Warm rays of sunlight streamed in through the window onto me, filling my aching muscles with pure content. The warm rays soaked into my skin, washing the cold away. Opening my eyes, the rays from the sun greeted me. It was a wondrous sight.

Looking across the room, I saw Harry still lying in his bed, sleeping as soundly as ever. He actually looked somewhat peaceful in his dreams.

Slowly, I sat up. Looking around, my eyes landed on a dark mass that stood beside the door. None other than the Potions Master himself. Dark bags shadowed his eyes, as if sleep had evaded him all night. It made me wonder what he had been up to last night. Of course, he was the dungeon bat, so whatever he was up to was his business.

"Good you're up."

"Morning to you too, Professor," I could see his scowl deepen. Oh, how he despised me.

"We will leave after sunset. Make sure all of your things are packed." Plainly and full of hatred, mornings just were not his time of day. Maybe I could find his time of day.

"Are there-"

"No, there are no classes. Make sure you are in my office before sunset, Miss Black. And do not tell anyone; including Miss Granger."

"Very well." Snape turned on his heel and started to walk away. "Professor?" He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn. "Thank you for saving me last night." He took a deep breath and then started again, his cloak billowing out behind him. This was going to be a very long stay if he couldn't see that I wasn't my father.

Slowly, I climbed down from the bed and looked at myself. Bruises covered most of my legs and my arms. Fingers seemed to still grab my skin as their imprint was left behind. All that covered me was a thin, silk nightgown, which only reached my thigh. I would never wear something like this, and that is probably why Voldemort put it on me. My anger boiled as I remembered what he did to me.

A pile of clothes sat on the coffee table, all of them black in color. Smiling at the choice that was left out for me, I quickly dressed.

"Ouch!" there was a sharp pain in my left forearm. It was moving. Wait…moving? I rolled up the sleeve on my blouse and found a skull with a snake protruding from the mouth. The Dark Mark. How could this have happened? I never wanted this! I never asked for him to enlist me in his army! Watching the snake move, I began to grow sick. No, this wasn't going to get the best of me. I wasn't going to live with the constant reminder of what he did to me.

"Artemis?" I jumped as a voice came from the other side of the room. Rolling down my sleeve, I turned to see that Harry was awake. He fumbled around, trying to find his glasses, which ultimately failed. Quickly, I ran over and grabbed them. I handed them to him and sat down in the chair next to his bed.

"How are you feeling?" I took his hand and gently began to stroke it. The marks on his face were beginning to heal and it wasn't completely swollen.

"Fine. Something's been bothering me though," I moved my gaze from him, knowing that he was going to ask about last night. "Where did you go after I left you?" I couldn't tell him what actually happened because I couldn't remember most of it. All I could remember was waking up in that room and him having his way with me.

"I-I don't remember. I just know that I woke up in that bed over there." Nodding, he sat up and looked at me. There was something in the way he held himself that made me feel that he didn't believe me. "Can you promise me something?"

"Yeah, anything."

"Promise me that you will never take the easy way out and that you will keep fighting."

"Always," he smiled. Standing up, I leaned over and kissed his forehead. I took one final look at my god brother and left. All of it made me wonder. How were Snape and I supposed to get along and not kill each other? What all was he going to teach me? So many different thoughts ran through my mind.

A shoulder connected with mine while I was lost within my musings. Rounding on it, I found the smug, pug-like face of Pansy Parkinson.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She retorted as her hand quickly dove into her pocket to retrieve her wand.

"What's your deal, Parkinson?" My shoulder throbbed from the impact.

"Nothing, just wanted to warn you about a little rumor going through Slytherin house. People have been saying that you are now a part of You-Know-Who's inner circle." Drawing out my wand, I started to circle her. "It's nice to see you alive, just so that I can torture you if you ever get near Draco again."

"He's my cousin you slut." I fought the urge to yell an unforgivable curse. She simply started laughing and continued on her way. There were some days that I envisioned her hanging from the dungeon ceiling. That would really make my day.

Slowly I made my way up to Gryffindor Tower to find it empty. Looking at the clock, it said it was five, dinner must be ready. I went into my dormitory to find Hermione sitting on my bed. She was reading a book, absolutely nothing out of the normal, except for her ragged appearance and sunken, baggy eyes. She must have not gotten any sleep at all.

"Hermione?" As soon as I said her name, she jumped from her position and wrapped me in a bone-crushing hug. "OWW! Hermione, I'm sore!" Quickly she let go and tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm so glad your back and your awake!" She sat back down on my bed and motioned for me to sit by her. "What happened last night?"

"The Dark Lord is back, Cedric Diggory is dead, I hurt horribly and was put under the Cruciatis curse at least five times." I stood and began looking for one of my bags. I didn't want to meet her eyes, for fear I might end up crying too. I trusted Hermione with my life, but right now, I didn't want her to hurt any more then she already was.

"Oh, sorry. So…he really is back?"

"Yes. He is back." I walked to my trunk and made sure that everything was in order. I had all my books and clothes, along with a few of Fred and George's tricks

"Aren't you worried?"

"Of course I'm worried!" I snapped, rounding on her. "He is back, he knows how to get to Harry and my dad, and he still has old followers. It might take him a while to build up his army, but he still knows how to get to all of us in one way or another." She looked down at the floor, not wanting to show me her true fear.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just you've been acting as if nothing can bothers you. What happened to you, Artemis?" Her voice was breaking and she was on the verge of tears, again.

Taking a deep breath, I steadied my voice. Seeing her under this much stress and worry hurt me deeply. Hermione had always been like my sister, I told her everything, but what happened last night; that was one thing she didn't need to know right now.

"I can't tell you. All I can tell you is to never lose hope and to remember who you really are, Hermione." Wrapping her in my arms, I could feel her pain as she let the tears go again. "He will change everything, including us."

"I know." That was all she could say as she pulled away to dry her eyes. I grabbed my wand and cast a shrinking charm on my trunk, placing it in my bag. The orange rays of the sun started peeking through the window, telling me Snape was going to be fuming when I got to the dungeons. Looking at her, I could see that she felt relaxed by what I told her.

"I'll see you over the summer. I promise." She nodded, and I slowly made my way out the door. "Tell Ron I said bye."

"I will."

Only being led by torchlight, I blindly found my way around the darkened hall. The sun was close to setting and I was glad to see the door to the potions room. Before my hand even touched the wood, a low growl of "Enter" rang out from the darkness.

Opening it, I saw him sitting at his desk, grading a mound of papers, his brow furrowed as he did so.

"You're late." His icy voice made me shiver.

"You're not one for salutations, are you, Professor?" He didn't look up from his work. I sat on one of the desks near the back of the room and waited for him to finish.

Time seemed to slowly drag by as the only audible noises came from his scratching quill and the bubbling cauldron in the back of the room. I found ways to entertain myself by simply thinking of what the dungeon bat did on his summer breaks. Then my mind went completely off course and ended up in me not even wanting to look at him, for fear he would see me blush.

"Miss Black!" Cold and demanding, I looked up to see Snape standing right in front of me. Looking up into his dull onyx depths, I could tell that he had said my name a few times before, therefore leading to his presences two feet from me. "I said, let's go." He glided towards his office, with me quickly following his untraceable footsteps.

Opening the door, a large top hat sat on his desk. Another portkey, just what I needed. I let out a heavy sigh, which earned me a scowl from Snape.

"Deal with it." He grabbed my arm and we were sent through the same swirling mass of color until could hard ground met me. Standing up, I saw him roll his eyes at my childish act. Grabbing my arm tightly, pressure surrounded me, making it all the more harder to breath.

It stopped as quickly as it had come, which I was thankful for. We stood in a place that reminded me of the poor places back when Remus brought me to the states. Shabby houses lined the streets, factory smoke plumed from a far off corner, and the water line gave everything a dreary feeling. Stepping in front of me, the black mass guided me towards the farther reaches of the town.

Snape stopped in front of a rather large house. It fit the professor's attitude: dark, brooding, and yet a mystery to all who ventured to seek it. He opened the front door, which slowly creaked with misuse, and led me into a dwelling darker than his dungeons. With a simple wave of his wand, candle light emanated from every corner in the house. It was a very well furnished abode. Books lined shelves, the furniture sat in front of a large fireplace, but it still felt…empty.

"Now can you tell me why I'm here?"

"You are here so I can train you. You have been marked with the Death Mark, and have the ability of occlumency. You will learn how to use both to your advantage." He swep his wand around, making the dust fly into oblivion.

"So you're saying I'm a tool?"

"In a way, yes."

"Great." I snorted. "I'm Dumbledore's tool and Voldemort's whore. Well don't I feel useful." He shuddered only a little as I said Voldemort's name. "Where will I be sleeping?"

"Up the stairs, third door on the left."

I turned, leaving him to his cleaning. Hopefully, however long I had to stay here, I wouldn't have to use any of Fred and George's tricks.