Whispers

February 1998
Ellie

Ellie stopped a moment, peering around a corner to make sure the coast was clear before motioning Seamus to follow. They didn't speak as they crept down the hallway, wands out and eyes scanning around, the two listening for anyone that could be coming from either direction. They were making their way to yet another abandoned classroom to spend some time together before the DA meeting that night and stealth was key.

"You sure about this?" Seamus whispered, a worried frown on his face. They were farther from Gryffindor Tower than he cared to go.

"Yes, now be quiet," Ellie whispered back, her eyes still looking around them. She crept up to another corner, looking down the next hallway. They were nearly there. She smiled to herself when she saw the coast was clear and the doorway just ahead. But just as she was about to step out, there were footsteps.

Seamus grabbed her, pulling her back around the corner as they held their breath, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't walk past them.

Ellie met his eyes and then looked back out.

"I'm beginning to doubt your loyalty," they heard someone spit, though they were still a ways off. Ellie's eyes widened as her heart started racing. She froze, recognizing Alecto Carrow's voice. She could feel Seamus' grip on her arm tighten.

"I do not have time for this, Alecto," Snape snapped. The footsteps moved closer and already Seamus was already starting to creep back down the hallway, looking for a room or broom closet they could sneak into, but Ellie yanked him back. Though she was frightened, she wanted to hear this.

"You are barring my way!" Alecto shouted, the footsteps coming to a stop. Ellie ventured a look around, seeing them about halfway down the next corridor. "You're getting weak! Why the Dark Lord trusts you is be-"

"Do not… finish that statement," Snape seethed, cutting her off. "May I remind you that I have the Dark Lord's trust. Fully and completely. Much more so than you." Ellie watched on, seeing the headmaster glaring down at the shorter professor. She was scowling up at him, though Ellie could clearly make out the bit of worry that had entered into her eyes. "You are skating on thin ice as it is, Alecto. The Dark Lord does not take kindly to distractions. Heed my advice. Stay the course. Maintain your focus."

Alecto glared at him a bit longer before huffing and spinning on her heels, storming back in the direction that they had come. Seamus pulled on her arm again. Ellie shook her head, still watching Snape. The headmaster watched until Alecto had disappeared around a corner, sighing as he brought his hand up to his forehead, massaging his temple. He mumbled something to himself and then walked off, going down the same hallway, but turning in the opposite direction at the corner.

"What do you think that's about?" Ellie whispered, turning back to Seamus.

"Dunno, but we should get out of here," Seamus said, finally succeeding in pulling her back down the hallway.

"He said something about protecting the students," she said. Seamus stopped and looked down at her, confused.

"What? I didn't hear that," he said.

"Just before he walked off… couldn't really make out all of it, but I clearly heard him say 'protecting students,'" she said. "We should tell the others." Seamus sighed and started walking again, Ellie catching up to him.

"Not sure that it matters," he replied.

"But it does matter… Snape is trying to protect the students," Ellie insisted.

"Seriously doubt that," Seamus muttered.

"But-"

"Just drop it, Ellie," Seamus said. "He probably wasn't even talking about himself. If he really were trying to do that, why are so many of us getting hurt in detention?" Ellie huffed and shot a glare at him but continued following him. Something about the interaction was stuck in her head and conjured up a load of questions. Questions that she wanted answered.

The two continued walking quickly, the closer they got to the room of requirement, the less they were worried about running into anyone.

"You think Harry's alright?" Seamus asked, finally breaking the silence. Ellie looked up at him with wide eyes, thrown momentarily at the subject change.

"I hope so," she said, her brow furrowed. "Has there been any word?"

"Just whatever's been on Potterwatch," Seamus said with a sigh. "Which isn't much. At least we haven't heard that he's been caught."

"At least there's that," Ellie said.

"Any word from home?" Seamus asked, looking down at her. She sighed heavily.

"Not in a few weeks. I tried to ask McGonagall about it after class the other day, but she just said that she'd let me know if she heard anything. Suppose I should consider no news as good news," she said. Seamus reached out and took her hand, squeezing it.

"I'm sure they're all fine," he said, offering her a reassuring smile. Ellie offered him one in return.

"How's your parents?" she asked.

"In hiding," he replied, the smile fading. "I don't know where they are right now, to be honest. Told them it was best that I don't." Ellie stopped suddenly.

"Seamus… why didn't you say anything?" she asked, guilt seeping into her heart. He turned to her and shrugged.

"Seemed you had enough to worry about without adding my family to it," he replied. Ellie stepped closer to him, taking his other hand in hers.

"But it worries you. And I care about you. So, I care about them too," she said. "When did they go into hiding?"

"Sometime during first term. I went to me auntie's for the holidays," he said. Ellie couldn't think of anything reassuring to say, so instead hugged him tightly.

"I'm sure they're fine," she whispered, feeling him put his arms around her.

"Thanks," he said gruffly. She leaned back slightly, looking up into his eyes.

"And you can talk about it with me, you know," she said. He nodded, giving her a half smile.

"Just… when I'm with you… I kind of want to forget about everything for a bit," he said. "Which is another reason I didn't bring it up… I'm happy when we're together and didn't want to muck that up."

"It won't muck it up. You can talk about it if you need to," she said before going up on her toes and kissing him lightly on the lips. "Think that's kind of what girlfriends are for." His smile widened as he kissed her again.

"Thanks," he said softly. The two heard footsteps and quickly stepped apart before hurrying down the hall to the room of requirement, not sure who might be coming and not wanting to risk getting caught.

They quickly walked in, hearing the loud murmur of several conversations going on at once. Ellie made her way to sit next to Ginny on a sofa as Seamus sat next to her feet on the floor. Ginny shot her a look and Ellie just huffed. The entire DA knew about her arrangement with Nott. While she wasn't about to inform them that she and Seamus were actually together, she didn't think any of them would talk about what they saw inside the room of requirement while out elsewhere in the castle.

"Alright, alright!" Neville shouted, getting everyone to quiet down. He then looked around the room, taking stock of everyone who was there. Before he spoke, the door opened once more, and Cho Chang rushed in and sat with the rest of the Ravenclaws. "Now that we're all here, how are we with detentions?"

Ellie found her thoughts wandering as the various houses went around with updates on how many had been in detention with the Carrows and what had happened. Seemed there were a fair more injuries, but she wasn't paying that much attention - she was back in the corridor, listening to Snape mumble to himself about protecting students. She was sure that was what he had said, as far-fetched as it may seem. He had personally made life difficult for her last year upon finding out she was Sirius Black's daughter. But he had stepped in twice this school year to stop the Carrows from getting their hold on her. She wondered if it was just Theodore stepping in to get Alecto to back off, or if there was more to it.

Was he actually trying to help? And why? But at the same time, why would he allow the Carrows to be so brutal in their detentions if he was trying to protect all of the students? None of it made much sense.

A soft elbow to her ribs tore her out of her thoughts as she looked over at Ginny, who motioned towards Neville. At that moment, she realized that the others were staring at her.

"Pardon?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Asked if you had any trouble with the Carrows or others this week," Neville said again.

"None. Same as always," Ellie said. "Whatever Nott's been telling his father, it's working." Neville nodded and started to move on to something else when Ellie cleared her throat and got his attention. Neville sighed and looked back over at her, motioning for her to speak. "I overheard Alecto Carrow and Snape talking on the way here." Neville's eyes widened as he stepped towards her.

"What did you hear?" he asked.

"Carrow accused him of getting weak," Ellie said. "Seemed upset with him. Then he reminded her that he has the Dark Lord's trust and she would do well to stay focused." Neville seemed to be thinking this over. "And… well… I thought I overheard him mumbling something about protecting the students after she had stormed off."

"Why would he say that?" a Hufflepuff asked.

"Maybe… maybe there's a reason Snape is headmaster," Ellie offered.

"Yea, to help You Know Who by controlling Hogwarts," someone else said.

"Or to make sure that they didn't hurt us too badly," Ellie countered.

"You've been in detention with Alecto Carrow. How is he protecting us?" Ernie MacMillan shouted. Ellie frowned as her hand went to the scar on her left arm.

"He's stepped in twice to help me," she said. "Stopped one detention and then stopped them from keeping me here at the castle during the holidays."

"Not nearly enough, in my book," MacMillan stated. "And that was because of Nott." Ellie sighed as several more students began shouting out their opinions on the matter and havoc broke out. Neville shot a frown her way as he attempted to get the meeting back under control.

"You really think he's trying to protect us?" Ginny asked softly.

"I'm not sure, but I plan to find out," Ellie replied.

"Just… leave it, Ellie. It's hard enough keeping you out of trouble with the Carrows as it is," Seamus said. She looked at him, about to make a snarky retort about the help he was doing, but then stopped when she saw the worried look on his face. Instead she just sighed.

"Fine," she said, though she was already working out a plan in her head. If she was going to figure out what was going on with Snape, the best way was to talk with him directly. And in order to do that, she was going to have to take drastic measures.

The next day, Ellie glanced around the potion classroom, seeing that everyone was caught up in finishing before the class ended. Slughorn was on the other side of the room, helping out a Hufflepuff. She then turned her attention to her cauldron, knowing that if she was really going to do this, she needed to do it now before she lost her nerve. She had chosen Slughorn, knowing he would send her to the headmaster if she made a big enough ruckus instead of the Carrows. McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick would have found an indirect way to punish her other than detention - no matter what she had done.

Taking a deep breath, she reached inside her robe pocket, pulling out the small vial hidden there. She was still firmly at the top of the class and Slughorn knew she could do this potion, so when the desired effect had taken place, there was no doubt he'd know it was intentional.

She pulled out the stopper, glancing around to see everyone intent on their own potions before emptying all the contents into the cauldron. She then waited a moment, holding her breath. As soon as it started bubbling more than it should, she slid off her stool and started to slowly back away, not wanting to get a faceful.

"Three… two… one," she whispered before ducking down as the potion exploded, filling the room with a heavy, purple smoke. There were shrieks and screams as the other students attempted to get out of the way.

"What's going on!" Slughorn shouted before dissolving into coughs. Ellie stood up, watching as he walked over to the table. "Whose cauldron is this?!"

"Mine, sir," Ellie said. The professor's mouth dropped open as he gaped at her and then looked over into the cauldron that was continuing to spew out purple smoke. Already his face was tinted purple from it, as were the students who had been at her table. It was clinging to her school robes and Ellie was sure that she had it on her face as well.

"Let's see where you went wrong," he said, the disbelief clear in his voice. He looked around her station before finding the empty vial and picking it up, smelling it. His eyes widened as he looked back over at her in shock. "Ms. Black… I am surprised." Ellie just stared up at him, a look of innocence on her face. "You of all people should know what this would do if added to the potion."

"I do, sir," she said. Slughorn was even more gobsmacked by her response. He looked back down at the vial and then over at her, unsure of what to say. He then sighed and shook his head.

"Go see Headmaster Snape. Immediately," he said.

"Yes, sir," she said before grabbing her bag and rushing out of the room, ignoring the perplexed looks that Meredith and Moira were sending her. She nearly sprinted through the halls to Snape's office, sliding to a stop at the statue, unsure of how she should enter. However, Slughorn must have somehow informed him she was coming as it began spinning up and spiral stairs appeared. Ellie started up them.

She had never been to the headmaster's office before, so couldn't help as her eyes widened in awe as she stepped in and looked around. She then came to an abrupt stop, seeing an unhappy Snape standing in front of the desk, glaring at her.

"Ms. Black," he said.

"Yes, headmaster," she said. He sighed heavily and took a few steps towards her.

"I should be surprised that I haven't seen you in my office more often," he replied, glaring at her. "Would you care to explain what this… is?" He motioned to her purple face and school robes.

"Yes, sir. But only after you tell me why you've helped me this year," she said, lifting her chin slightly. Snape didn't respond, only narrowed his eyes. "I want an explanation."

"I only did what I was told," he said finally. "I assure you, nothing would have pleased me more than to allow you to receive the punishment you so clearly deserve." For some reason, Ellie didn't quite believe it. If he was so highly regarded by Voldemort, he wouldn't need to take orders from Nott.

"It's more than that," she continued. "And I want to know why."

"It is none of your concern, Ms. Black. Did you or did you not intentionally cause your potion to explode?" he replied.

"You're deflecting. If you're not going to answer me, then just go ahead and send me to the Carrows," Ellie spat. "Which one is to be this time?"

"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH, MS. BLACK?!" Snape suddenly bellowed, causing her to hop back from him slightly. There was a brief flash of desperation in his eyes, but he quickly looked away, composing himself. "I can clearly see that the explosion was an accident. You may go without detention, but I will be deducting ten points from Gryffindor."

Ellie only stood there, staring at him in shock.

"You may go, Ms. Black," he said a bit louder this time. She started to open her mouth to reply. "NOW, Ms. Black." He glared at her long enough that she spun around and left his office, more confused than when she went in.

There was no way that the Carrows wouldn't find out about the incident or that she wasn't given detention. He was sticking his neck out for her - the daughter of one of his so-called worst enemies. Something was clearly going on and she wanted to know more.

Can't stop Ellie when she's onto something. And I enjoyed writing something where she showed a bit more of her mischievous side. She is Sirius Black's daughter, after all.

Thanks for reading and following!