"I told you that you were supposed not to go anywhere by yourself! For God's sake, Shirley, can't you get anything through your head?" thundered Snape when a half of an hour later we were alone.

When the Headmistress along with the Minister for Magic had come, the boy had apparently realised that he had stood no chance against four well-trained wizards, and he had simply surrendered, letting McGonagall lead him out the room. I was not sure where he had been taken; maybe a couple of floors up to her office, or maybe straight to the Ministry, where he would be interrogated for sure; even if not now, then in a few hours.

It was impossible to pretend that nothing was going on anymore; the Minister, although terrified, had finally understood that. I had also wanted to use that situation to convince him to let Severus keep teaching, but never before had I seen anyone who would be trying to avoid a conversation on any topic as desperately as he had. I had had to let go... at least for now.

"You could have died," he continued, pacing around the office, and I sat at the desk, hiding my face in hands. I did not want to listen to him. I knew perfectly that he was right... however, was it not better that I had come to him with that matter? Would it have been better if I had waited in the classroom until everyone had left and Stillwater attacked me?

"But nothing happened," I whispered, yet did not dare look up at him. "I'm here... safe and sound, just like you are..."

"Yet, Shirley."

Finally, I glanced up, but Snape was not looking at me. He was still pacing around, and I could barely hear his footsteps. Even when he was so agitated, his steps were so quiet... he would probably never cease to surprise me.

"If I hadn't come here with him,"I decided to try to excuse myself, "he would have presumably attacked me right after the lesson. Do you consider it a better scenario?" I noticed Severus turn his head to look at me, but I continued, "Thanks to this, we've discovered that there are Death Eaters even among the students. If it's like Stillwater said, and there are more people like him... Don't you think we should find them...?"

Snape walked up to the desk and propped both of his hands on it. It made me lean back, but it was not so easy when I was sitting on a chair – we were just a couple, maybe a dozen inches apart, and I sensed an explosion coming.

"You shouldn't feel excused because of that. It was nothing but a coincidence, not your intended action," he said quietly, then sighed and shook his head. "But you are right, that man could have attacked you just anywhere. The fact that he didn't do that in the corridor is nothing short of miraculous. I have no idea what might've stopped him.

I did not answer, realising that once again he had put his finger on the truth. In the classroom, during the lesson he would not have dared do anything to me, because there would have been way too many witnesses. He had wanted me to bring him to Snape, because it would have given him a couple of minutes during which no-one would have guessed what had happened.

"What will happen to him?" I asked, really wanting to change the subject.

"He'll be interrogated... and probably sent to Azkaban, despite his young age," answered Snape grimly.

I felt sorry for the boy, even though I really hated him. However, he was still just a student. How had it happened that he had been enrolled into such an organisation at such a young age? Perhaps it was the vision of greatness that had convinced him... but had he really not realised how dangerous it could be?

"If nothing changes, he'll most probably escape with the rest of the Death Eaters," I noticed quietly, still remembering Lucius Malfoy's words. "If the guards have been bribed... and Stillwater is truly one of them... if he's sent there, he won't feel lonely." I flinched slightly.

Severus sighed and stood straight.

"Probably," he admitted. "And that's why I have no idea what to do."

For the first time he said something like that. I looked at him hesitantly. Until now, like a seasoned player, he had been able to predict the opponent's moves and face them. Now, though, it seemed to me that he had been caught in a trap.

"Does the Minister know what's hapening? If we tell them..."

"Then what? He'll fire the guards and hire new ones. The Death Eaters might be weak-minded, but not all of them, and their boss definitely is not as stupid as one would think. Lestrange used to stand aside, because it was his wife playing the first fiddle, but it still doesn't change the fact he's been a Death Eater for many years, and he knows perfectly how to run such a unit. Remember that the Lestranges have served the Dark Lord for a really long time... and all of them have usually been very close to him. Lestrange is not just some private.

I stood up, feeling my knees quiver. Having folded my arms over my chest, this time it was me who started to pace all around the room. We could not just let it be, even though just a couple of days before Severus had insisted that we sit quietly and let the others act.

But in that case... did the Malfoys know about Stillwater? Did his family know about it at all? Or maybe his whole family was now serving the same idea...?

"We must do something, Severus," I said emphatically, glancing at him. "We can't just... leave it right now. Now, that the Death Eaters will get to know that we have started acting in their cause, they'll probably get active, because hiding will no longer make any sense. And it means that the war will come much faster."

Snape rubbed his jaw, thinking. I knew that he was an excellent tactician, but now, he seemed to care about me way too much. He should stop thinking about my safety and simply begin to act, to stop the plague from spreading. Just like he had told Draco before – if he did not do anything now, we would all be in danger.

"I haven't got any raports from the Malfoys yet," he said quietly, as though still wondering about something. "I don't know, either, how much the Minister knows, and how far we may go so we won't get sent to Azkaban, when the Death Eaters are still there."

"Maybe Draco was right," I started tentatively, "and Potter should indeed be involved. I've heard that..."

"No, Shirley. Potter won't come. Yes, I do know that there are rumours about him, what a wonderful Auror he has become, but I still think he's an insolent, arrogant idiot who believes he knows more than he does."

I raised my brows a bit. He really despised him, even though one would think that those things were already in the past.

"But he's an Auror and if we..."

"I said no," Snape interrupted me quickly. "We'll manage without him. We just need to develop a proper plan."

There was no point in arguing with him any longer, even though I had got a feeling that there was something wrong about his refusal. I did not believe that sheer aversion towards the guy could stop him from using his help, if he was indeed capable of providing us with lots of help. After all, until now, aversion to anyone had never stopped him from cooperating... and hardly could I accept the thought that he had changed so much.

"Then let's develop it," I replied, hoping that my voice sounded calm enough. "We can't just sit here doing nothing. It's true that we still knew very little, but..."

"As soon as McGonagall's back, we'll have to talk to her. That's when we start."

"Who would have thought... one of the students..." McGonagall's voice faltered. At that moment, she looked older than ever, and I felt a weird urge to wrap my arms around her. Common sense, though, told me that it would not be a good idea.

"There's certain probability," said Snape in his cold, matter-of-fact voice, "that there are more of them. Stillwater has mentioned it... and I believe that we should discover them as soon as possible, otherwise the whole school will be in danger."

The Headmistress leant heavily back in her chair. She looked very tired. It was obvious that she had not been calm for many days now – probably she had been working on that case by herself, too, just like Severus and I had, but neither of us really knew what in fact she had been doing. Not much information would she share with us, and she undoubtedly knew much more than what she had told us.

"How would you like to do it, Severus?" she asked, peering at him over her glasses. I smiled slightly upon the thought of what else she might have taken after the Headmaster before her.

"I think that we could easily use your predecessor's idea," answered Snape calmly, but I noticed that the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. I did not know whether he was trying to refrain from smiling, or maybe it was a nervous tic.

McGonagall straightened up and propped her hands on the desk top, looking straight at Severus, raising one of her brows.

"What are you talking about."

This time Snape allowed himself a rather unhappy smile. He laced his fingers behind his back and from the corner of his eye glanced at the door.

"Perhaps you, too, remember those... interrogations... which were back in the day carried out by one Professor Umbridge," he said in a quiet, singsong voice, as though those memories amused him.

"What? No, Snape! These are students we're talking about!"

"At least some of them might be Death Eaters, Minerva!" said Snape indignantly. "Do you really want to risk the safety of everyone else? Or maybe we should just send them back to their houses, it will be better for them!"

A complete silence fell in the office, interrupted only by quiet buzzing of some instruments which were put here and there on different tables. Truth be told, not much had changed since the days of Dumbledore.

"Severus is right, Minerva."

I almost jumped at the sound of that voice. I turned back just to notice a man with silvery hair and a long beard, glancing at us over his half-moon spectacles. I had almost forgotten that there was his portrait in the office.

"So... so you believe we should apply Veritaserum to the students and question them as if they were criminals?" McGonagall flared up. "Forgive me, Albus, but I have always had the impression that you shun such methods, too!"

"Because it is so," answered Dumbledore sedately. "However... there are moments when one should be guided by the good of students. By the greater good. Hogwarts is not full of dimwits. They will understand what's going on."

McGonagall flinched.

"That's exactly what I'd rather avoid!" she replied, pushing the glasses up her nose. "Albus, they are still students..."

"But not children anymore, Minerva. You must ask yourself a question, what's more important to you: the comfort of the students, or their safety."

And like nothing had happened, he just bowed his head goodbye, moved to the frame of the painting and vanished.

"It doesn't sound friendly..."

I flinched slightly upon hearing that voice. I almost dropped the rolls of parchment I was carrying, so quickly did I turn back.

"Neville!"

His round face brightened up when our eyes met. I could not help smiling. We had not talked in such a long time; even at meals we appeared at different times. I had a feeling that it was Snape who had been taking care of that, after all, he had insisted that he had to lead me even to the Great Hall.

"Have you seen?" He waved some note in front of my face. "McGonagall told me to pin it to the information board in Gryffindor Tower... Merlin's beard... once again I can't help but think of the times when Umbridge was here..."

I knew perfectly what he meant, but I did not answer. After all, I contributed to that myself. However, Neville did not have to know about it... I did not want him to suddenly start considering me his enemy.

"We haven't got a chance to speak in a while," I stated, trying to change the subject; I hoped that Neville would not notice how desperate I was about it. "You must be really busy, hardly ever do I see you in the corridors..."

"It would be easier if that overgrown bat didn't follow you everywhere," answered Longbottom sourly, not even looking at me. I had to bite my tongue so that I would not tell him something nasty; I did not want to quarrel with him now. "I'm busy, but not so much that I wouldn't talk to my friend."

I blushed a lot, so I quickly turned my face away, so Neville would not notice that. I also took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"He's worried about me," I muttered. "He follows me, because he's afraid that something bad could happen to me..."

"...in the corridors of Hogwarts?" In Neville's voice clearly sounded irony. "Really, Darcie, he's not the only one who cares about you... and I'm pretty convinced that you can do so much better, you may hang out with people of... well... not of Snape's ilk."

I frowned. I felt precisely the same like when Snape had offended Neville without any reason to do so. Now, Neville repaid him in exactly the same way.

"You don't have to like him, Neville, but Severus has already saved my life a couple of times, and I don't see the reason why I should consider him inferior. Snape cares about me, and I appreciate it. And you, as my friend, also should be glad that I'm alive and well."

Neville's cheeks took on a strange, dark hue.

"Oh, right. Forgive me. Severus," he said, and at first, I did not understand what he might have meant. Only after a couple of seconds did I notice the same, unpleasant hint in his voice that I heard in Snape's tone whenever he talked about Neville.

So Severus was right. Neville indeed was envious.

"I should hang the note in the Gryffindor Common Room," he added in a different, cooler tone, not even looking at me. "So... see you, Darcie."

And he left, still staring at the piece of parchment he was holding. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply, but my heart was still beating twice as fast, and I realised my hands were in fists; my nails sank into my palms.

"All right, Shirley?" I heard a familiar, quiet voice. "Has someone bothered you?"

I opened my eyes and noticed that by now Neville was nowhere to be seen. I turned back to look at Severus and forced myself to smile, shaking my head a little.

"No, no... everything's fine."