What will they do with us,
When they are through with us?
Sandy, what are we sailing for?
-Sandy Fishnets, Evelyn Evelyn

There were no windows in the room, so it was no surprise that Tempest did not awake until late the next day- evening, really. She was aware of the fact that she was no longer in the dungeon where she had been placed previously, but instead found herself in a slightly darker room, if not only because of the wallpaper which was a magnificently deep colour, so dark she was unsure whether it was black or a dark green. When her eyes had been open long enough to take in more intricate detail, Tempest noted the fact that she was in a room similar to the Slytherin Common Room, but designed in a way similar to... She shook her head. It was almost like being back at Spinner's End. Tempest looked to her right to see a door ajar at the end of the room, and through it she could see a small amount of the room she had been taken to last night.

Summoning the little strength one usually has after a particularly long sleep, Tempest walked slowly across the room until she reached the point where she could look around the door as quietly as possible. She had not realised at this point that she no longer felt any pain in her leg nor anywhere else in fact. Upon realising this, she crouched down and lifted the hem of her cloak. Not a single mark. Happy enough, she stood up again and looked out the door. There were few candles lit, perhaps only three or four at the most around the walls and two at the desk where a silhouetted figure sat, hunched over the desk with a quill in his hand.

Tempest smiled slightly. She at least had enough memory of last night to realise he had saved her life.

"Severus," she called, a cheerfulness in her tone that surprised her, and seemed to almost petrify Severus, who at this moment straightened his back and looked around with a recognisable shock. She left the room she stood in quickly, almost skipping down through the classroom. "I must thank you, my friend!"

She stopped short of the desk, smiling broadly down at Severus who still remained seated. He shrugged in return somewhat carelessly.

"It was my duty and nothing more." Tempest laughed sharply, a slightly more erratic sound that she intended it to be.

"Don't be so silly, your duty's nothing to do with your actions. You were scared as well last night."

"For reasons I daren't say you'd understand," Severus muttered under his breath.

"Try me."

She was quite blatantly ignored after she spoke, and Tempest could not help but become quickly impatient. She moved around the desk and stood in front of it, placing her hands on the surface to catch Severus's attention.

"Why wouldn't I understand?"

"You and I both know you would understand, I simply don't see the point in speaking any more of last night."

"You saved my life," Tempest said quietly, her previous ecstatic behaviour calmed by the serious realisation. "I can't just stop thinking about it."

"Try."

Tempest sighed exasperatedly and turned from the desk.

"Were you scared at all last night?"

"Yes."

"About me dying?"

"Yes."

"Then what's your problem?"

There was a pause in which both thought, but only one came to a conclusion of any profit to themselves. Tempest bit her lip lightly and muttered a low 'Oh' before saying anything else.

"You didn't do it for me," she whispered. "You did it for her, didn't you?"

"I don't see why you seem surprised," Severus replied calmly, barely even looking up from his parchment. "I hold no loyalty to you."

"You don't have to be loyal to someone to help them."

"I do," he murmured.

"You won't even pretend, will you?" Tempest asked, her indignant tone rising. "You won't pretend that for once, she had nothing to do with a decision you've made."

"She was your mother, I remind you."

"Can't you just admit," she continued, ignoring Severus's comment, "that you were scared of me dying not just because I'm her daughter? Weren't you scared in the slightest that Tempest would have died and not Lily Potter's daughter?"

"Most people would just be thankful and be done with it," Severus said bitterly, still refusing to look up from his parchment.

Tempest swayed slightly. There was nothing she could say. Nothing that would make the situation any better, or even worse really. So she said nothing. She could only stare for a moment, utterly breathless. Nothing to do, nothing to say. Only to stare onwards at the man she had thought of as her friend.

In a fit of anger that suddenly surged through her body, Tempest shouted Flippendo, throwing the spell at whatever was in her path at that moment, and ran towards the door without once looking back to see the damage which had been caused. She could not hear anything that happened behind her, and was glad of it. If she could hear nothing, then there was no reason to turn back.

The dungeons were empty. Utterly empty. This was only noticed later on, but Tempest at that moment in time had nothing else to think of but… oh, but everything. She ran until she arrived at the door of the Slytherin Common Room, at which point she opened her mouth to speak the password, until realising she hadn't a clue what it was. She so very rarely needed to leave the Common Room that she didn't think she required to learn it.

It was fortunate enough that only moments later, as Tempest paced the floor several time in angst, the doorway opened and a petrified looking second year stopped short when he saw her. Tempest looked at the child for a moment before pushing her way past and marching into the dormitory. She took no notice of anyone who may have been there are that time, but was vaguely aware of someone saying her name before she disappeared up the stairs towards the bathrooms. Her bottom lip was held tightly by her upper teeth, and the tears were beginning to slowly appear, stinging her eyes mercilessly. She knew very well that it was only a matter of time before she broke down.

Slamming the door behind her, Tempest looked briefly across the bathroom. There was no one in there, and therefore plenty of places she could have locked herself away in. Yet for some reason or another, she could not bring herself to move, let alone hide. What was the use anyway? Someone would have found her.

And someone did.

Tempest started to pace the floor, and only stopped when she spotted herself in the mirror. Vanity was not one of her stronger points, but Tempest could not help but wince when she saw her reflection. The sleepless nights had taken their toll on her and the fresh tears certainly did not help. She sank to floor and wrapped her arms around her knees- something that came far too easily nowadays, causing her at that moment to shudder at the thought of her bony limbs.

"You are not vain," she muttered to herself, "and have other things of concern other than your looks."

The distraction of her other woes suited her no better, though, and within moments the tears poured freely and Tempest clung to her knees, the only hold she had to anything. She did not notice the footsteps outside the door and the soft sound the door made as it was opened. In fact, she wasn't aware of anything until the footsteps became heavier once inside the room and she heard a voice.

"What happened?"

Tempest looked up to see Pansy standing there, slightly wary. She kneaded her eyes with the palm of her hand to rid herself of the tears, but she was far too deep into the process of crying that they would not stop when wiped away. Pansy stood there for a while, swaying, simply looking at Tempest from afar. Her expression was unseen at the time; for all Tempest knew, Pansy could have looked at her with disdain or pure loathing. It was not until Pansy moved to her side, placing one hand gently on her shoulder that Tempest looked up, the tears thinning.

"Did someone die?" she asked softly. "Last night?"

"I don't think so," Tempest replied, slightly taken aback by the question.

"What happened then?"

She shrugged, unable to summon something to say. Pansy wouldn't understand. She barely thought anyone in the school might understand. They had friends. Friends who were not twice their age, at the very least. Tempest knew very well that it was a very innocent, or mad, person who would understand the situation without being interrupted by thoughts of a generally unpleasant kind.

"Then don't be so silly," Pansy said, though the soft tone with which it was said set Tempest at ease. She managed a faint smile that set her at ease before wiping away the leftover tears that stained her cheeks. To her surprise, they had stopped flowing at long last. The smile grew slightly more and Pansy joined in, almost grinning.

"I think Draco wanted me to bring you back down," she murmured after a moment's silence, and Tempest nodded. She wouldn't put it past him to ask it. Pansy brought herself to her feet and took hold of Tempest's elbow, dragging her up alongside her. Tempest could barely believe it came so easily. Only moments ago she felt as if she wouldn't be able to speak again, let alone stand.

Both Draco and Blaise were in the Common Room, waiting for the two girls, and both were tactful enough to not make a fuss of their entrance. Tempest stopped at the doorway, a fact that caused Pansy to frown slightly, though she did not complain, and instead she watched the others resume a conversation they must have had before she had entered the Common Room in the first place. She could not help but notice, though, that Blaise took very little- in fact, no- interest in the conversation, and was instead distracted.

Don't come over here. Tempest looked away quickly, blushing. Don't you dare come over here, if you so much as even look at me, I'll-

"Excuse me," she heard him mutter, and looked up to see Blaise leaving the group and walking towards her. Tempest could feel her cheeks heating and her eyes narrowing at him.

"What do you want?" she snapped, leaving him little chance to say anything.

"I wanted to know what was wrong." It was true, she could tell. There was genuine concern there. All the more to be suspicious about.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I just wanted to-"

"I'm fine." Blaise paused a moment before whistling lowly, relieved, and smiling.

"Good, good, I just thought…nothing."

"You thought what?"

It only took a moment for the smile to disappear, and for that nervous look to reappear. Tempest no longer found herself glaring, but was more curious than anything else. Blaise cleared his throat and spoke again.

"I thought it might be…something might have happened. Like…maybe you were…" He gestured vaguely, and at last Tempest understood.

"Pregnant?" she hissed, looking from Blaise over to Draco- Merlin, if Draco had heard such an idea! "I'm not stupid, Blaise, I wouldn't let that happen."

"Mistakes happen, I thought maybe you'd- I dunno, taken the potion or something, girls get emotional about that kind of stuff."

"And what do you know about girls?" Blaise pressed his lips together, stopping himself from saying anything that he may have wished to say- he knew very well it would get him into more trouble. Tempest paused, looking out into space for a moment or two to calm herself. When she looked back towards the boy in front of her, her voice shook slightly, though from anger or her previous sadness she could not tell. "You haven't said anything, have you?"

"Course not, promised, didn't I?"

"How do I know what a promise is worth to you?" He shrugged. "I don't want anyone to know."

"You don't want Draco to know."

"Yes. And if anyone else knew, they'd tell, wouldn't they?"

"I don't get why you care so much about him knowing. We didn't do anything wrong."

"You don't have a sister, Blaise. You wouldn't understand."

"You're not his real sister."

Tempest paused momentarily. No, she wasn't Draco's sister. Not even close. In fact, the two hadn't even remotely liked each other until a few years previously. But it still counted. Draco cared for her in the way that she cared for him. As anyone cared for their sibling.

"I'm as good as."