Chapter 34

Whispering a goodbye to each other, George and I departed at the base of the dungeon stairs. I was happy to walk the rest of the way on my own. I needed time to think.

My stomach seemed to have relocated itself much further north and my legs felt like jelly. Was it supposed to be like this after you had kissed someone for the first time? I wasn't sure and I had no one to ask. Merle and I had never really discussed such matters and I would not dream of asking Severus for his opinion on the subject.

My feelings for George had come about so gradually that I had hardly known that they were there initially. The twins had always been fellow students who'd I run into occasionally in the corridors. They'd make a joke and we'd be on our way. Something had been different since fifth year though…and I'd taken a long time to realise that it had even been there.

The time it took to walk the rest of the way though was clearly not sufficient, as when I had closed the door to our quarters, my head still felt like it was stuck somewhere in the clouds. It was both highly pleasant and unsettling at the same time.

It appeared that Dumbledore had already left. Severus was sitting at the table, rifling through a pile of parchment that I guessed to be homework. He looked up briefly when I entered.

"Fall all over you with gratitude?"

"No," I said vacantly, my mind back in that dungeon corridor. I walked through the room, heading for my bedroom.

"Was every last Weasley there?" Severus asked, picking up his quill.

I stopped short. "…Most of them…not Bill or Charlie. Just Mr and Mrs Weasley and…Fred and…"

"Ah, the thriving merchants."

"Of course," I said, frowning. "It's their brother, after all, and it hasn't been a good birthday for him."

Severus looked up at that. "I wasn't judging them, Armilla, far from it. As ridiculous as most of the content of their shop is, they have managed to be successful."

"And useful," I added, thinking of the Knockout Powder that had come in so handy the year before when I'd been trapped with Father and Rougier.

"And useful," he agreed, crossing out something in the first line of someone's homework, "but that's not to say I condoned their Gryffindor antics when they were here at school."

I made no reply, lost in thought.

"The twins had better not make it known to Alonso Hewitt that they were here this evening," said Severus suddenly, breaking me out of my reverie.

"Why not?"

"Because it would be like them to drop hints that they were here if they know of Arian Bletchley's desire to court you. I don't want to receive any more correspondence from Alonso or Arian."

"George-" I stopped myself. I had been about to say that George did know.

Severus looked up again. "Yes?"

"Well…Alonso and Arian should mind their own business."

"Of course they should," he said indifferently, looking down at the homework again, "but it does not mean they will."

I sighed. "They shouldn't make things difficult."

Severus looked surprised. "Make what difficult? Armilla, Alonso only sent that letter to because of the jealously Arian felt when you were talking to George Weasley. I know he was acting in Arian's interest by pointing out that a Weasley connection would be an ineligible match. Their imaginings that led to that letter are just that, stuff of fiction."

Only it wasn't. Severus had laughed at the thought of it only a few weeks earlier. He had said that a family like the Weasleys wouldn't align themselves with a family like ours, which had so many dark links.

I was worried about what Severus would think about George, but I hadn't even considered what the rest of the Weasleys would think, especially Mr and Mrs Weasley. Were they open-minded and trusting enough to accept it?

"Armilla," Severus said quietly, putting his quill down. "You are quite distracted."

"Am I?" I now felt distracted. Why were things so complicated? Of course things were going to be complicated, Severus had pointed it out to me once before that dating would cause problems. It certainly wasn't knowledge I'd appreciate the Death Eater community knowing.

Severus was giving me a shrewd look. "Is there anything you need to discuss?"

Yes! …No…I paused, deliberating. "No, not really," I said finally. "I think I'll go to bed," I added hurriedly, when it looked like Severus had more to say. "Goodnight."

I heard his soft goodnight in response as I went to my bedroom as quickly as I could without looking like I had a bludger behind me.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Ginny ended up being something of a saving grave in the following few weeks for George and I. Until we could think up a proper means of communication without it falling into the wrong hands, Ginny was to be our go-between.

The truth was, I did have an idea for a means of communication, but it was something I would need to ask Severus how to do and that meant actually telling him about our relationship. That was something I was not quite ready to do. I felt queasy every time I thought about it…or maybe it was guilt.

My idea was to use a chocolate frog card, just like Severus and I did. I had a few inklings on how to do the charm, but Severus had extra means of security on it, some of them his own, exclusive brands of magic. It would be respectful to him to try and recreate it myself, only to tell him I did it months later. It just wouldn't be fair.

As it was, Ginny knew of the relationship, courtesy of George himself. George had told me back in the dungeon corridor and he trusted Ginny with his life. It wasn't easy for Ginny to give any notes to me, or for me to give mine to her, so George and I were only communicating about once a week or so. Even then, our notes were disguised in Weasleys Wizard Wheezes order forms, complete with hints for passwords only we'd know. It was all rather difficult, but well worth it.

If you think this is difficult now, George had written, you had better have some Pepper Up handy once others know about it – and for different reasons, of course – my mother will smother you with letters trying to get you to convince me to get a proper job. She'll bribe you with fudge and hand-knitted jumpers. Just try to resist. Xoxo.

After the latest Gryffindor quidditch match, in which Gryffindor had lost to spectacularly to Hufflepuff, due to McClaggen cracking Harry's skull, Dean had been jealous of the attention Ginny had given to Harry. She had spent most of her time in the hospital wing until Madam Pomfrey had shooed her out.

It had quickly spread around Gryffindor Tower, and consequently the rest of the school, that Ginny and Dean had broken up after a big quarrel in the common room. The result was, only weeks later, Harry and Ginny were now in a relationship. This seemed to annoy Ruby Parkes intensely.

Ruby had taking to taunting me about Harry. Ever since she had found us in a deserted corridor together, she had made her mind up that there was something between us. She kept making pointed remarks, especially when Harry and I worked together in Defence, which, of course, was Slughorn's doing. Personally, I wished Ruby would get sent home. She had already gone home once before, but had come back again.

Merle was being troublesome still. I met her several times a week. Sometimes when we met, I'd be the victor, successfully using the emerald on my bracelet to regain large amounts of my magical strength, and other times I was being randomly stupefied and suffered the loss once more. Each time this happened I fought to maintain focus in order to have my emerald defend me.

Thankfully, each time it happened, someone would appear before long, as Merle's screams echoed through the halls. It was becoming common knowledge that Moaning Myrtle was the cause. I felt bad in using her as the excuse. Lisa had encouraged the rumour by saying that even she was occasionally followed by a screaming Myrtle. Only Ruby didn't seem to believe us.

One day in late March, something happened that would have made Ruby more confident about Harry and I. I met him in the corridor once again after seeing Merle. It was late in the evening, just before curfew on a Monday night. I was going down to the dungeons to stay, since I had a few questions for Severus about my homework. I had arranged it with him via my chocolate frog card. Why Harry was out and about by himself was anyone's guess.

I had been knocked down once again and had struggled to focus on using my bracelet on Merle to stop her draining any more magic. It seemed this type of dark magic confused the bracelet. Merle's screams, as well as the ghostly Merle herself, had disappeared at the sound of footsteps.

When I saw that it was Harry, I quickly pulled myself into a sitting position.

"We can't keep meeting like this," Harry said, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He smiled. "Want a hand?"

"No," I said shortly, getting up. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are," he said indifferently. "You're accustomed to this, it seems."

"Harry…" I ground out, glaring at him.

"Shut up?" he suggested.

"Yes."

He smiled at me. "Moaning Myrtle indeed. I've heard that rumour. Been following random Ravenclaws? Haven't people found it strange to find you on the floor?"

"I've been quick enough to get up," I snapped. I sighed. "Sorry."

"So, are you alright?"

"Yes, I just said I was fine," I huffed, brushing the dust of my robes.

"Yeah, but I didn't believe you."

"Then why ask?" I straightened up and began walking down the corridor, continuing in the direction of the dungeons.

Harry fell into step beside me. He took out his wand and cast a silencing bubble around us. "So what does Snape think about all this?"

"Harry," I said, feeling annoyed.

"Well, it's just that this seems the sort of thing you'd have to tell someone about." He gave me a knowing look.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Somehow, I don't imagine you as the sort of person who immediately seeks the advice of an adult whenever you're in a quandary."

He gave a short laugh. "No…not always, but that's beside the point. You are the one in some kind of quandary."

"It's no big deal," I said, shrugging.

"No big deal?" he repeated.

"That's right."

"I seem to remember someone telling Snape about that potions textbook," Harry said, giving me a dour look. "The one I though had belonged to my dad."

I gave him a cross look. "You know I had no choice."

He shrugged. "I've found you twice before now on the floor in random places around the castle."

I glared at him. "Are you following me then?"

He laughed. "No, of course not."

I shook my head. "Then why are you wandering the castle at night?"

He glanced sideways at me. "I've had some sessions with Dumbledore. Nothing I can speak about."

"Oh."

Harry was persistent. "How many other times has this happened to you?"

"It's not your business," I snapped, getting impatient.

"Well, you might be ill or something!" he retorted, getting angry himself. "Either that, or someone is doing something to you."

I said nothing.

"And you keep having those moments of uncontrolled magic when we're practising in defence," he reminded me, giving me a knowing look. "Something is happening."

"Even if there was," I said irritably, "what's it to you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know…" He sighed. "You were…helpful…during the summer with Snape. Maybe your presence made him more bearable in the end."

"I thought the two of you had reached some sort of understanding."

He paused, and then nodded slowly. "Well, that too, but I think it had something to do with you. He would never have let me into his potions class before last summer."

"I thought you're taking his NEWT class on strict conditions."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I am, but I think he would never have even considered letting me in it if it hadn't been for you."

I gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, so you're grateful for my presence then, as Severus is a little more tolerable towards you."

He grinned. "Something like that. Also, you are a nice person."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Good thing you threw in that last comment for good measure."

"You're trying to change the subject." Harry stared at me for a moment, as if trying to determine his next course of action. "Armilla, something is going on."

I sighed. "Look, Severus already knows something about it."

He narrowed his eyes. "What, he knows a little about it? Snape may be a git to the rest of us, but he wouldn't allow you to be collapsing in random places around the school."

"I haven't been collapsing," I snapped, as we reached the top of the marble staircase. "Don't exaggerate."

"Fine, then," he said, looking equally annoyed. "But you had better not keep turning up in random places around the school."

"Don't venture out at all then," I replied, giving him a mocking smile, "and then we won't keep meeting like this."

"How lovely to find the two of you together," came a sickly sweet voice.

Harry and I spun around to find Ruby behind us. "You two should really go public."

"With what exactly?" Harry asked her. "An announcement that we had a conversation in the corridor. Not entirely newsworthy gossip, is it?"

Ruby folded her arms. "Oh, I think it's a little more than that. It's happened more than once, after all. Poor Ginny."

I stared at her. "What's your problem, Ruby? You never seemed to be so hung up before on following people around and matchmaking. That's Pansy Parkinson's domain."

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Don't compare me to her!"

"Then go and find something useful to do," Harry snapped, as we heard a door open in the Great Hall.

"I suggest all three of you find something useful to do," came Professor McGonagall's voice. We all looked down towards the open door of a chamber off the Great Hall.

McGonagall came out, carrying a couple of books, followed by the other Heads of House. As all were carrying parchment or books; they'd clearly been having a meeting.

Professor Flitwick and Severus looked equally displeased when they saw the three of us at the top of the stairs. Professor Sprout bid them goodnight and headed off in the direction of the door that led to the kitchens and Hufflepuff domain.

The other three teachers made their way up the stairs towards us.

"What's this about, Potter?" McGonagall asked, when they had reached us.

"Nothing much, Professor," Harry answered, looking flushed.

"It is nearly curfew," said Professor Flitwick. "Why are the three of you not in your common rooms?"

"I was with Dumbledore," said Harry.

"And you were taking the scenic route back to Gryffindor Tower?" Professor McGonagall asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied, meeting her eye.

"You're a terrible liar, Potter," said Severus, looking disdainfully at Harry, who looked back at him without much reaction. Clearly, they had been making progress in Harry's lessons with him.

"And the two of you?" Professor Flitwick asked, looking at Ruby and I. "You're both a long way from Ravenclaw Tower."

"I was going to the dungeons," I said quietly, looking from Flitwick to Severus.

Severus inclined his head. "She had arranged it with me," he told my Head of House.

Professor Flitwick nodded, before looking at Ruby. "And you, Miss Parkes?"

"I was in the library," she said curtly. "I came across Armilla and Harry meeting in the corridor and I did wonder at it."

"We didn't meet in the corridor!" Harry snapped at her. "We both happened to be in the same corridor at the same time."

"I would thank you not to make assumptions, Miss Parkes," said McGonagall, looking sternly at Ruby. "Creating gossip is not fair."

"Indeed it is not," said Severus, narrowing his eyes at Ruby. "If I hear of you making trouble, Miss Parkes, I will find things for you to do to be kept busy."

Ruby did not look in the least perturbed by this. She looked evenly back at Severus. "Of course, sir," she said politely.

"Back to your commons before curfew," said Flitwick to Harry and Ruby. "Hurry up, now."

"Goodnight," said Severus, nodding at Flitwick and McGonagall.

I followed him down the marble staircase and then down the dungeon stairs. We were silent all the way to our rooms.

"Not one of your better decisions, Armilla," said Severus, as soon as he had closed the door behind us.

"What decision?" I asked indignantly. "I didn't make the decision that Ruby seemed to be implying. I was held up when I saw Merle on the way down here and Harry happened to come along just after. There's nothing in it."

Severus looked annoyed all the same. "We don't need rumours about you and Potter spreading throughout the school. I don't need that. It could put you in so much danger, especially if the Dark Lord hears of it."

"I know that!" I exclaimed. "It wouldn't have happened if Merle hadn't stopped me!"

"Then I could have escorted you from Ravenclaw Tower if you had wanted to come down!" Severus snapped. "Or used the chocolate frog card to transport you down here, as we've done before. There are other ways, Armilla. It's enough that you have to work with Potter during Defence classes. Slughorn won't budge on that one."

"But I need to see Merle," I argued. I could see Severus' point, but I needed to get all my magic back. How was I to know that Harry would be about?

"What you need," said Severus sharply, "is to not be seen with Potter again!"

I looked away. The thought of the Dark Lord thinking that Harry and I were in a relationship was too awful to ponder, not to mention the problem it would create for Severus. "Okay," I said after a moment. "I'll try not to."

"Good," Severus said heavily, before sitting down on the sofa. "Bring me your homework."

I hesitated for a moment, before going into my bedroom and retrieving my books from the armoire, which was connected to my wardrobe in my dormitory.

I joined my brother on the sofa a coupleof minutes later. "I only had a few questions about Arithmancy and Defence," I said quietly.

Severus sighed. "Armilla, you do realise the concern I have about you and Potter being seen together?"

"Of course I do," I replied, opening my book.

Severus was silent for a moment. "Am I to conclude that since you have been working more with Potter this year, the two of you have become friends?"

I thought for a moment. I supposed we had. We were definitely more than mere acquaintances now.

"You wouldn't like it if we were," I said, meeting Severus' eye. "But sometimes you cannot help getting along with someone when you have to work in class with them."

Severus didn't look as angry as I would have expected. Instead, he looked thoughtful. "I thought this would happen through your friendship with Miss Granger and I didn't like that from the beginning."

"Hermione and I only ever talk during our classes. And she had nothing to do with Harry and I being friends. You know that Harry wouldn't openly acknowledge any friendship anyway."

Severus sneered. "Because he'd be above such a thing? A Potter wouldn't associate with you?"

"No," I said coolly. "He's too loyal. He knows it would complicate things. He was just as mad as I was about Ruby. Surely you could see that."

Severus shook his head. "He's far more concerned that it could complicate his new relationship with Miss Weasley. You'll be lucky if Miss Weasley doesn't say anything to you if Miss Parkes' gossip gets back to her."

"Ginny won't say anything," I said, surprised. "She knows that-" I stopped short.

Severus raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "She knows what exactly?"

Damn. I thought quickly. "She knows that I would never date Harry Potter."

Severus stared at me, clearly thinking about something.

"Shall we look at my homework?" I suggested, pulling my book towards me again. "There's a hex I want to ask you about."

Severus nodded, looking a little distracted. "Yes, go on."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"There's definitely something wrong with you, you know," Harry whispered in my ear and we packed up our books. The bell had just rung to signal the end of our last Defence class before Easter break. I had seen Merle four times over the last week, the latest being that morning, and even now I had to admit, I was close to crumbling.

I was getting harder to disguise my occasionally erratic magic in class. The problem was, it could happen so unexpectedly and I would feel so drained afterwards. Since Slughorn always partnered Harry and I during Defence, Harry was generally on the receiving end of my wild bursts of magic. He'd had to go to Madam Pomfrey only the week before for a black eye. He had been a real sport about it; he had convinced Slughorn that he had been careless with his shield charm. Harry knew there was more to it though.

I knew it was only a matter of time before Severus would ban me from being alone in the castle again. He had more or less advised this so far, but I had gone my own way in my need to have my magic back. I supposed it was also fuelled by my indignation that my magic should be with anyone but me anyway. As it was, I had not mentioned all of Merle's appearances to Severus. I was not ready to give up my plan of conquering the problem.

I didn't look up as I zipped my bag closed. "You always know the right thing to say." I stopped and held onto the desk for a moment, a wave of dizziness passing over me. I bent down to pick up my bag, taking longer than normal to do so in order to wait it out.

Harry didn't miss a trick. "Oh yeah, there's someone in perfect health."

"Stop it, Harry," I said tiredly, standing up slowly and swinging my bag onto my back.

Harry picked up his bag too. "I'm going to tell Snape."

I rolled my eyes. "No, you're not."

"Am too," he said, not smiling. "This is getting ridiculous."

"But I didn't hurt you today…well except for that bump on your knee…and that scratch on your arm," I pointed out. "And your eye is back to normal now."

"That's not relevant and you know it," he said crossly. "I may have not found you collapsed in random places lately, but I bet it's still happening."

"Harry," I said, trying to be patient. "I appreciate your concern, but I can handle it."

"You had better tell Snape though," he said. "The proper extent of it all, I mean. Seriously, Armilla, if I find you again around the school, I'm going to Snape."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

I wasn't in the best mood as I made my way down to the dungeons. I knew that Harry did care, but I didn't want him talking to Severus about it either. To top it off, I hadn't managed to slip my message to George to Ginny. I hadn't found the opportunity to do it safely.

"Get your cloak," Severus said, as soon as I'd closed the door to our rooms. "We'll be leaving this evening, rather than tomorrow morning. Are you packed?"

We were going home for a couple of days for the Easter break, which I was really looking forward to.

"No…I was going to pack tonight," I replied, taking in Severus' slightly irritated mood. "What's the hurry?"

"Dumbledore wants us to pay a visit to Draco before we go home, so he figured it was best to do it tonight and head home to Derbyshire from there."

I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but Severus held a hand up to stop me. "I'll answer questions when we are on our way. I am not sure how long we will need to spend with Draco and so I would rather leave sooner rather than later so that we can be home at a reasonable hour."

He disappeared down the hall into his bedroom, his robes billowing out behind him. Fabulous, an evening with my agitated brother and the always delightful Draco Malfoy. At least I'd be able to see how Lydia was. I thought that leaving that poor muggle-born with Draco Malfoy was one of the worst decisions Dumbledore had ever made.

Ten minutes later Severus and I were out in the grounds, walking to the front gate so that we could disapparate.

"So why do we need to see Malfoy?" I asked. "I thought Dumbledore had been seeing him."

"He's seen Draco several times," Severus replied. "As I am Secret Keeper, Dumbledore thought it was about time I also pay him a visit. I need to give Draco new supplies and food. It's all in my pocket."

"Are we doing it because Dumbledore may not be around much longer?" I asked quietly. I supposed it wasn't really a question.

"I cannot tell exactly how long he's got left, but yes, I believe that is the reason."

"I didn't think you would want me to come." Severus had been furious when Dumbledore had wanted to involve me. I wasn't Secret Keeper, but the idea was that of anything…unfortunate…happened to Severus, it would be in my power to help out. I shuddered at the thought. I generally tried not to think about Severus not surviving the war.

"I don't," Severus said bluntly, "but I suppose your involvement is necessary, at least Dumbledore thinks so."

Once we were outside the gates, Severus offered his hand so that we could disapparate.

"When your magic is more stable, hopefully you can start practising," he said.

"Somehow I don't think that will be anytime soon," I said dryly, placing my hand his. I still had not joined in any of the Apparition lessons. My magic had just not been up to it, which had also been bothering Harry.

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Because you've been seeing Merle more times than you've been telling me?"

I didn't answer. I just stared back at him.

He sighed. "I am no fool, Armilla. You've looked exhausted lately and I've seen no improvement in your magic. I assumed you had made up your mind to be entirely Gryffindor about the situation."

I frowned. "Then why haven't you stopped me?"

"I assure you, I am not far from putting a stop to it," he said. He actually looked tired himself. "You're seventeen in two months and I don't believe you'd appreciate me making all your decisions for you."

"No," I admitted. I wouldn't appreciate Severus telling me that I couldn't go after Merle.

"But just because you're old enough to make important decisions for yourself does not mean they're always going to be made correctly," Severus went on. "That, of course, is part of becoming an adult and you can only learn from them."

Was Severus talking about anything in particular?

"Armilla," said Severus, looking very serious. "I do hope, that no matter how old you are, you do talk to me about things that worry you."

I nodded, feeling uncomfortable. "Even if you're not going to like it?"

He nodded. "I've never known you to be so preoccupied as you've been lately and I would rather know what troubles you than guess."

I nodded again. I couldn't tell if he already had an inkling about what I had not been telling him.

Severus gave me a grim look. "Let's go then."

We apparated to the side of a road near a deserted beach. I couldn't see any housing around, which was rather strange.

"Where are we?" I asked Severus. He pulled a bit of parchment out of his pocket. He held it out for me to see. "Memorise this."

The accommodation for Mr Draco Malfoy and Miss Lydia Riddle may be found at Barton Cottage, Allhallows Beach, Rochester, Kent.

"Okay," I said, a moment later. I concentrated on it in my mind and a moment later I saw a small house materialise up ahead of us.

It was a stone cottage. It had a large blue wooden front door and windows on either side. From the outside, it looked pleasant enough, but I couldn't imagine it would be the sort of accommodation that Malfoy was used to.

"Dumbledore tells me that he inherited this house many years ago," Severus commented, as he used his wand to destroy the parchment. We began to make our way towards the lonely house. Our cloaks flapped in the strong wind.

"Why isn't there any other housing around here?"

"The muggles don't know about this part of the beach," he replied. "They have never realised because they've gotten distracted when they've gotten too near, much like Hogwarts. They wouldn't see it anyway."

As we approached the front door, loud cries from within could be heard.

"Sounds promising," I said quietly, as Severus knocked on the door. A moment later, a very dishevelled Draco Malfoy answered the door.

"About time, Dumble-" He stopped short when he saw us. Colour drained from his face. "Is he dead?"

"If you're referring to the Headmaster, Draco, then no," said Severus smoothly.

Malfoy just stared at him. I could still hear Lydia wailing inside.

"This is the point where you invite us in, Draco," my brother drawled. "Common courtesy and all, you know."

Malfoy seemed to snap out of his trance. "Oh, yes…do come in. Excuse the mess, if you will. Not a good day…"

His attempt to sound pompous didn't quite succeed. His normally smooth hair was sticking out in different directions and his robes had a crumpled look to them.

"Bad time?" Severus asked, as we followed Malfoy to the sitting room, which was at the front of the house.

It was a decent sized room, with two squashy looking sofas facing each other, with a coffee table in between. Pages of The Daily Prophet were strewn here and there on the floor. Sitting on the floor, holding one very crumpled page and looking very red faced and teary eyed, was Lydia Riddle. She stopped her wailing when she saw Severus and I. If she recognised us, and I had doubted she would, she gave no sign.

"Do you fight over the sports section or something, Draco?" Severus asked, taking in the mess. Even cushions were sitting here and there on the floor, as if they had been flung there.

Lydia whimpered, clutching the page she had to her chest.

Malfoy grimaced as he looked over at Lydia. "She…er…likes how the people in the photos move. I've concluded that the muggle papers mustn't have anything like that."

We all looked over at Lydia, who was staring back at us, a curious expression on her face now.

"Dumbledore said you're the Secret Keeper," Malfoy said to Severus, looking warily at him. "I suppose if you were going to give me away to the Dark Lord, you'd have done it by now."

"We all have our own priorities, Draco," Severus replied, his face expressionless. "The Headmaster trusts me implicitly and I intend to keep it that way."

"Has he…" Malfoy faltered, looking slightly sick, "has the Dark Lord mentioned me? And my mother? How is she?"

I looked over at Severus, wondering the same thing myself.

Severus' expression remained the same as he answered. "I am not at liberty to give you any information about what the Dark Lord says."

Malfoy opened his mouth again, presumably to argue, but Severus kept on speaking. "What I can tell you, care of Dumbledore himself, is that your mother is well."

Malfoy looked relieved.

"And to ensure her continued safety," Severus went on, "you, of course, need to uphold your end of the bargain."

Malfoy pulled a face. "I am!" He gestured at Lydia. "She's alive, isn't she?"

"She's not clean," I pointed out. Indeed, Lydia looked like she hadn't had a bath in a few days.

Malfoy gave me a scathing look. "Well, she's a mudblood after all."

Anger surged through me and suddenly Malfoy was slammed into the opposite wall. He slid down it, looking a little dazed. Lydia began to cry once more.

Severus glared at me. "If you cannot control your magic-" he began furiously.

"You know I can't!" I hissed back.

His eyes flashed. "That was your decision!"

I stared back at him angrily. Finally, I was the first to look away. I walked over to Lydia and picked her up. She continued to wail, still clutching her piece of the newspaper. I glared over at Malfoy, who was rubbing his head. "If you can't wash her, I will."

I left the room without a backwards glance. Lydia whimpered as I looked for the bathroom. I was still shaking with rage. Why did Lydia have to stay with Malfoy of all people? Dumbledore was ridiculous to place so much faith in a dumb old prophecy that was probably not even going to come true.

I found the bathroom and began running the bath. As I set Lydia down on the floor, a terrible wave of guilt passed over me. I shouldn't have lost control. What Malfoy had said was despicable, but I should have had enough control of my magic to not let my anger win. What if it had happened in front of another Death Eater who was still in service? I could have made things very difficult for Severus.

"When was the last time you had a bath?" I grumbled, as I took the last of Lydia's dirty clothing off. She just looked back at me, her fingers in her mouth.

"It's going to get wet if it goes into the bath with you," I said, gesturing at the piece of newspaper. I held my hand out for it.

Lydia looked at the bath and then back at the newspaper. "Mine," she said.

I sighed. "I'm not disagreeing with you. I took out my wand and transfigured a cloth into a yellow rubber duck.

Lydia smiled and reached for it.

I shook my head. "Newspaper first, please."

Lydia looked down at the newspaper again, clearly deliberating.

"You'll get it back, I promise."

Finally, the exchange was made and Lydia was soon sitting in the bath with the duck. I took the chance to examine the newspaper. It was a photo of Dumbledore sitting at his desk at Hogwarts. It was there as part of a typical article that questioned his leadership of the school.

"So it's Dumbledore you like," I said quietly.

For the first time, Lydia gave a big smile. "Sweets," she said.

I smiled. "He gives you sweets? Well of course you like him then."

As I started to wash her, I could hear the muffled voices of Severus and Malfoy in the sitting room. Both were clearly angry. Occasionally I could make out a few words of their conversation. Malfoy, it seemed, was putting in a minimum of effort and Severus was pointing it out to him.

Only minutes later, I heard their footsteps in the hallway. Suddenly both of them were standing behind me in the bathroom.

"Carry on," Severus said casually, as I turned around in surprise. "Draco is here to observe."

Malfoy looked furious. "I know how to give it a bath, alright?"

Severus seemed to count to three in his head before responding. "Firstly, Draco, you need to understand that the child is not an it, and secondly, if you knew how to give her a bath, then Armilla would not currently be doing it for you."

Malfoy huffed and folded his arms. I noticed though, as I turned around again, that he was watching me out of the corner of his eye.

Lydia played with the duck the whole time and we went through the whole process without incident. Soon she was clean and dressed in clean clothes, still clutching the rubber duck, the newspaper forgotten.

"Are you going to show us your usual dinnertime routine," Severus asked Malfoy, his voice laced with sarcasm, "or should we save you the trouble and show our displeasure now?"

Malfoy glowered at Severus. "She eats," he said shortly.

"What does she eat?" I asked, taking Lydia's hand as we followed him to the kitchen, at the back of the house.

"The food Dumbledore leaves for her, care of the house elves at Hogwarts," he replied, giving me a smug look.

"Sweets," Lydia said again, at the mention of Dumbledore.

"She eats sweets?" Severus said, raising an eyebrow at Malfoy.

"He brings her presents," he said moodily. "I suppose it makes him feel better since he's leaving it…her…with someone like me."

Sounds like Dumbledore, I thought to myself; always an agenda.

Twenty minutes later, we sat in front of the fire. It was nearing half-past seven and I had just put Lydia to bed. Thankfully, having the duck with her, Lydia had not put up too much of a protest. I had thought it would be difficult, especially after Malfoy had admitted that he often left her to sleep anywhere around the house.

It seemed like Severus had done nothing but lecture Malfoy since we'd arrive. I wondered how much care Dumbledore was really putting into the situation.

"You know, Draco," said Severus, leaning back on the sofa, "the funny thing about two year olds is how terribly honest they are. They do not understand subtlety or pretence. It will be obvious to us in future if it looks like you are not doing what you are obliged to do."

Malfoy shook his head. "I'm going mad here."

"What's your alternative?" Severus said sharply. "Death? The death of your mother? Your father has caused enough trouble for your family in the eyes of the Dark Lord and you know it, Draco."

Malfoy looked petulantly at Severus. "You know that I do not care about my own life-"

"But you do care about your mother's," my brother finished for him.

Malfoy nodded slowly. "Of course I care about her."

"Then do us a favour and show some of that care to the child," Severus said, looking seriously at him. "I have enough to do, Draco, without having to come here more often than needed simply to see if a child's basic needs are being met. I know you are angry and I know you are bored here, but your involvement and assistance here could well prove a ticket out of Azkaban for you if the Light wins this war."

Again, though not looking so bad-tempered now, Malfoy nodded. He suddenly gave a dry laugh. "It's hard, you know? I never know what to do with her."

"What did Miss Felicity do with you when you were troublesome as a small child?" Severus asked him.

Malfoy thought for a moment. "She gave me what I wanted…because I would threaten to have her fired if she didn't."

Severus closed his eyes in annoyance.

"Your governess?" I asked.

Malfoy nodded. "Actually, I could use her help right now. I'd borrow your old governess, Armilla, if she wasn't so busy."

Severus opened his eyes at that.

"Busy?" I repeated. "Doing what?" Did he know about Rougier being married to Father? Did he know she was pregnant?

Malfoy shrugged lazily. "I'm sure I don't know."

"Draco," Severus said tersely, "tell us what you know. We're not fans of Zita Rougier, you see, and we'd love to know what has been keeping her busy lately."

"I really don't know," Malfoy insisted. "I only know that she's busy because Arian and Alonso mentioned it to me ages ago."

Arian and Alonso? "Where?" I asked. "When?"

Malfoy shrugged again. "It must have been at Christmas time. It was at a gathering at the Hewitt's home. Arian Bletchley has a Transfiguration apprenticeship in Lyon with Marcel Rougier."

Marcel Rougier? I knew Arian worked in Lyon for a Transfiguration Master, but he had never mentioned the name.

"And I assume he is a relation of the beloved governess?" Severus asked darkly.

Malfoy nodded. "Yes, he's her brother. Arian was talking about a large financial blunder his master had made and mentioned that Zita was doing all she could to help him."

"I didn't know you and Arian and Alonso were friends," I said coolly.

"More acquaintances than anything else," Malfoy said casually. "I gave Arian the all-clear at Christmas time to date you, since I wasn't. I failed to mention, of course, that you'd already refused me."

"Well, thanks for giving him your permission," I said acidly. "Whatever gave you the impression that you had the authority on such matters?"

Malfoy didn't even blink. "I'm a Malfoy," he said simply, as if that explained everything.

"And on that note," said Severus, standing up, "I believe it's time to depart."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Arian had a connection with Rougier all this time," I said, after we had apparated near the Merrigan Estate. "It's strange how it never came up. They were both at that party Father had last year."

"Do you remember them talking to each other?" Severus asked, as he opened the door to the carriage.

I shook my head, as I got in. "No. Perhaps they didn't even meet then."

"Perhaps not," Severus said, getting in behind me. "He may not have known that Marcel even had a sister at that point."

I looked out the window as the carriage set off. "I wonder what she's doing to earn money."

"Something dishonest I'd wager," Severus muttered. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "I cannot help but feel that there is a connection between Marcel Rougier filing for bankruptcy and Zita marrying Father."

I had no doubt about that. "There has to be."

"We'll need to talk about what happened with your magic," Severus said, looking over at me. "I am not impressed, Armilla."

I nodded again, meeting his eye only briefly.

We were silent all through the short journey to the house. I had grown accustomed to calling this place home now and the first glimpse of the large, greyish house was such a happy one.

As I had anticipated, our house elf, Docky, was waiting on the front steps. Ever a festive personality, Docky was sporting a pair of bunny ears, the same pink and white ones he had worn when we'd arrived home for Easter a year ago.

"Docky wishes you a Happy Easter!" he squeaked, as we stepped out of the carriage.

Severus grimaced at the sight of the ears. "Docky, I seem to remember telling you last year that if you wanted to be a rabbit, I could oblige you."

Docky looked daringly up at him. "Docky decided that his festive spirit must not be squashed, Master Severus."

Severus merely stared at him.

"Miss Hazel used to be encouraging Docky to dress for any season that called for festivity, Master Severus."

"My mother and I disagreed on many points, Docky," Severus sneered, "and this was one of them. Remove those ridiculous things at once." He brushed passed Docky, went up the steps and disappeared into the house.

Docky stared after him, his ears dropping a little.

"Never mind," I whispered to him. "I think you knew Severus wouldn't like them. I do; they're rather becoming, I think."

Docky beamed at me, as we ascended the stairs. "Docky thanks you, Miss Armilla. Docky made hot cross buns again. Does Miss Armilla think Master Severus will like them?"

"I'm sure he will."

I went up to my bedroom and resized my shrunken luggage before seeking out Severus. I found him down in the dining room, where he was serving Docky's steaming steak and mushroom pie onto plates.

"I'm sorry about what happened before," I said, as I sat down. "I realise the situation could have been far more dangerous than it was. I know it's not an excuse, but I'm having a hard time controlling my magic at the moment, particularly when I get angry."

Severus nodded as he handed me my plate. "I appreciate your acknowledgement of the potential danger of the situation. I do realise that you are having difficulty controlling your magic and it concerns me that this sort of thing could happen again."

"I do my best to-"

"I am not questioning your intentions, Armilla," he said, "however your decision to pursue Merle has resulted in something that could have been far more dangerous. I agree that regaining all of your magical strength is very important, but at what cost? Your magic of late has become something of a yo-yo."

I frowned. "A what?"

" A yo-yo," he repeated. "It a muggle toy…Mother had one years ago. It's a wheel that travels up at down a piece of string-" He stopped when he saw the confusion on my face. "That's beside the point. I respect that you do need to make decisions for yourself, but I ask you most fervently to think of the potential consequences too."

"You make me feel like all my decisions are going to have unfortunate consequences," I said.

"I do not intend that at all," he said, shaking his head. "You are very responsible, Armilla, but I would give that advice to anyone your age. Mother gave me the same advice many years ago and I wish that I had paid more attention to her at the time."

I looked back at him, trying to imagine him as a teenager.

"Perhaps I should stop seeking Merle out," I said quietly, staring down at my pie. "Maybe I should focus on controlling the magic I have."

"Again, that is entirely your decision," Severus said. "Show me the emerald."

I held out my hand to him and his grasped the emerald on the bracelet. I immediately felt the warmth from the touch through my veins. It always reminded me of the very first time Severus had touched it, early in my fifth year.

"It's a lot greener than it was when Merle first starting making appearances," Severus commenting, studying it carefully. "It looks as though you have most of your magical strength."

"But not all of it," I murmured, also staring at it.

"No…" He let go and picked up his knife and fork again. "But whoever is behind it is playing the game just as well as you are, and I do not want to see you lose."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

A/N Better late than never? It seems now I only get the chance to update during the holidays.

You may have noticed that I have played with the HBP timeline a little, especially with Harry and Ginny's relationship and the Quidditch match – it just fit my story this way.

By the way, if you like Severus father-daughter fics, check out MetamorphmagusLupin's work. I love the Severus and Zoe stories and Severus is so well written in them.

Please review!

Coral Grace