The sun was setting behind the Forbidden Forest, casting the tree's shadows onto the surrounding ground. The sky was orange, then soon it was red, and finally navy blue speckled with bright stars. Students gathered around until the next Thestral-pulled carriage arrived.
Leonora found herself in a carriage with some Ravenclaws she didn't recognize, and gazed off at the colorful night sky to reminisce of the lost summer.
Although it had only been a few months since Leonora left Hogwarts, she felt like a completely different person. So much had changed and she found herself wishing the past back.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't take back the summer, but if there was a spell to make that happen she would go through hell and back to find it. Being disowned by one of the oldest ancient families was no small feat.
Upon arriving at the highly protected castle, Leonora literally bumped into an old friend - Neville Longbottom.
"Sorry - Oh, Leo," Neville gasped as he recognized the girl stood beside him.
"Hi," Leonora said, immediately looking to her feet as the crowd shuffled through the entrance hall. She knew that he would have heard by then what happened. It was on the front cover of The Daily Prophet at least once in the past few weeks.
"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I'm always he- . . ." Neville just about whispered as he leaned down for the shorter student to hear him above everyone else's excited chatter.
"You're right, I don't want to talk about it," The girl cut him off, her cheeks growing even redder by the second.
Neville's face also began to look flustered as they continued to walk to the Great Hall for the feast. She doltishly expected the incident to stay between her and her family, but of course they wouldn't do this for her. Or anything.
Her family. A topic that she had been accustomed to ignore - going to extreme lengths such as Occluding for very long periods of time. It had taken her years to master, as she had the desire to keep her thoughts hidden even as a young witch.
Occlumency, she found, forced her to repress her feelings and hide them where nobody could find them; not even herself. It eased the pain.
Leonora slowly eased back into reality and enjoyed a rather silent meal sitting across from Neville at the Gryffindor table. He was often taken away from their silence battle with comments from Seamus or Ron about how especially good they believed the food to be that year and predictions for Quidditch.
Personally, Leonora disliked the 'Golden Trio,' as they were called. Harry was much so arrogant, although she did not write off his many accomplishments. She believed that Ron was a close minded slob who, very unlike his sister, didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Leonora then decided that Hermione wasn't all so bad - besides her need to know every single little detail about every single topic.
But maybe it was because it was instilled into her brain ever since she was born to dislike the traits that Gryffindors showed; growing up in a household of Slytherins with the most Slytherin bloodline in history impacted her development a great deal.
But that summer, her parents had enough of their daughter's Gryffindor ways. Leonora couldn't remember a time when her and her parents were civil. They had clashing personalities, even though she was probably one of the least Gryffindor Gryffindors.
When Leonora got disowned, her sister, Elettra, offered her home up for her little sister to dwell in until she was of age. It wasn't much as she had just left Hogwarts and was still living off her inheritance money from the Bishop family. Leonora would have bought her own place with her share, but as one gets disowned, they also lose their right to the family's money.
She was left alone by the other students until dessert was served. She was too busy Occluding her mind and nibbling on a cookie to realize that Ginny and Hermione had switched seats and the know-it-all was sitting next to her.
"Leonora." She felt a slight touch on her arm.
The girls' head snapped to the soft voice and she whipped her hand from the contact with the Muggleborn.
"Granger," She sternly replied.
Hermione's eyes widened at the formal use of her last name, but didn't back down. The whole end of the table was watching the interaction play out, no doubt that their wands were drawn under the table in case the angry girl lashed out.
"I only mean to inform you that if you are ever in need of assistance, don't hesitate to come to us. All of us," Hermione explained confidently.
"I can not image such a situation where I will need your assistance, but if one arises, I will keep that in mind," Leonora looked between her, Harry, and Ron, trying to make their pity disappear.
She noticed that Hermione's grieved face only got worse at that statement.
"We have heard about your situation and we, well, . . . I, hoped that we could help alleviate you from some burdens?" Hermione continued to talk but in a much more hushed tone than before.
"Burdens?"
Hermione hesitated before speaking, looking between her and her close friends to make sure she could continue. Ron and Harry gave her a nod.
"We have some . . . influence with Dumbledore. If you want to change your housing situation, as I heard you're housed with Elettra, we would be glad to help make that happen."
Of course, Gryffindors always assumed that one would rather be anywhere than be with a Slytherin. Leonora thought that to be very close-minded, especially coming from the S.P.E.W. founder.
"I don't mind my situation, and I find it rather unnerving for you three to invade on my personal life. And if you'll excuse me, I have some rather personal matters to attend to,"
Leonora quickly said goodbye to the all-listening Neville and headed for the Tower. She didn't want to get any more pity from anyone, so what better place to hide than the dormitories?
The witch spent the rest of the evening organizing her things into the shelf by her claimed bed and charming the room to her liking. Her curtains had a muffling charm on them, she had a fluffy rug underneath her feet, and she transfigured a hair pin into a book end for her shelf. Life couldn't get any better, could it?
But, all happiness must fade, as she believed to be true. Leonora did not yet have the strength to Occlude while trying to sleep; it was her thoughts that kept her awake to hear the other girls enter the room.
"Leonora, are you awake?" Hermione audibly asked, and the girl groaned in reply.
"Sorry for waking you, but the Headmaster wants to see you."
Leonora quickly pushed herself up and sat on her bed to face Hermione.
"Did he mention the reason?"
"No. He's waiting outside the portrait for you now, so it seems urgent."
Leonora jumped out of her bed, fixed her hair, and dusted off her robes. She rushed down the winding stairs to meet Dumbledore.
As she stepped out of the Gryffindor's portrait, the Headmaster wasted no time. He hurriedly lead her to his office in a mere five minutes; the girl had to almost jog to keep up with his very long and important strides.
"As you may have concluded, we are in a dire situation," Dumbledore stated as he and the dark-haired girl entered his office.
"What is it, sir?" Leonora questioned after taking a seat in the chair across from Dumbledore.
"As you know, the Dark Lord has risen. He wishes to get his hands on Mr. Potter any way that he can, and we have recently found out that number 4 Privet Drive is no longer."
"What?"
"The house that Harry resided in has been destroyed, Miss Bishop."
"I don't understand, sir. What does this have to do with me?" Leonora felt a tang of remorse for how she acted towards Harry at the Feast, but she quickly pushed that down and out of her mind.
"Yes, that. Another recent revelation. It was hard to track you down, we had some of our best Aurors even go to muggle hospitals for the birth records, and we have found that you and Mr. Potter are second cousins. This makes you eligible for an emergency blood ward, if you are willing," The Professor explained rather quickly, not waiting for the girl to comprehend the situation.
"What do you mean Potter and I are second cousins? I didn't think the Potter and Bishop lines intertwined in the past century,"
"Yes, that is true. But you are not a Bishop," Dumbledore stated.
"Sir?"
"Yes, yes, I'll explain. There's time. Your parents didn't give birth to you, but a squib. It was rather difficult to go about proving this with concrete evidence but people had their suspicions. The baby was born with platinum blonde hair and the next week the baby's hair was almost black."
"I was switched out with a squib? Was I muggleborn?" Leonora gaped, her mouth wide open with disbelief.
"Precisely. As you may recall, Mr. Potter's mother was muggleborn. Lily Evans. We tracked all magical births to the span of a week when your parents gave birth to the squib, and took other measures to make sure that you and him are actually related."
"So how exactly am I related to Potter?" She interrogated, the Headmaster noticing the tone in her voice.
"Lily Evans cousin, Eleanor Evans, is your mother. Harry's mother and your mother are cousins, making you second cousins. Nothing is known about the father."
"Ah." Leonora nodded, hiding her discontentment towards being related to The-Boy-Who-Lived, and also being a muggleborn. She knew she shouldn't be ashamed of the latter, but she was raised in a blood purity obsessed household. She couldn't help but have some discrimination tendencies rooted in her brain.
"Why would my parents rather have a muggleborn child than a squib?" The witch wondered out loud.
"Having a squib in the family almost taints the line, although very common in pure-blood families. They'd rather have a muggleborn child and nobody know than bring dishonor to the Bishop name. It is very common for wizarding families to keep squibs a secret, but this is the first switch I've encountered."
"Alright. I guess that makes sense. So. . . what's this blood ward stuff? Why couldn't any of Potter's other relatives take part in it?"
The young girl noticed the hesitation with the man standing across the desk in front of her. She couldn't help but wonder what he was hiding from her, and why.
"That is not of import, dear. What is of import is sealing the new ward between you and Mr. Potter as soon as possible. The Order is waiting."
"The Order, sir?"
"Yes, is it the same Order as from the war before you were born. You will see when we get there. There's no more time for questions." Dumbledore held his forearm for Leonora to take as they apparated from the school.
Instantaneously the girl was in a different room, but she didn't take much notice as she was clutching her stomach and gasping for air. Disapparating was not something she was quite familiar with.
After catching her breath she examined the room she stood before. The floors were dark and made of creaky wood, the walls grey with many gaps in the wallpaper. There was a fireplace adjacent to the doorway to what seemed like an upwards stairway. There was a couch and a couple of seats across from the fireplace, looking almost as old as Dumbledore himself. There were dusty books and empty vials sitting on the coffee table and, looking at the book, she realized it was a Potions book.
The atmosphere was almost deadly silent as she realized she was in the room alone.
"Professor?" The girl called out.
Footsteps echoed in the house and Leonora was caught by surprise when Harry Potter appeared in the doorway.
"Bishop."
"Potter."
They stood in silence for only a few moments before their stares were cut short by her former professor.
"Lupin?"
"Come, follow me," The professor ignored Leonora's rude greeting and led the two students to a closed door which they could hear muffled talking. The werewolf knocked on the door with a rythmed sequence.
The door opened to reveal a kitchen with an obviously oversized table in the middle of the room. Many of the seats were filled with faces the girl couldn't recognize, but the most shocking face was Snape.
Instead of expressing her confusion out loud, she remained silent until she was explained the dire situation. Harry took a seat next to Mrs. Weasley, so she took the seat on the opposite side of Harry.
"This is Miss Leonora Bishop, as we were talking about before. This is the young lady who we are going to assist with the blood wards tonight. Harry's cousin," Dumbledore explained to the adults at the table. Some gasped in shock as they recognized her as a Bishop - the family with almost as much dedication to the Dark Lord as the Malfoy family.
Frantic whispers and murmurs between the adults started, but were soon silenced by Dumbledore clearing his throat. He looked to Leonora next, motioning for her to stand up and speak.
The girl shakily stood up, quickly concealing her nervousness with confidence as she stuffed her trembling hands into her robes pockets.
"Tell them your allegiances," Dumbledore softly spoke. The witch nodded in compliance.
"This summer, I was disowned by my parents, as I'm sure you've read in The Prophet," Leonora sneered the newspaper name like poison. "But, it was not just because I am the first Gryffindor Bishop in decades. It was because I refused to take the Dark Mark."
Leonora quickly sat down and let the Headmaster take over, ignoring the questioning stares and shocked gasps from the other members.
"Well said. If anyone has any concerns, you can address them at the next meeting. Right now, Harry's safety is our concern," Dumbledore spoke, glancing at the boy with glistening eyes.
It didn't take long for the room to clear out, as the Headmaster wanted some privacy to talk with Leonora and Harry. The only other adult in the room was Snape, who stood by Dumbledore's side.
"Do you have any concerns before we proceed with the blood ward?" Dumbledore asked, a knowing look in his twinkling eyes.
"What exactly is a blood ward?" Leonora questioned.
"It is very ancient magic, magic that depends solely on the blood between you and Mr. Potter. Because of the sacrifice his mother made, anyone who has his mother's blood will be able to put up a ward to keep out people who have intentions of causing harm to Mr. Potter," Snape slowly explained, glaring at Harry from time to time.
"You have to be absolutely willing to protect Harry in order for it to work. Are you?" Asked Dumbledore.
Leonora hesitated, not knowing at first if she was willing. Would she let herself be bound to risky, ancient magic with someone who she loathed? Would it be worth overcoming her selfish ways to help defeat the Dark Lord?
Would she rather see Harry dead than the Light side win?
She didn't have to consider that question for very long: No, she did not wish death upon Harry Potter, so she might as well help him avoid it.
"I'll do it," The girl sighed, her cheeks becoming red with embarrassment.
"Harry? Are you willing to let Leonora ward this house with her blood?" The Headmaster probed.
"Yes." The boy said quickly, making Leonora look at the wizard standing next to her. His face was red like hers, and it relieved her to see that both parties were embarrassed by the situation.
"Take this," Her Potions teacher gave both Harry and Leonora the same colored potion.
"What is it?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Numbing potion. Just drink it, it will help ease the pain," Snape snapped at the students.
"Pain?" Leonora asked.
"Did you doubt that casting a blood ward would not require either of your blood?" Snape bitterly retorted. The students just shrugged, used to his berating, and downed the potion.
Instantly, Leonora felt a little buzz. It was hard to feel her toes and fingers, and it became increasingly harder to continue to Occlude. She felt her wall come crashing down in her head and all of the thoughts pour in all at once.
"Let's get this over with," She grumbled, trying to distract herself from her mind.
Snape and Dumbledore led them to the library that Leonora had come in from. She noticed a member of the Order sitting on the couch immediately stand up after they entered the room.
"We will start the ward in here, and the witches and wizards in the other rooms will continue the ward from floor to ceiling," Dumbledore explained.
Once Harry and Leonora were in the middle of the room, Snape cast what seemed like a vial made of the glimmer and shine from his wand. It floated between the two students as Snape incanted for almost a full minute. He then handed both students a knife.
Harry and Leonora looked at each other; what they had to do was obvious.
"Potter first," Snape interjected the staring contest as Leonora sighed in relief.
Harry put his hand over the vial, knife in position. It was almost no time before the small, magical vial was halfway filled with his blood. The Order member gave Harry a bandage to wrap around his palm.
"Thanks, Tonks," Harry murmured.
Leonora repeated what her cousin just did; filling the vial the rest of the way with her own blood. When she was done and Tonks bandaged her palm, the magical vial fell to the ground and silently exploded with a wondrous sight.
Speckles of white and blue magic grew from the impact zone, growing bigger and bigger by the second.
Snape, Dumbledore, and Tonks coerced the shimmer shield to grow. With their wands, they guided the magic to cover the whole floor, walls, and ceiling. As the magic seeped through the ceiling they heard rustling up above and they knew that the other members were helping it to grow as well.
It was less than ten minutes that had passed when the whole house was covered with a blue and white glittering outline. Once Snape checked that it covered every nook and cranny, a small incantation sealed the magic and it disappeared behind the walls.
Dumbledore dismissed the Order, but no one left before saying goodbye to Harry. Nobody spoke one word to the former Bishop. Soon it was just Dumbledore, Harry, and Leonora.
Harry and Leonora sat on opposite ends of the couch facing the chair that Dumbledore sat down in. He conjured up tea and some candies for them to enjoy, but neither child was hungry.
"The house is warded, now. For it to stay that way, you and Harry must make this your home. You are to come here every weekend, unless something arises, to make you feel more at home," Dumbledore explained, looking more at Leonora.
"You want me to feel at home here?" Leonora snidely commented.
"I know that it does not feel homey right now, but with all the time and effort you two put in it just might be worth saving. And besides, if the wards conclude that this is really not your home, Leonora, then it will cease to exist because it can assume that you are not protecting Harry."
"So you want me to move out of my sister's home?"
"Yes. From what I know, this house is an upgrade from your sister's residence. Your trunks are already up in your rooms for you to unpack. You can floo to my office when you are ready to go back to the Tower. Any other questions?"
"Who else can know about this?" Harry asked.
"Ah. The Fidelius Charm keeps you two from telling anybody about this house who doesn't already know about it. You can tell Ron and Hermione about the blood ward but I'm afraid you'll find it physically. . . impossible to inform anybody else."
Fidelius Charm. Another ancient magic that Leonora had very little knowledge of, except that it is very rarely used anymore. She suspected that Dumbledore was the Secret Keeper; the only one who could tell new people about the house.
"Is there a house-elf?" Leonora asked after deeming the question appropriate, but she still received a glare from Harry.
"No, not anymore. I'm sure you can floo back for meals at Hogwarts. . ." The Headmaster tried to explain to the pure-blood-raised girl.
"I'm not that spoiled to expect one just to make a few meals for us two days a week and clean up after my messes. I was asking because it would be easier to restore this house with a magically gifted creature such as an elf," Leonora retorted with anger embedded in her voice.
She disliked how people immediately judged her because of her last name and assumed she was a stuck-up, money-obsessed witch. That perfectly described her sister, though.
"Yes, you'll need help with the restoration of this once elegant home. Professor Snape will be glad to assist you with that."
Leonora and Harry looked at each other with disgust at the realization of the implied meaning behind Dumbledore's words.
"Snape?" Harry spat the name.
"Professor Snape, Harry. He will be accompanying you two to your house every weekend. It is only wise to have someone here in case of an emergency," Professor Dumbledore softly explained, knowing that the Gryffindors would protest.
"Oh, come on. We can protect ourselves. Right, Bishop?" Harry tried to make a rise out of his fellow classmate but instead received a pointed look.
"If it's safer to have somebody at the house with us, then we'll be fine," Leonora addressed the headmaster before turning to Harry in a quieter tone, "We're here to protect you. Wouldn't you think this whole, er, situation, would be irresponsible on Professor Dumbledore's part if he let two students live in a house alone? Especially one who was wanted by the Dark Lord?"
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes at Leonora, mainly because he knew she was right. And also because he knew that she was just putting on a show for the headmaster; Leonora was like that.
"I get that we need someone here in the house, but honestly, Professor! You know that Snape and I do not get along and there are many other options. Maybe an Order Auror like- " Harry's rant was cut short by the clearing of a deep voice standing in the doorway.
Leonora couldn't help but let through a small smile as she saw Harry stop right in his tracks and his face turn a deep red as he noticed the man listening to his complaints. Snape's arms were crossed across his breastbone and his mouth was closed in a straight line. His face was almost neutral, but even from afar Leonora could tell he was pissed.
"We've exhausted all other options, Potter. Believe me when I tell you that I'd rather spend my weekends anywhere else than this. . . place," The teacher waved his hands to the walls of the house, "But you should be pleased that you're to be kept safe, after what transpired in Surrey."
Snape gave Harry a smug look while the boy's eyes grew big and immediately filled with rage.
It left Leonora wondering what happened in Surrey.
"Alright, well I better be off now. I'll trust that you'll take them back to the Tower afterwards?" Dumbledore stood up from his seat and dusted his robes.
Snape nodded at the headmaster as the three watched him floo back to his office. Leonora and Harry stared at their Potions teacher, not knowing what to do next.
"Stop gawking and unpack your suitcases upstairs. And while you're up there, why don't you give Miss Bishop a tour?" Snape coldly commanded, walking down the opposite staircase that led to the basement. From what she could see before the professor closed the door was supply of potions ingredients and cauldrons. It must be where he made his potions.
"Snape needed a safe place to make potions besides Hogwarts," Harry explained while walking up the stairs.
"Why? Isn't Hogwarts already one of the safest places?"
"He wouldn't want anyone, student or teacher, walking into his classroom when he was making a potion for Voldemort," The Tri-Wizard Champion discussed as he showed Leonora the bathroom and their rooms.
"Oh, so that's why he's in the Order. He's a spy."
"Yeah."
She guessed that her bedroom was one of the guest bedrooms that the Black's had. It was simple with no designs that either son would've had; a double bed with white sheets, a dark brown dresser with fancy crystal handles, and a small desk in the corner with a glass lamp on the surface. She noticed that her belongings were left in front of the bed. It was even nicer than her room at home, besides all of the dust and cobwebs that gathered in this one due to it's age.
"Don't worry, most of the rooms have been cleared out. There's no more Boggarts, Doxys, or any dark artifacts in your room. My room is the third door on the left if you need me," Harry assured the Gryffindor girl and left her alone to decorate.
She quickly realized that her pet snake would be suffocating in her wizard-space trunk, so she set out to assembling the tank. She pulled the ten gallon tank out of her trunk and set it on top of the dresser. Her snake, Epsilon Serpentis, named after a star in the snake shaped constellation Serpens, was fast asleep.
The room looked much better than the bleak white theme when she added her belongings to it. The bed sheets were now a royal gold, for Gryffindor, and the walls were not grey but a sleek black. She cast a quick scourgify over the carpet and it became a clean, egg white colour.
After filling out the dresser with her clothes and stuffing her trunk into the small closet for storage, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" She called as she closed the closet door.
"Wow, it's looking good in here - you have a snake?" Harry rushed over to the tank that was atop her dresser.
"No, I don't. That's my owl," Leonora sarcastically commented, making Harry scowl at her.
"Can I hold it?" Harry pleaded.
"Yeah, whatever. Just ask if it wants anything in the tank before we leave." Leonora flattened out the wrinkles from the bed sheets with a lazy flick of her wand.
"Oh, right. Sure," Harry agreed, taking the lid off the top and carefully picking the snake up. It had awoken from its slumber moments before.
"What's his name?" Harry murmured to Leonora.
"Epsilon Serpentis, but I call her Silon," She curtly replied. Maybe hiding her annoyance for Potter was short-lived.
Leonora didn't mind Harry's Parseltongue like other students did. It even almost relaxed her.
"She said she didn't need anything, but she did say that she'd like to talk to me again soon," Leonora could detect the smug look on the boy's face, but it was cut short by Professor Snape's presence in the doorway. Leonora found it humorous that Snape liked to hang out in doorways so often.
"If you're done, I think it was time we parted. I wouldn't want to see two Gryffindors out past curfew, would I?" Snape maliciously grinned, making the two students gasp and retire to the library.
After flooing to Dumbledore's office and saying goodnight, the pair of cousins trekked back to Gryffindor Tower.
"I didn't have enough time to ask you back at- " The Fidelius Charm prevented Harry from saying the address of Sirius' house in front of the portraits, "Er, home. . . but I was wondering how you felt about the whole situation."
Leonora sighed at the sudden absence of silence. It had only been a few minutes since they started walking to the Tower, but she endured the painful conversation anyway.
"I would not rather live at my sisters house, if that's what you're asking."
"Oh," Harry sighed in relief, then, "I was just worried that I'd taken you away from your only family left, considering the conversation you and Hermione had at the Feast. I'm sorry you have to be part of this- " Leonora cut the boy off.
"You're rambling. You don't have to apologize, Elettra is not much of a sister. She only took me in because The Ministry's Wizarding Family Counsel offered five-hundred galleons every over month to cover my expenses. She would've watched me suffer with a smile on her face if she ever got the chance," Leonora cleared her throat, embarrassed by how much she'd rambled, too.
"I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing, Potter!"
"Shite, alright!"
The portraits in the hallway all told them to 'Shh!' and 'Keep it down, we're trying to sleep!' The two walked in silence with dim Lumos on their wands aimed towards the ground after more complaints from the portraits. Leonora came up with a question for Harry.
"Why did I have to be the one to do the. . ." Fidelius Charm again, then, "Protective spell? What happened to all of your other relatives?"
Harry's face changed from neutral to almost sorrowful in a mere few seconds, but he quickly tried to cover it up with indifference.
"Er, well, when Voldemort found out that the. . . protective spell was used at my old house, he found a way to counteract it. Then, to prevent it from happening again, he, uh, disposed, of all my other relatives that he could find. As far back as he could go, he did."
Leonora stayed silent, understanding how difficult it must be for Harry. If it weren't for him, all of those innocent people would still be alive. Most of them were probably muggles, as she didn't know of a single other alive Potter.
Leonora couldn't help but wonder what her fate would be if her parents didn't switch her with the squib. The obvious answer was dead, and she shuddered at the thought.
They walked the rest of the way in an uncomfortable silence. Leonora didn't know what to say, although she had a trunk-full of questions, until they arrived.
"I'll see you at breakfast, Potter," Leonora said as they parted ways, heading up opposite stairwells.
"Yeah, see you, Bishop."
By the time Leonora got to bed, a quick Tempus proved that they had gotten back way after curfew. Nobody seemed to be awake, and Leonora didn't bother changing into pajamas before throwing herself on her bed.
The events that took place that day mentally and physically drained her, the numbing potion failing to keep the edge off the cut on her palm and her wall being torn down. Not to mention finding out that her parents switched her at birth, purposefully, and that she was actually Muggleborn. Leonora reasoned with herself that that was probably the ultimate reason of being disowned; her family was disgusted by her since infantry, and no matter who she was or what she did, she would always be on the path to get disowned.
In Professor Dumbledore's office, Snape and the Headmaster himself seemed to be in a heated conversation. The occasional bead of sweat dropped from Severus' brow and onto the floor. The sound of water dripping onto the marble ground was not mistakable, but the two men didn't seem to notice.
"You want me to supervise those two Gryffindors? Every weekend!" Snape bellowed, his face turning red from sheer anger. His hands were shaking from inside his pockets and his breathing was shallow. It seemed much louder than it was, and all that could be heard was the tiny breaths; in, out. In, out.
Dumbledore, however, stayed calm. He didn't seem nervous at all, instead, his brow was quirked and he had a smirk tugging on his lips. He was amused.
"Severus, you seem like you're not getting the big picture. The Dark Lord will do anything to get to Harry, and if something arises, you need to be on the scene to take care of it. It is very unlikely that if he figures out Harry has been living at the Black residence, he'd venture out there himself. You know him; he'd send a few of his people to collect Harry and bring the boy to him. His people are expendable, he'd never go somewhere out of his comfort zone himself. And you need a lot more time for your crucial potions. Why not get two birds with one stone?"
By the time the headmaster's soft and silky voice stopped speaking, Severus had calmed down a great deal.
"Oh, alright, Albus. Are you sure nobody else could do this? It is not beneficial for me to take this position. Lupin? A Weasley, perhaps? Maybe Moody, he's got some time on his hands."
"You have authority over them. They're more likely to respect your decisions and obey you. You could always give detentions and take points off if you view necessary, but I do doubt that they would disregard the boundaries we've set with you there."
Professor Dumbledore unwrapped a lemon drop and plopped it in his mouth, the clank of the hard candy against his teeth almost deafening. Snape didn't seem to notice the noise.
"I'll do it," He hissed, like it pained him to agree to the terms.
"I didn't think you'd be so resistant, Severus. Miss Bishop is very Slytherin for a Gryffindor, as you must've noticed," Albus replied.
"I've noticed she's got more cunning than all of Gryffindor combined," Snape muttered something about incompetent fools and Gryffindors, "But if she's related to Potter, I'd be surprised if she didn't have an audacious bone in her body."
Leonora awoke with a start, her dream fresh in her mind like it was a memory. She immediately got a pen and a piece of parchment to write down the dream with every little detail before it faded.
The dark-haired witch was late to breakfast, and, when she finally arrived, was scolded by her cousin.
"Why're you so late? These two have been waiting for you to get here so you can tell them that I'm not lying,"
"Unfortunately, it's true," Leonora retorted, giving Ron and Hermione glares before they could ask anything else. In public.
Sitting across from Neville, she engaged in polite conversation about how well Silon had been doing the past summer, and he reciprocated with stories about Trevor. It was not surprising how many times Neville's grandmother almost stepped on his toad; clumsiness ran in families, she guessed.
After breakfast, the Gryffindors had Potions with the Slytherins. Harry and Leonora managed to inform Ron and Hermione of the situation with much more detail, right up to showing the pair the marks on their palms.
Like it or not, Leonora was cast into Harry's friend group. They kept pestering her for more details about her and her family, and how Harry and her were actually related, but she didn't want to indulge the two. She'd rather the whole castle not know she was actually muggleborn, even though she knew it was impossible unless the Secret Keeper told everyone.
"Can you two pests be silent for two seconds?" Leonora retorted, then when they ceased to talk, "Thank you!"
"Leonora, why isn't the Fidelius Charm keeping us from telling them two about the blood wards?" Harry whispered to her, and she visibly cringed at the use of her first name.
"Well, Potter, I assume it's because they already knew about the house. We're just telling them that we did some kind of ancient magic on the house - The Fidelius Charm is only on the knowledge that the house exists."
"Okay, okay. I get it. The house," Harry mocked her use of repetition.
"Shut up, Potter," Leonora sneered through clenched teeth. She didn't know how much more she could take of the boy.
During Potions, Leonora didn't feel the need to concentrate that hard. Building up her wall as well as brewing Alihosty Draught was not that complicated, although there was once challenge; she was partnered with Lavender Brown.
She believed the potion to be too easy for a sixth year class, not to mention the fact that they were partnered up. Leonora came to the conclusion that Snape wanted an off day from observing the class so closely as if any cauldron could explode at any moment.
"Brown. If you don't cut those leaves small enough it's not going to turn out right!" Leonora snapped at her brewing partner while trying to get the temperature right on the cauldron.
Leonora took Lavenders almost finely cut Alihosty leaves and added them to the brew. She handed the stirrer to Lavender to stir, giving her instructions on how to stir, as she started on a batch of the antidote.
Before she knew it, the Laughing Potion was overflowing from Lavenders cauldron.
"I told you to stir it slowly, you incompetent fool!" Leonora hollered at the Gryffindor, taking her wand out to clean up the mess.
It didn't take her long to realize what she said was from her extremely detailed dream about Snape and Dumbledore talking. She usually didn't use just straight up derogatory terms unless it was sarcastic and clever, and she didn't even flinch when Snape took twenty points from Gryffindor.
"How vapid do you two Gryffindors have to be to besmear Alihosty Draught? I didn't have superior conjectures for you, regardless, " Snape sneered at the two students; Brown looked terrified as she kept playing with her hair and looking at the floor, but Leonora seemed calm and cool. She took criticism well, having years of practice with her family.
"Leo, what did he just say?" Lavender whispered to her lab partner, confusion written on her face.
"He called us stupid for messing up but said that he didn't expect much to begin with anyway. Don't call me Leo." Leonora speculated that there was a need for some kind of English Language Arts class; some students at Hogwarts are too dense to realize they're being insulted.
"Oh."
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The rest of the week went by too fast for Leonora as she was not looking forward to the weekend. Spending two full days and nights with two people who she despised was not ideal; she'd even rather help Neville with some of his extra Herbology projects Sprout assigned him despite her hatred for the subject.
Leonora, Harry, and Snape flooed to 12 Grimmauld Place after dinner in the Great Hall.
"I think we should fix up the library first," Harry announced, getting indifferent shrugs from the Potions Master and his cousin.
It took the trio less than half an hour to renovate the library; the books were dusted, the grime was removed from the fireplace, and the furniture's once bright colors were restored. The room looked as if it had not been abandoned for over a decade. All the while Snape was teaching them the spells to use, probably so he didn't have to help on the next room.
Their professor retreated downstairs to his potions lab, leaving Harry and Leonora to themselves.
"Can I talk to Silon?"
Leonora rolled her eyes at the boy but obliged, despite her annoyance. They walked to her bedroom and she picked up her pet, stroking her a few times before letting Harry handle her. With a small flick of the witch's wand, Silon's water and food dish were replenished.
Leonora ignored Harry and Silon's hissing conversation as she grabbed a Divination book from her shelf and retreated to the library to read.
It wasn't long before she was interrupted by Harry clearing his throat. She turned around from her chair and gave him a threatening glare.
"Er, well, Silon told me to tell you that she misses eating mice and crickets," Harry awkwardly informed the witch, his cheeks turning rosy.
"Well, you can tell her to stop being a spoiled brat and that she'd better get used to those pellets 'cause that's all I've got. Anything else?" Leonora faked a sweet smile, hoping that Harry got her message to stop bothering her.
"If you want, I wouldn't mind getting her food the next time we go to Hogsmeade," Her cousin offered.
"No. I'm not accepting charity from Harry fucking Potter," Leonora growled, shoving her book closer to her face.
"Oh, c'mon. It's not charity, I just want Silon to be happy."
"You just want to gloat about how much richer you are than I am, now that I am emancipated! You can just fuck off, you arrogant slug!"
Another voice, much deeper than Harry's, cleared his throat by the doorway. Snape.
"Five points from Gryffindor for foul language. That's very unladylike, Miss Bishop," Snape attempted to sound grave, but it was obvious that he enjoyed listening to the girl berate Harry to his face.
"I couldn't care less about being ladylike," Leonora waved off Snape, returning to her book. Harry huffed at the two, wanting Leonora to get in more trouble but not wanting more points off Gryffindor, plopped himself down on the couch in front of the floo and continued his conversation with the snake.
"A Divination book?" Snape mocked, egging the girl on.
"Yes, more specifically, oneiromancy."
"You've been having visions?" Snape asked, his expression suddenly serious.
"No, not visions. Why do you ask?" Leonora was instantaneously interested by Snape's curiosity.
"It could be The Dark Lord trying to get to you. Who did you inform that you and Potter were cousins?"
Harry glanced up to meet Leonora's eyes, both silently accusing the other of letting the cat out of the bag.
"I've told nobody, sir," Leonora replied.
"I told Ron and Hermione. Dumbl- Professor Dumbledore gave me permission to, I swear!" Harry defended himself, putting his hands up as to say he was innocent.
"Have you been working on your Occlumency, Potter?" Snape spat as if he knew the answer.
"Maybe if you were a good teacher I'd know how to!" He retaliated.
"If you weren't too daft to learn from your mistakes, I'd say that after what happened with Black last year you'd give more of an effort to protect your mind from The Dark Lord!"
Harry grew silent and bit his lip, and Leonora held her gasp.
Had Snape implied that Harry was at fault for his godfather's demise?
Harry jumped up from his seat, leaving the snake on the couch cushion, and rushed up the stairs. The two could hear his bedroom door slamming against the door frame. Leonora snatched up Silon from slithering away, and it wasn't long before Snape began questioning her about her dream.
"It doesn't matter, it was just a dream," Leonora bitterly ignored the professor's interrogation.
"If you believed that you wouldn't be reading a Divination book. You need to delineate the dream, and I will be the one to adjudicate if it is significant or not," Snape beckoned for Leonora to recount her dream.
"Fine," She sighed, dramatically closing the book and setting it on the coffee table. "I saw you and Dumbledore in his office. He was trying to convince you to be the supervisor for Ha- Potter and me, here. You were really angry and it took a while and many explanations for why you were the best person for. . . us."
"Was there anything weird about the dream? Something that would tell you that it was just a dream, nothing else?"
"Sort of. It didn't feel like I was dreaming, it felt like. . . I was watching. I don't know if that makes any sense. Oh, and I had sort of a heightened sense of hearing."
"Heightened sense of hearing?"
"Yes. I could hear every breath, water dripping, and every muttered word. I have an exact written version I wrote right after I woke up if you'd like to read that, sir."
"Why didn't you start off with that?" The Potions master angrily questioned, causing the girl to shrug.
"Accio dream parchment," Leonora softly spoke, hearing the clunk of her dresser drawer opening and her papers spilling onto the floor from her room. She'd clean that up later.
Snape intercepted the parchment before it flew to Leonora, his eyes quickly reading her written description. Without a word, he set the parchment paper onto the coffee table in front of him.
"Did you find anything interesting in that book?" Snape asked, avoiding the questioning look the girl gave him.
"Well, yes. It basically says that having premonition dreams means that you most likely have an 'Inner Eye,' but my guess is that this already happened."
Snape sighed, giving in as he started to explain. "Yes. This occurred a few days before the term began. But that doesn't elucidate the amplification of hearing."
"Actually, the book gave sort of an insight to that as well. If one or more of your senses become dominant over the others, that can signify the loss of one of the submissive senses in the future."
"So that does make it some sort of a premonition dream, in an unconventional way," Snape surmised.
"I don't really think it's a premonition. My family. . ." She paused, remembering that she needed to stop thinking of them as family, "they would always joke about my uncle Enedius Bishop. He was caught stealing money from my father and right after that he, coincidentally, got attacked and both of his eyes were scooped out. My parents would always say that he got what he deserved for crossing the family and always said that they wouldn't hesitate to scoop out anyone else's eyeballs."
"That seems like proof to me like you probably shouldn't cross your family anymore."
"No, I just think it was just my mind expressing its fears."
"Quite possibly so, but that doesn't make any sense to how accurate this dream was to reality. Word for word, for what I can recall."
"I have no explanation for that."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
Leonora sighed, looking down at the sleeping snake laying on her lap. She wished she could sleep as peacefully as Silon.
"You should learn to Occlude your mind, for safe measure," Snape suggested, all sarcastic and side tones absent from his voice.
"I don't need to learn."
"Yes, you do! You're just like your cousin-"
"Because I already know how, Professor," Leonora finishes her sentence, her words seeping with attitude. Sensing what was coming next, she immediately thrust her mind wall up. She cleared her thoughts and gazed at Snape effortlessly; eye contact was all he needed.
Before she knew it, she felt something in her head. It was uncomfortable, making her itchy all over. She knew that it was Snape invading her thoughts.
But, after at least five minutes of silence and Snape trudging deeper and deeper into the student's mind, she felt herself break. Thoughts came flooding out and she felt her teacher sifting through them as if choosing which record to play.
"Get out of my house before you wish you were dead!" Her father shouted.
Her father's voice became more and more distant as that memory whizzed by and another one came.
"There's not much room for you here, but for five-hundred galleons every other month, I'd let a dirty little slut like you sleep on the bathroom rug," Elettra sneered at her.
Elettra's face faded into Harry's, and the next memory was not one she was proud of.
With the Slytherins walking beside her, Leonora aimed her wand at Harry's feet and cast a tripping hex. Harry didn't even look back to see who did it, as he probably assumed it was Malfoy.
Leonora and Draco Malfoy shared an amused look before laughing along with all the other Slytherins at the sight of Harry on the ground.
Laughter turned into crying, and the witch immediately recognized which memory the next one was.
"Take it back, you worthless child!" Her father's voice boomed as his wand was pointed toward eleven-year-old Leonora.
"No! I'll say it a million times if I have to! I'd rather dishonour my family by being myself than turn out like the rest of you!" She screamed, tears falling from her eyes as her father cast spell after spell on her; letting her skin boil, turning her limbs to jelly, and even cutting chunks of skin from her body.
With as much anger as she could fester, she pushed Snape out of her mind. She avoided eye contact with the man sitting across from her as she caught her breath and wiped the sweat from her brow. She didn't want to see the look on his face, and she definitely didn't want to see pity, although she doubted Professor Snape would pity her of all people.
The pair retired to bed without a single word, wishing to forget the events of that evening.
*Authors note*
Thank you for reading this chapter! Please give me any tips and suggestions if you have any, I'd appreciate it very much. :)