Because Elena has decided to spend the holiday break at Hogwarts again, she wakes up to an empty dormitory on the first day of break. Tonks, Phoenix, and Elena said their goodbyes last night because Tonks and Fifi- along with the other students- had to leave early this morning to get home on time. It has only been a matter of hours, but Elena already misses her friends more than she can put into words. They became her family the day they met, and she absolutely hates being away from them for extended periods of time.

Sighing, Elena gets out of bed and pulls on the cloak her rescuer left with her last year. She pulls it tight around her to fight the sudden chill that comes over her as she crawls out from beneath her nice warm sheets. She creeps over to her trunk and pulls out black leggings, the lavender sweater Mrs. Weasley made for her last year, woolen socks, and her beige Ugg boots and dresses quickly before walking down the stairs of the dormitory.

Every other Ravenclaw went home this morning, so the common room is completely empty. She only knows of three other people staying in the castle over Christmas- the Weasley boys and Rita Skeeter.

Since there are less than ten students staying for the two weeks of break, Dumbledore has cleared the Great Hall of the four House tables and has instead conjured a round table that sits all of the students and staff. From what Elena can tell, she's the first student to arrive for breakfast, as the others have chosen to sleep in. The professors, even Snape, all greet her warmly as she sits down beside Professor McGonagall.

"Has there been any fresh snow over the night?" Elena asks as she reaches for the syrup to put on her French toast.

Dumbledore, with a twinkle in his eyes, nods. "Yes, my dear. We've now ten inches of snow upon the ground. I say that is quite perfect for tobogganing, no?"

Bill and Charlie come barging in before Elena gets the chance to respond.

Pretending to tip an invisible top hat, Charlie says, "Top of the morning to you all. What's for breakfast?" and sits down beside Elena. Bill sits down on his brother's other side.

"Heavenly French toast," Elena answers, handing the plate to them.

"Delish! Those house elves outdo themselves every day, I swear," Bill states.

Rita Skeeter walks in. She casts a wide, sickly sweet smile to everyone and sits down beside Professor Snape. Elena and Charlie share a look of annoyance at her arrival.

Elena isn't quite sure what it is about Rita that makes her hate the Slytherin girl so much. It could be her bug-like appearance, her gossipping, her spreading rumors, or how she always seems to know everyone's secrets. Despite Elena's innate ability to see good in everyone- even Professor Snape- she can't seem to find a single good thing about Rita. Elena does, however, attempt to kill Rita with kindness every time she sees her because she knows it annoys Rita to no end.

"Good morning, Rita! Pleasant day, today, isn't it?" Elena asks brightly.

Rita scowls at her. "If you call frostbite pleasant, then yeah. So, what's new with everyone?"

~3~

Elena manages to escape Rita's inquiries with practiced ease. Deciding to go outside and read for a little while, she runs up to her dormitory to grab her book, a blanket with a Water-Repelling Charm to sit on, and her warmest cloak before heading out to the grounds. She lays her blanket down beside the lake, sits down, and begins to read her book.

A little over half an hour later (and not to mention at a really good part in her book), a voice behind her says, "A little cold outside to be reading, is it not?"

Elena shrieks at the sound of Snape's voice, and she ends up accidentally flinging her book into the snow.

Snape, with his best effort at an apologetic smile that ends up looking more like a grimace, Summons the book and dries it with two flicks of his wand before handing it back to Elena. "My apologies, Miss Davies. I did not mean to frighten you."

Elena shrugs and mumbles, "It's alright, sir."

Much to her dismay, Snape sits down on the blanket, making sure to keep as much space between them as possible.

Elena is still quite peeved about the conversation they shared the night before the Ravenclaws' first quidditch game despite the fact that he helped her through an anxiety attack the next day. She knows he has his reasons for not talking about Voldemort, but she doesn't appreciate it when people degrade her need for knowledge- or when they tell her who she should and shouldn't be.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, sir?"

"I would watch that hostile tone of yours, Miss Davies."

Elena looks out across the lake to avoid his eyes. "Yes, sir," she mumbles.

Snape follows her gaze a moment later. "Have you been taking your medicine since your incident at the quidditch game?"

Elena, now even more annoyed than before, nods tersely.

"Good, good. We do not want you to have another anxiety attack."

"No."

Snape sighs. "I get the feeling that I am irritating you, Miss Davies."

Elena gives him a fake smile that could rival Rita Skeeter's. "No, sir," she says in a voice that reeks of sarcasm. "Why ever would you think that?"

"There is no need for that tone of voice."

"What tone of voice, sir?" She hisses. "As I recall, you're the one who called me a mudblood. You'd much prefer if 'my kind' didn't come to this school, wouldn't you?"

Snape looks at her disbelievingly. "I never called you that."

"You didn't need to because you implied it."

"No, I did not," he whispers and looks back out across the lake. "I think muggle-borns have an element of magic the rest of the Wizarding World will never have."

Elena runs through the words in her head again, unsure she heard him correctly. Finally, she musters an, "Oh?"

He nods, then gets a faraway look in his eyes and says so quietly that Elena isn't sure if she was meant to hear it, "I was in love with a muggle-born woman once. She was killed by the Dark Lord."

"That's why you don't like to talk about You-know-who, isn't it?" She whispers, turning to face him with a look of sadness.

Snape blinks several times to clear the emotion from his face before turning to face her again. "You will catch a cold in this chilly weather, Miss Davies. You should go back inside."

Elena rolls her eyes and chuckles softly, happy for a change in subject. "That's actually a myth, sir. Cold weather only lowers your immune system and makes you more susceptible to illnesses, but you can't actually get sick without coming into contact with a person or thing that is carrying the illness. Well, that's actually not completely true because every rule has its exceptions; you can catch pneumonia if you get wet while in the cold."

"Are you calling me an imbecile, Miss Davies?" He says with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"No, sir. I'm just saying that you're wrong about catching an illness only because of the cold weather," she rambles uncertainly.

Snape's lips turn slightly upward in a Mona Lisa smile (you can't quite tell it's there). "I was only teasing you, Miss Davies. You do seem to have a lot of medical knowledge, though. Do you plan on becoming a Healer after leaving Hogwarts?"

Elena smiles hesitantly at him. "Heavens no, sir. I know Fifi does, though, so she has me quiz her sometimes on different medical things, but my mum is a muggle doctor, so I've been hearing these things from her for as long as I can remember."

"What do you plan on becoming after Hogwarts, then?"

"An Auror," she answers immediately. "Tonks told me about them, and I know that's what I want to do."

"I can hardly see Miss Tonks being an Auror; she is much too clumsy."

Elena chuckles. "I agree, but I figure if she works hard enough, she can accomplish anything she puts her mind to. Not to mention that she would have disguises in the bag."

"Why do you want to be an Auror?"

She shrugs. "I always wanted to be a spy and work for MI6 when I was younger."

Snape suddenly starts choking on his own spit.

"Are you alright?"

He nods, still coughing. "Just fine." Once he's finished choking, he says, his voice more hoarse than usual, "Being a spy is not all it is cracked up to be, I reckon. It is also extremely dangerous."

Elena tilts her head. "That sounds like you have first hand experience."

Snape looks back out across the lake to avoid her inquisitive gaze. "Let us just say that I have known someone who… made some poor decisions before realizing he was wrong, and he wanted to do something to help the people he had sworn as his enemies."

Elena nods slowly. "People fail to realize that the world isn't as black and white as they're led to believe."

"Yes, that is very true. You are very wise for someone your age, Miss Davies."

She shrugs. "I guess."

There's a sudden breeze, and Elena shivers despite her many warm layers of clothing. Snape notices.

"You should go inside."

Elena shakes her head and pulls the cloak tighter around her. "I'd rather not. I like to enjoy the snow and cold air- it reminds me that there is still good in the world."

"At least put this on," Snape says as he shrugs out of his cloak and tries to hand it to Elena, who just pushes it back towards him.

"No need. I still have your cloak that you left with me when you rescued me last year."

He blinks blankly at her for a moment before resuming his usual stoic demeanor, albeit a little more forced than usual. "That was not me."

She smirks at him. "Whatever you say, Professor."

~3~

The next day, which happens to be Christmas eve, Elena is working on a letter for her sisters when Polka appears with a loud crack in her dormitory.

"Time for medicine, Miss!" Squeaks the house elf as she walks over to where Elena is sitting at her desk.

"Good morning, Polka! How are you today?" Elena asks, turning to face the elf with a large genuine smile plastered across her face.

"Polka is good, Miss. Here is medicine. Polka not able to leave until Miss takes medicine."

Elena grabs the items Polka is holding, throws the water and the pill into her mouth, and swallows it all in one gulp.

"Thank you, Miss."

Elena grabs Polka's arm before she can leave. The elf looks up at her with wide eyes. "Before you leave, Polka, will you take this present for Professor Snape and put it with the rest of his gifts to be given to him on Christmas morning?"

"Of course, Miss!"

Elena hands the parcel to Polka, who then disappears with a snap of her fingers.

~3~

Elena wakes up at dawn the next morning, excitement thrumming through her veins. She throws off her covers and crawls to the foot of her bed to examine the neatly wrapped presents waiting there for her.

That's when she sees a parcel wrapped in all black- even the string itself being that color- and eyes it warily before tentatively picking it up. She carefully tugs at the string and unwraps the gift. Inside is a silvery-like cloak that feels as though it's made of water. When she puts it on, she realizes that it makes her invisible, and she grins with glee.

Elena then opens the note.

This might come in handy as you train to become an Auror.

-Anonymous

Just the message alone tells her all she needs to know. Besides Tonks, Fifi, and her sisters, the only other person who knows that she wants to be an Auror is Professor Snape. Now the black wrapping paper makes a lot more sense.

After opening the rest of her gifts, which include some kind of map from Tonks that she promises to show how it works when she gets back to Hogwarts, a thick wool blanket from her sisters, which is no doubt to mock the fact that Elena is always cold, and a book of Hogwarts school rules from Fifi, Elena walks over to her trunk to get ready for the festivities of the day ahead of her. She dresses in a pale blue dress that reaches her knees, nude stockings, and a warm cardigan before skipping down to breakfast in the Great Hall.

Bill and Charlie, along with all of the professors, are already sitting at the table, talking merrily, when she arrives.

"Good morning, Miss Davies," Professor Flitwick greets as Elena sits down beside Charlie and Professor Sinistra.

Charlie passes her the plate of bacon, and she helps herself to several pieces of it.

"To you as well, Professor Flitwick."

"We were just discussing our favorite gifts we got this morning," Bill states as he takes a large bite from his bagel. "What was yours?"

Elena looks over at Snape, who throws her a wary look before looking down at his plate.

Deciding to make him sweat a little, she says, "Well, I got a nice new Cloak from one of my friends, and I quite like it." She looks up at him to see a deep scowl etched on his face. "However, I think my favorite gift is the book of school rules Fifi gave me- and no doubt Tonks as well. I guess she thinks that we ought to get into less trouble."

The whole table, except for Snape, erupts into laughter.

"What are you all laughing about?" Rita asks as she walks in and sits down beside Bill, who scoots ever so slightly away from her. "I want to be in on the joke."

Charlie mouths, "I hate her," to Elena, who nods in agreement.

Even Snape seems to be annoyed as Rita starts babbling about the most recent gossip of the school.

~3~

True to her word, the night Tonks gets back, she takes Elena up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They sit down on the tiled floor. Tonks takes out the Map, lays it between them, and pulls out her wand, requesting that Elena does the same.

"So, before I show you how this works, let me first tell you about it," Tonks starts. "My Uncle Sirius, who is actually my cousin, but I call him 'uncle' because he's thirteen years older than me, gave me this a few years ago. He's now in Azkaban for a crime I don't think he committed, but we'll get to that later. With the help of his friends- Wormtail, Moony, and Prongs- he created this Map while he attended Hogwarts, and they named it the Marauder's Map."

Elena frowns at the Map, trying to understand what it can do since it's blank.

Seemingly reading her mind, Tonks answers, "What's so special about this Map, you may ask? Well, when you tap it with your wand and say, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good', it shows you all of Hogwarts, including where everyone is within."

The Map comes to life in front of Elena, and she gasps in awe. "This is so cool!" She squeals.

"And to close it, you say, 'Mischief Managed.'"

Elena wraps her arms tightly around Tonks. "Thank you so much for this, Tonks!"

Tonks smiles sheepishly. "I'm giving you this under two conditions: one, we share it, and two, we don't tell anyone else about it, including Fifi. Do you agree to my terms?"

Elena pulls away from the hug and nods energetically, a smile spreading across her lips. "Definitely!"

Tonks returns her smile. "Good. I would tell Fifi, but I know she would make us hand it into Dumbledore, which I really don't want to do. I hope you can understand."

"I do. And since we already have this Map as a secret between us, I would like to add another."

Tonks raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Someone gave me an Invisibility Cloak for Christmas." Tonks opens her mouth, but Elena hurriedly adds, "Before you ask, I have no idea who sent it to me. It's in my trunk. I've a feeling we'll need it in addition to this Map."

Tonks's eyes are wide open with curiosity. "Do you know how hard Invisibility Cloaks are to come by? I can't believe someone gave you one. This is really awesome, though, so I'm not going to complain."

"So… your Uncle Sirius?" Elena prompts.

Tonks nods blankly. "He's not a Death Eater, like the Aurors say he is. He was not, and will never be, Voldemort's right hand man."

"Why are you so certain of that? It's not that I don't believe you, but… there's a lot of compelling evidence against him."

She waves a dismissive hand. "Evidence, shmevidence. He didn't kill Lily and James Potter or those muggles in the street. And the reason I know he's not a Death Eater is because he does not have the Dark Mark. Well, that, and he would never turn his back on his friends; he was as loyal as I am."

"Hopefully more modest, though," Elena mumbles.

Tonks jokingly swats at Elena, who avoids the hit, and the two burst into laughter.

Elena continues to ask questions as Tonks tries to answer them to the best of her ability. Eventually they drift away from his imprisonment and switch to discussing what he was like as a person.

"One time, when he and his friends were in Diagon Alley getting up to no good, Sirius saw me with my mum and dad, and he walked over to me and placed me on his shoulders. He then carried me back to his friends and showed me off to them. He was always so proud of me; I don't understand why. Sirius is one of the people I love most in this world. I really hope I get to see him again soon."

Elena laughs. "That's sweet, and I hope you see him soon, too."

~3~

During double potions on the first Thursday of the new term, Elena comes to class sneezing and coughing, and her eyes are red-rimmed.

"Before you turn in your essays-"

"ACHOO!"

"-remember that Tuesday we will be starting work on the Confusing Concoction-"

"ACHOO!"

"-so be sure to study for it over the weekend if you do not wish to get a grade worthy of your pathetic brains. Miss Davies, stay after class."

Elena places her essay in the pile and waits next to Snape's desk, just as he asked her to do.

Snape closes the door behind the last student and walks over to her.

"You wanted to see me," she covers her mouth as she coughs, "sir?"

He rolls his eyes and suppresses a smile. "I told you that you would get sick if you sat out in the cold, but did you listen to me?"

"It's just a coincidence," she mumbles, coughing even harder than before.

Snape winces at the sound. He grabs a bottle of potion from a drawer in his desk, then pushes it into her hand.

She eyes it curiously. "What is this, sir?"

"Pepper-up potion. It will make you feel better. Drink it."

He watches her as she drinks the entire bottle and places it down on his desk. "Thank you, sir. I feel better already."

Elena walks out the door, while Snape chuckles quietly when he sees the smoke streaming from her ears.

~3~

After eating breakfast on an early Saturday morning in April, Tonks and Elena head off to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, where they have stowed the Map and Invisibility Cloak, as inconspicuously as possible. Elena and Tonks open the Map and cover themselves with the Cloak.

"Are you sure this is going to work, Nymph?"

Tonks rolls her eyes. "Yes, I'm positive. I've done this too many times to count since I've been at Hogwarts."

"Does Filch know about the passage?"

"I've already told you a thousand times, but if you need confirmation once more, fine. No, he does not know about the passage through the Whomping Willow."

Regardless of still being apprehensive about the whole thing, Elena follows Tonks out to the Hogwarts grounds and over to the Whomping Willow.

They make it into Honeydukes completely unobserved. The two of them look around the shop for a while and both girls end up spending a little over half of their money on sweets.

It's when they enter Zonko's that they notice Snape, who is walking around Hogsmeade. Elena and Tonks share a look before darting across the store to hide amongst a display shelf.

"He wasn't supposed to be here!" Elena whisper yells. "You promised me that no one from the school was supposed to be here this early on a Saturday."

"Oh, don't get your panties in a knot, nerd girl. How was I supposed to know that he was going to be here? From what I've observed on the Map, he only comes here as a chaperone on the Hogsmeade trips."

"Whatever the case may be, we need to figure out how to get back to the school without him catching us."

Tonks smirks. "I have just the plan."

Elena groans. "Whenever you say that, you get us both into so much trouble."

"This time is going to be different."

"How?"

"Because this time my plan is actually going to work."

Knowing arguing is futile, Elena rolls her eyes, and says, "What crazy thing do we have to do to get past him and back up to the castle?"

"Just follow my lead, nerd girl, and we will get back without a hitch."

~3~

Forty-five minutes later, Elena and Tonks are sitting across from Snape in the professor's office.

"I am going to murder you, Nymphadora," Elena hisses.

"Don't call me Nymphadora!"

Elena glares at her. "You got us into trouble, so I will call you whatever I please, Nymphadora!"

Tonks huffs and crosses her arms. "My plan was perfect! I don't know what went wrong."

"I'll tell you what went wrong: you didn't listen to me! I told you that smoke bomb would only raise suspicion and not create a distraction."

"Quiet," Snape commands, furious. "What were you two thinking, sneaking out of Hogwarts? Do you know what could have happened had you been found by the wrong people?"

Elena's brows furrow. "'Wrong people'? What's that supposed to mean, sir?"

Realizing his mistake, Snape quickly backtracks. "It is against school rules for students who are below their third year to go to Hogsmeade, as I know you are both well aware of. Twenty-five house points from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and you two are to serve detention with me every day this week. Hopefully you have both learned a lesson today about disobeying school rules. Now, off to your common rooms, both of you."

Tonks doesn't wait to be told twice; she makes a mad dash out of Snape's office and through the corridor to Hufflepuff's dormitory. However, Elena stays rooted to her chair, tired of not getting answers from her enigmatic professor.

"Why have you not left my office yet?" Snape grinds out through gritted teeth.

"Who were you worried was going to find me and Tonks?"

"Leave," Snape bites out. "Right. Now. Or you will serve detention with me for another week."

"That would only stick you with my constant pestering for an extra seven days."

"Get out of my office, Miss Davies. I will not ask again."

Elena glares daggers at him, but she does as she's told. Just before closing the door behind her, she says, "I hope you have a great rest of your day, sir."

~3~

The rest of the year goes by quickly, and Elena finds herself, once again, waiting in front of Snape's desk as she clutches a bag of cookies behind her back.

"Hello, Miss Davies. Are you here to give me some of your cookies?" He asks in the most subdued voice he can manage as he suppresses a smile.

"Yes, sir," Elena says. She holds the bag to him, and he smiles as he takes the bag from her hand.

"Thank you, Miss Davies."

"You're welcome, Professor. I hope you have a wonderful summer holiday."

"I hope you do as well, Miss Davies."

A/N Hello! I hope y'all like this chapter! Anywho, I should hopefully have the next chapter up in a week or so, but I make absolutely no promises. Until next time, my lovelies!

As always, I would love to hear y'all's comments and theories!