Eileen was uncertain as she stood over the sink. Something seemed off, something seemed wrong, but she just could not place her finger on it. As she placed the chipped plate on the drain board, she checked to make sure her wand was in her pocket. After Tobias had been arrested, she had dug it out of her dresser drawer and took to carrying it around. She had to protect her children somehow, and even though she was a little rusty with her magic, it was the only way she knew how.

The house was relatively silent as she moved from the sink to the table were a copy of the daily prophet lay spread out. She had never realized how much her children gave to her house until now. They had been gone no more than a week, yet it seemed longer than that. However she had kept herself relatively busy by searching through the paper looking for a possible job and a new house away from the rundown neighborhood. She doubted that returning to this house would be good for Severus' health, emotionally and mentally. He had flat out refused to enter the den and would practically sprint by it when he went upstairs. Eileen sighed as she picked up her pen and circled a rather promising looking help wanted add that needed someone with her talent in potions.

Eileen was about to pick up a piece of parchment that was on the table in front of her when there was a particularly hard, rough knock on the door. Slowly she got up, placing her hand in her pocket, grasping her wand as she opened the door. She tried to shut it immediately but Tobias slammed his hand against the door swinging it open rather violently causing her to fall back.

"Did you think that you could just leave me there in that cell?" Tobias growled as he stepped into the house his hands clenched into fists as he stood over her. She scurried away from him, before finding her feet and standing. It had been months since she had seen her husband, but the months he had spent in jail hadn't done a thing for him. Tobias was just as mean and as angry as ever as he slammed the door behind him.

"After Everything I have done for you and you let me rot you Bitch" Tobias took a step closer to her and her hand grasped her wand.

"You did that to yourself." She stated, her voice shaking, "You hurt Severus, you deserved it."

"That bastard deserved it." Tobias stated as he stepped closer, his eyes dancing with hate and anger as she looked at him.

"He did not deserve that!"

"The Bastard got in the way!"

"You were hurting his sister"

"She deserved it, that freak was making too much noise." he stated as he took a swing at her.

"And that gave you the right to rape Severus?" She asked as she moved out of the way, pulling her wand out of her pocket and watching Tobias stop as she did so. "He was defending her, protecting her from the monster that was supposed to love and protect them, and what did you do instead? You beat and raped him. I am glad they took you away."

"TAKE THAT BACK." Tobias screamed as he shoved his fist into the wall by her, but Eileen was done, she raised her wand and pointed it at him.

"Get out." She stated watching him back up

"You can't do this to me." He hissed as he held up his hands.

"I can do whatever I want to you." She replied as she held up her wand even with his chest. "You hurt my babies, and I will hurt you if you don't leave."

"You can't do that to me." Tobias sneered but continued to move towards the door.

"I already did." Eileen stated. "Who do you think called the police Tobias? It wasn't any of the neighbors. I heard Severus beg you and I heard him screaming, and I wasn't going to let you get away with it. Granted I wanted you let you back in this house, but now I don't think so. SO GET OUT." She shot a hex his way and if he had not run out of the door it would have hit him. She was shaking as she shut the door and locked it. She rested her back against the door and slid down to the floor, tears leaking out of her eyes, but he was gone and he wasn't going to come back, again if he did, she would kill him.

SS

Severus sat in the library, his advanced potions making textbook was in front of him as he began to alter the recipes in the book. He had been looking at the book on and off over the last few days. He had figured out that there was something wrong with the first potion they had made the first day and he was bound and determined to correct it. He had just finished the first recipe when he heard the chair across from his slid out from the table and jumped as he looked up, slightly surprised to see Mary McDonald sliding into the chair.

"Severus." She greeted as she pulled out her text book. "I hope you don't mind, but I noticed that you were studying alone and I just wanted to see if it was alright if I sat with you?" Severus looked at her stunned. He was shocked that she wanted to be seen with him in public let alone strike up a conversation. But things had changed since she had stood up for him on the first day. She had sat a little closer to him in potions and had even volunteered to work with him. It was as if she was trying to make up for Lily and honestly he didn't know how to take it.

"Yeah, it is fine." He stated rather quietly as he looked at her. This wasn't a prank was it? No one was setting him up to be publicly humiliated were they?

"What did you think of the last Potions' class?" She asked as she looked at his book.

"It was alright I suppose." He mumbled as he looked up at her, there was a glimmer in her eyes, like if there was something else she wanted to know.

"Did you mean to call Lily the M word?" Mary asked after a few moments of silence causing him to look at her.

"Is that all you wanted to ask me?" He asked feeling slightly awkward.

"No, I just wanted to know, I know it's not the best way to start out a conversation, but I Just want to know." Mary's voice was honest as she spoke and he looked down at the drying ink in his textbook before replying.

"No, I didn't mean to call her that." He replied as he looked at Mary, "If I had, then I wouldn't have tried so hard to apologize to her afterward, but you know how well that worked out." he mumbled as he dipped his quill into the ink and began to trace the potion name.

"I am sorry Severus, I shouldn't have asked that question right after sitting down, but I just needed to know." He looked at her with uncertainty, this was awkward, more awkward than trying to pull up his pants and run from the group as they laughed at him after last year's O. .

"Its fine" he muttered as he grabbed his books before looking at Mary. "I have to go, I promised someone I would help them with their potions." he hastily shoved his things in his bag before leaving the library. No one was going to forget the fact he had called Lily a mud blood, but they would always forget the fact that she abandoned her prefect duties. But that was because things were different, there was that double standard. He was a Slytherin therefore he could do no right, though Lily was a Gryffindor and could do no wrong.

Severus shook his head and headed down to his dorm, maybe Avielle would be in the common room and she could help him figure this out. He wasn't certain what Mary was playing at, first she was defending him against Potter and Black, and now she was asking if he had really called Lily a mud blood.

Maybe she just wants to make sure she is defending the right person that was a completely plausible thought, no one wanted to be caught defending a person who they believed was innocent but was guilty. He would do the same thing, he would want to cover his bases before he went any further, but he just wasn't sure. He wasn't sure who to trust other than Madam Pomfrey and his sister, they were the only ones at Hogwarts who knew what happened to him, and if he had his way, no one else would know either.