daphne's opinions were more complicated than she had initially believed. That was the hope she held onto.

"Can I ask you something?" Susan asked one day as they were skimming the shelves for a book on animal Transfiguration.

"Of course," Daphne said with an easy smile.

"Why were you in here that first day you first spoke to me? Why offer to help? And why are you always here when I am?"

"That's more than one question," Daphne pointed out with a laugh.

"And that's not an answer to any of them."

Daphne grinned, but she was wringing her hands together in front of her.

"I've always preferred studying in the library. It's less distracting than the common room, and it was obvious when the other students stopped coming in here. Then I noticed that they always looked terrified when they did come. You were the first person I said something to. I guess I wanted to make someone feel safer."

"How altruistic of you. Are you sure you're a Slytherin?"

Daphne narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," she said sharply. "Maybe not the same sort of Slytherin that others are, but I'm undoubtedly a Slytherin."

Susan tried to smile, though she wasn't sure she agreed with Daphne's conclusion. She understood being loyal to your house. She couldn't understand it if one's house was full of murderers.

"You know I'm a half-blood," Susan said, tapping her fingers against the spine of a book as she pretended to read the title.

"Of course I know that, Bones," Daphne said, her voice falsely stern. "The whole school knows. Bit hard to miss someone's blood status these days."

"If I was a Muggleborn, would you have helped me?"

There were half-bloods in Slytherin after all—their illustrious headmaster was one of them—but Susan had never heard of a Muggleborn being accepted into the house.

Daphne's face grew dark.

"I'm not a heartless monster. It's not like I enjoy seeing people scared."

It wasn't as strong a defense of Muggleborns as Susan would have liked to hear, but it was better than what she had feared receiving.

After Christmas, the population of Hogwarts dropped once more, which made the ones that remained larger targets for the Carrows' anger. Yet Susan found herself spending a lot of time in the library alongside Daphne. It was one of the only places they could meet, and Pince provided at least some protection from the worst of the Carrows' behavior.

Time and again, Susan considered telling Daphne about the DA and the Room of Requirement, but each time, she stopped herself before the words came out. She had come to trust Daphne, but she'd also come to care for her. She couldn't ignore that Daphne was safer as just another Slytherin in the eyes of the Carrows than as a member of the student-led resistance.

If Daphne suspected her of belonging to anything, she never mentioned it, for which Susan was grateful.

It became their normal. Or as normal as anything could be when the war had penetrated the walls of Hogwarts itself.

Chaos reigned around Susan. She tried to take deep breaths and steady herself, but that was nearly impossible to do when she couldn't predict when the next spell would fly in her direction.

As she ran across the Hogwarts grounds, her eyes scanned the area for new targets. She dodged a red bullet, her heart racing.

The sight of a familiar head of blond hair brought her to a stand still, her stomach twisting into knots. The idea of Daphne fighting had been in the back of her mind since the battle had broken out, but she'd been hoping that she had left like many of the other Slytherins. Apparently, that wasn't the case.

It took a moment for her to realize that Daphne was facing off against a Death Eater. Her heart soared, and she rushed forward without a second thought.

A purple spell zoomed towards Daphne. Susan could tell the other girl wouldn't block it in time and threw her arm up, shouting a shield spell. Daphne cringed, only to straighten—eyes wide—when the spell didn't hit her. Her head whipped around, and she smiled widely when she saw Susan.

Susan's gaze remained on the Death Eater. She sent a stunning spell, and the woman collapsed, her wand rolling across the ground. Susan bent down to pick it up as Daphne spoke.

"I guess there's no use hiding my crush on a half-blood anymore."

Susan scowled once she'd processed the words. Her heart raced, and she couldn't tell if it was from knowing her life was in danger or the way the smirk on Daphne's face was affecting her.

"We're in the middle of a battle."

Her anger did nothing to quell Daphne's smile. The Slytherin took a step closer, though she was smart enough to look around for potential threats before she let her gaze settle on Susan. Susan's breath quickened, and it was all she could do to maintain a grip on her wand.

"I don't know if that's a bad thing," Daphne said softly. "Us kissing could be considered a weapon of war to the Death Eaters."

Susan took a step back, rolling her eyes.

"I think you've already pissed them off enough to make a point," she said, gesturing at the stunned Death Eater.

Daphne frowned, and it was enough to make Susan grin despite the situation.

She kissed Daphne on the cheek, earning herself a grin in response.

"Later," she promised, grabbing Daphne's hand and pulling her close as they were pulled back into the fight.