"You have mail. I've already checked it," Severus said as Rachel sat down for breakfast.
"Thanks." More curious than hungry, Rachel opened the large envelope and pulled out a magazine and a note. It was The Quibbler. She read the note that came with it.
'I've sent everyone in our group an issue of the summer edition of The Quibbler. I thought you all might like to see the article on Rita Skeeter. Check page four. Also, see the magic rune puzzle on page seven, I wrote it myself. Love from Luna.'
Rachel wanted to smile but she was more worried than happy. She got up, intending to go get her two-way book.
"Rachel, don't you want breakfast?" Severus asked.
"I will, I just need a few minutes," Rachel said, hesitating before she left the kitchen and hurried upstairs. She got her two-way book from her desk, said the password with her wand tip on the cover, and then flipped through the pages until she found where their conversation had last left off.
'Luna, thanks for sending a copy of The Quibbler. I'll read it soon. You didn't send a copy to Theo, did you?' Rachel wrote.
She waited a minute for a response and then decided to go downstairs and have breakfast while she waited since it could be a while before Luna saw the message. She set her book on the table and then went and fixed herself a bowl of cereal.
"Is everything alright?" Severus asked when Rachel sat back down.
"Yes," Rachel said, checking her book again. "No. I'm worried about Theo."
"Why?" Severus asked, setting aside the newspaper.
"Because Luna wrote that she sent a copy of The Quibbler to everyone, and I'm worried that she forgot we're not supposed to send Theo things because of his father," Rachel explained.
"That is a problem, yes," Severus said. "I'm certain Theo already knows this, but all of you must be careful of how friendly you appear with him. You and Millie sitting with Theo in the common room isn't going to raise any eyebrows, as long as Theo is maintaining a friendship with the other boys in his year."
"He does. We're careful to not always sit with him," Rachel said. "And I don't think people really see us together outside of class either, we're always studying in the room on the third floor. People know that we're a study group."
"And as long as everyone believes that it's just a study group, I think that will be fine," Severus said.
Rachel checked her book again, but no one had answered. "Do you think Theo's father hurts him?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Has Theo mentioned his father hurting him?" Severus asked.
"No. But I think he's scared of him. I think he's scared of what will happen if his father finds out we're really friends," Rachel said, focusing on her cereal.
"Theo is Ignatius' only heir. I don't believe he would harm him," Severus said after a moment. "I think if Ignatius did find out about Theo's friendships, he would likely transfer him to another school, probably Durmstrang."
Rachel frowned. That would be awful, but it was better than his father hurting him.
"If Theo says anything to you about his father hurting him, I want you to come talk to me, alright," Severus said.
"Okay. Can you do something about it if he is?" Rachel asked.
"I can make a report to Family Services. Abuse is illegal. They would conduct an investigation and see if Theo needed to be removed from his father," Severus explained.
"Is that how you were able to adopt me?" Rachel asked.
"No. Albus' ties with the Ministry made it much more straightforward, particularly since muggles don't have much in the way of rights under Ministry law," Severus said.
"Oh," Rachel said. She was glad that it had made it easier for her to leave the Dursleys, but wondered if it made it so the Ministry could easily take away muggleborn children from their parents. She checked her book again and then picked up The Quibbler so that she could read while she ate her cereal.
"Be aware that The Quibbler is not versed in facts. I would suggest not believing anything you read in it," Severus said.
"I know. But Luna got her dad to write about Rita Skeeter. Factful or not, it should at least be entertaining," Rachel said, flipping it open to page four.
"In that case, I may have to read that article after you're finished with it," Severus said.
The headline read: 'Rita Skeeter: Ghost or Ghoul'
Rachel grinned as she read the article that debated the merits of Rita Skeeter being a vengeful poltergeist who wrote articles about those she believed prevented her from going to the afterlife, or a ghoul in disguise with very careful done make-up and a good sense of grammar. She hoped that Rita Skeeter saw it and didn't like seeing her name in the press.
"Here," she said, passing The Quibbler to Severus. Then she saw that someone had written back to her.
'No need to worry, Rachel. I didn't get anything in the mail. What did you think of the article?' Theo had written.
Relieved, Rachel picked up her quill. 'It was good. I think she's a ghoul in disguise. I hope people ask her about the article.'
'Really? I found the poltergeist argument to be more convincing. I hope Rita Skeeter writes an article saying that she's just a human. That way all the people who don't read The Quibbler hear about it too,' Millie added.
'Well, one of you bring The Quibbler to school so I can see it for myself,' Theo wrote.
'I will,' Rachel wrote. She was planning to keep it so she could read it every time Rita Skeeter wrote something stupid about her.
"Very nice," Severus said as he handed Rachel back The Quibbler. "I would like to hope that this will cause her to think before she puts a quill to parchment, but I have my doubts."
"Yeah, I don't think it will change anything, but it was nice of Luna's dad to write it," Rachel said. She opened The Quibbler to page seven and settled in to do the magic rune puzzle Luna had made.
"Thank you for coming to get me, Professor Snape," Hermione said.
"Yes, we appreciate you bringing her as we aren't able to connect our house to the floo network," Mrs. Granger said.
"It's not a problem," Severus said, nodding to Hermione's mother. "Is it possible for us to use the yard behind your house to apparate out? The grove we apparated into is not very well hidden."
"Of course," Mrs. Granger said, opening the door further. "Please come in."
Rachel smiled at Hermione, who smiled back at her. It had taken some coordinating to get everyone - except Theo - to Ginny's birthday party.
"You'll have her back by supper?" Mrs. Granger asked as they walked through the house.
"Yes, I will. We'll be just over in Devon," Severus said.
"And you can get there instantaneously, just by apparating?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"Yes," Severus said.
"That must cut down on your morning commute," Mrs. Granger said, smiling brightly. "Now, Hermione, I'll be at the office with your father until four. Ring us there if you need anything."
"I don't think the Weasleys have a phone, mom," Hermione said.
"Oh, I suppose not. Well then, I'll just see you for dinner," Mrs. Granger said, opening the door to the backyard. "Is it big enough, for what you need to do?"
"Yes, it's fine," Severus said.
"Bye mom," Hermione said pointedly.
"Bye dear," Mrs. Granger said. "Is it okay if I watch?"
"Yes, that's fine. Hold on tightly to my arm and do not let go until we arrive," Severus instructed Hermione.
Rachel gripped one of Severus' arms and nodded to Hermione.
Hermione held onto Severus' other arm and a stomach churning moment later they were somewhere else. Hermione looked dreadfully pale.
"Try to take a few slow and deep breaths," Severus advised Hermione.
Hermione nodded. "I don't think I like that method of travel very much."
"You get used to it after a while. And it's better than using the floo," Rachel said, though she empathized. She remembered her first time apparating too and she'd felt like she'd left her entire stomach behind.
"Yes, after you have apparated many times the effects are not as severe. Your body does grow accustomed to it," Severus said.
"Is this the Weasley's house?" Rachel said, looking at the strange building in front of her. It had obviously once been a house, but it had several more additions mostly going upward, none of which looked structurally sound. She was sure the building had to be held together by magic.
"Yes, they call it the Burrow," Severus said. "Do you feel well enough to walk?"
"Yes, I'm alright now," Hermione said.
Severus led the way up to the front door. There were several chickens poking around. He knocked twice and they waited.
"Severus, so good to see you," a woman with red hair said as she opened the door. "Welcome, come on in."
"Molly, it's nice to see you as well," Severus said as he led the way inside. "May I introduce my ward, Rachel Snow, and her friend, Hermione Granger. This is Mrs. Molly Weasley."
"Hello, it's nice to meet you," Hermione said.
"Hello," Rachel echoed.
"It's nice to meet both of you as well. I know Ginny will be excited to have you here. Everyone is out back, Neville and Millie just arrived a few minutes ago. Come this way," Mrs. Weasley said, ushering them past a living room that was crowded with chairs and sofas and then through an equally crowded kitchen.
"Ginny, more guests have arrived," Mrs. Weasley called as they went out the back door.
"Rachel! Hermione! We're having a picnic," Ginny called back as she got up and ran over to them. "Mom, can we firecall the Lovegoods and see if Luna is ready?"
"In a few minutes, dear, give them a chance to get sorted," Mrs. Weasley said. "Severus, would you like some tea?"
"That would be fine," Severus said.
"You lot run along and play. Make sure to include Ron," Mrs. Weasley told Ginny, before turning and going back into the house along with Severus.
"Happy birthday," Rachel said, digging in her bag for Ginny's gift.
"Thank you! Come over here," Ginny said.
Rachel and Hermione followed Ginny over to where a few blankets had been spread out on the grass. There was a shed nearby and a pond a little further away.
"Hi!" Millie said. "Come sit down. My mom sent me over by floo like twenty minutes ago."
Rachel sat down between Millie and Neville and leaned across the blanket to give Ginny her gift.
"Thanks, I'll put it with the others until after cake," Ginny said, adding it to a small pile of presents.
"How has your summer been?" Neville asked Hermione.
"Good, we spent three weeks in France. We went to a number of historical sites and it was all quite interesting. We also went to the beach and I went snorkeling," Hermione said, passing Ginny a brightly wrapped gift in the shape of a book. "What about you?"
"I've mostly been spending time in the greenhouse," Neville said. "Gran doesn't travel much."
"I tried to get my parents to take us on another trip, but they said maybe over the Christmas holiday," Millie said. "Ginny, how was Egypt?"
"Really fun. We spent a lot of time with my brother Bill. He's my oldest brother and he's a curse breaker. Some of the tombs he showed us were crazy. The ancient Egyptians had so many curses that we've never even heard of," Ginny said.
"Sounds like dangerous work," Hermione said.
"A bit, but not as dangerous as what Charlie does - he works on a dragon preserve in Romania. He's always getting burns," Ginny said.
"I bet Hagrid would like to visit him," Rachel said, remembering the dragon egg that Hagrid had tried to hatch.
"Probably. He was good friends with Charlie when Charlie was at Hogwarts," Ginny said.
They all looked up at the sound of the door opening and saw Luna and Ron come out.
"Luna, you made it!" Ginny called.
Rachel couldn't help but notice how much happier Ginny seemed now that she wasn't at Hogwarts. She hoped she was able to stay happier even when they went back in two weeks.
"I walked here, I did set out quite a while ago," Luna said, handing Ginny a present. "Happy birthday."
"Why didn't you just floo?" Ron asked.
Luna sat down on one of the blankets, arranging her skirt neatly over her knees. "My father was busy and I didn't want to bother him."
"How has your summer been, Luna?" Rachel asked.
"Oh, busy as usual. I do some research for The Quibbler of course. We usually travel, but my father's been doing a number of interviews here in England, so we stayed this year," Luna said.
"I loved the piece on Rita Skeeter, how did you get your father to write it?" Millie asked.
"All I had to do was tell him that something seemed off about Rita Skeeter, particularly why she wrote so many stories about Rachel, and then he did all the research. I wanted to help, but some things, like the Rotfang Conspiracy, are too dangerous for me," Luna explained.
"Are you all just going to sit around and talk?" Ron asked.
"Yes, Ronald. That's exactly what we're going to do, because we're civilized people," Ginny said.
"Fine, I'm going to go flying," Ron said.
"Nobody is stopping you," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes I wish I was an only child."
"Me too," Millie said. "Isobelle is getting easier as she gets older, but I'm not looking forward to being at Hogwarts with her."
"When will she come?" Neville asked.
"She's nine, so she'll be starting her first year when we're fifth years," Millie said.
"I always wanted a brother or a sister, but my parents were very busy," Hermione said.
"It's not worth it, trust me," Ginny said.
The backdoor opened again and the Weasley twins came out. "Rachel, come flying with us," one of them called.
"Sorry, I'm here for Ginny's party," Rachel called back.
Ginny smiled.
The Weasley twins approached the blankets. "Then you should come back some time to fly with us," the other twin said.
"I'm not sure how Marcus would feel about me training with someone not on our team," Rachel said. Which was true, but she also wasn't sure Severus would want to bring her back to the Burrow just to fly with the Weasley twins. She kind of thought he didn't like the twins very much.
"It wouldn't be training, just for fun," the first twin said.
"Well Rachel is here with me today," Ginny said.
"Fine, we'll be back for cake," the second twin said, and they both took off.
"Thanks for not going with them," Ginny said.
"Of course I wouldn't, we're here to be with you," Rachel said.
Ginny smiled again. "I'm glad you're all here. It's too bad Theo couldn't come though."
Rachel felt her smile fade a little bit. She hoped Theo was doing alright.
"Make yourself comfortable, Severus, and I'll put the kettle on," Molly said as she went to the sink, Luna and Ron disappearing out the back door.
"Thank you," Severus said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "I appreciate that you invited Rachel to this party."
"Think nothing of it," Molly said. "Ginny is the one who told me who she wanted to invite, and I must say I'm glad. I was a little worried at the start of the year. Percy wrote to me and said that Ginny was having some trouble making friends. She seems to be doing alright now though."
Severus had noticed that Ginny Weasley had seemed to be the least boisterous of her siblings, though she had appeared a little more spirited by the end of the year.
"How are things doing with Rachel?" Molly asked, setting the kettle on the stove and then coming to join Severus at the table.
"Things are well," Severus said, uncertain how to answer Molly's question.
"I imagine it was a rough year, for you and her both," Molly said, shaking her head. "Ginny wrote to me, asking what she could do for Rachel. I told her to just keep being her friend."
"That's good advice, Rachel relies on her friends," Severus said.
"And on you too, I'm sure," Molly said. "Raising children is tough. Sometimes the only thing you can do for them is comfort and reassure them at the end of the day that they'll be alright."
Severus nodded. "I protect her as much as I'm able, but it's difficult to anticipate where the next threat will come from. At least with Black I can be prepared."
"Does she know?" Molly asked.
"Yes, I talked to her about him," Severus said.
"Poor thing, she must be so scared," Molly said, getting up as the kettle whistled.
"I imagine she is at least somewhat scared, though she seems to be managing alright. I've assured her that I will see to her safety and that additional protections will be placed around Hogwarts," Severus said.
"It's true then?" Molly asked.
"That they're stationing Dementors at Hogwarts? Yes," Severus said. It wasn't his first choice, but he couldn't think of a better way to keep Black out.
"I'm not sure how I feel about that, it's a school," Molly said, sending a teacup over to Severus.
Severus set the teacup on the table. "I agree, but they will be kept off the grounds. If anything can keep Black away, it would be the Dementors. They'll be arriving the same day as the students."
"Well, I'm glad the Ministry is at least taking this seriously," Molly said as she sat down.
There was a thundering sound and then the twins appeared at the bottom of the staircase.
"Professor Snape, what are you doing here?" one of them asked warily.
"Rachel is here for your sister's birthday party," Severus said. "I trust you've been behaving yourselves."
"Hardly," Molly said. "Go on out with the rest of them, both of you."
"Is there cake?" the other twin asked.
"Yes, there will be cake, later, go on," Molly said, shooing them toward the back door. When they were gone, she turned back to Severus. "But yes, as I was saying, I'm glad they're taking this seriously."
"I don't think they could take this less seriously," Severus said. "It's a blemish on the Ministry, for him to have escaped."
"And they still don't know how he did it. I wouldn't have believed it to be possible," Molly said.
"Me neither. The sooner Black's caught, the sooner they'll be able to determine how he did it," Severus said.
"And the sooner we'll all be able to sleep soundly at night," Molly said, taking a sip of her tea.
Severus drank some of his tea. He'd be able to sleep soundly at night when the Death Eater threat to Rachel was gone. For the time being though, he'd take Black getting recaptured.
"Stay close," Severus said as they emerged from Gringotts into the sunlight.
"I know," Rachel said. It wasn't like Severus hadn't reminded her of that twenty minutes ago.
"We still have thirty minutes before we're due to meet up with the others. Where do you need to go?" Severus asked as he looked around them, his wand out.
"The apothecary for a potions kit refill, Scribbulus' for a new quill and some parchment because I'm pretty much out, the sweets shop, and then Flourish and Blotts," Rachel said, patting the list in her pocket that she'd written yesterday.
"Do you need any new clothes?" Severus asked.
"No, the tailoring charms you used are fine, everything is long enough now," Rachel said. She was grateful that she seemed to have actually grown over the past year, though she was still probably the shortest person in her class. Even Ginny was slightly taller than her, though Rachel was about the same height as Luna.
"Alright," Severus said. "Let's start with the apothecary."
They went to Slug and Jiggers Apothecary and then to Scribbulus Writing Instruments in quick order, Severus remaining hypervigilant, which in turn caused Rachel to feel even more nervous. Severus had agreed to the shopping trip, saying Saturday was a good time as any, but he acted like Sirius Black could be hiding around any corner. Surely Diagon Alley was safe - Sirius Black would be recognized instantly.
Their next stop was Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, where Rachel picked up some chocolate frogs for herself and some deluxe sugar quills for Millie. Rachel paid here, though Severus had bought her potions refill and her parchment, and they went back out into the bright sunlight.
There was a small crowd of people gathered around the front window of Quality Quidditch Supplies and Rachel paused for a moment to see what was going on. Some people moved away and finally she could see. "Wow," she said, staring at the very beautiful broom in the window. It was called a Firebolt and after reading the sign that explained the features Rachel knew that one day she just had to ride one.
"Let's move away from the crowd," Severus said.
Rachel reluctantly tore herself away from the shop, reminding herself that she had a very nice broom that Severus had given her. But still, one day she'd fly on a broom like that. There was a very small part of her that imagined playing Quidditch professionally, even though she knew that was quite a silly aspiration. Severus would probably be horrified at the very idea.
"Rachel!" Hermione called as they entered Flourish and Blotts. She already had an armload full of books and a quick glance at the titles told Rachel that none of them were the assigned books.
"How are you, Miss Granger?" Severus asked.
"Very well, sir," Hermione said.
"Are your parents nearby?" he asked.
"Yes, my dad's right over there, though if you're concerned for my safety, I'm afraid there's not much he could do against Sirius Black," Hermione said.
"I'm sure your parents still want to keep an eye on you," Severus said.
"Rachel! Hermione!" Ginny called before Hermione could answer.
Rachel turned and found that the entire Weasley family had entered the store, along with Millie and a man that Rachel presumed was her father.
"Did you see the Firebolt?" Ginny asked Rachel immediately.
"Yes, it's beautiful," Rachel said, unable to stop herself from grinning.
"Alright, let's get organized so you can get your books," Mrs. Weasley called.
Rachel pulled her booklist out of her pocket. "I can't believe we need so many new books this year."
"It's great!" Hermione said. "So let's start by subject and get The Monster Book of Monsters last - I've seen the cage with them and it's not pretty."
"Professor Snape knows how to dispel the Alivening charm," Rachel said, looking up at Severus. "Would you mind doing it to my friends' books?"
"Not at all," Severus said.
"Rachel, can I look off your booklist?" Neville asked. "I left mine at home."
"That's fine, we have the same classes. When did you get here?" Rachel asked, turning to find Neville with his Gran. "Hello Mrs. Longbottom."
"Just now," Neville said.
"Good to see you, Rachel," Mrs. Longbottom said.
"Severus, can I have Ron go with your group since you've got the third years?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Yes, I'll watch them," Severus said.
"Great, let's start with Transfiguration," Hermione said, turning to lead the way.
They went through Flourish and Blotts in a large group, moving slowly through the narrow aisles until they had all the books on their lists.
"We need three copies of The Monster Book of Monsters," Hermione said as they approached the front of the store.
"Three? Sweet Merlin. Stand back," the clerk said.
Rachel peered into the cage from a distance, watching as the books crawled over each other and tried to rip each other apart. What had the publishers been thinking?
Severus took each book as the clerk captured them and removed the Alivening charm before passing them to Hermione, Millie, and Ron.
"Thank you, sir," Millie said.
Severus nodded. "Is that everything on your lists?"
Rachel doubled checked hers - Transfiguration, Charms, Defense, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy. "That's all of mine."
"Wait, I still need my Divination book," Ron said.
It took them a while to get checked out and Severus offered to put a timed shrinking spell on the multiple bags that Hermione was carrying.
"I was thinking, my parents offered to get me a birthday present and I want to go to Magical Menagerie and look for a pet," Hermione said.
"Can we go too?" Rachel asked.
Severus hesitated.
"Not to get a pet, just to look," Rachel clarified, knowing full well that Severus did not want a pet.
"Alright," Severus said.
"I've got to go to Madam Malkin's," Millie said.
"Me too," Neville said.
"Mom, I wanted to go to the Magical Menagerie so they could look at Scabbers," Ron said.
"I want to come too," Ginny said.
"I don't mind if they come with me," Severus told Mrs. Weasley.
"That's fine then, thank you Severus. Let's all meet up at the Leaky Cauldron for a meal afterward," Mrs. Weasley said.
They split off into their separate groups. A short time later they arrived at the Magical Menagerie. Rachel was surprised at how many animals they kept in the store and felt a little bit sad they were all in cages and tanks. She supposed there wasn't another way to stop them from trying to eat each other though.
"I want a pet, but there's no way my mom will say yes," Ginny said as they peered in at a pair of purple toads. "Maybe if I become a prefect. She bought Percy an owl because he became a prefect. I'd rather have a broom though."
Rachel nodded. "It might be hard to have a pet at Hogwarts though. We're so busy. If I had a pet I'd want to spend a lot of time with it. Do you see anything you like, Hermione?"
"Still looking," Hermione said as she made her way along the cages.
"Hey! Ow!" Ron shouted from where he was standing at the front counter. "Scabbers!"
Rachel looked up in time to see Ron's rat racing across the floor. "Close the door!"
Mr. Granger was close enough to the exit that he was able to close the door before Scabbers could escape out into Diagon Alley.
Hermione stood up with a large orange cat in her arms. "How did you get out?" she asked it.
Rachel stepped aside so that Ron could pick up his rat from where it was cowering in the corner.
"Crookshanks," the shop witch said, shaking her head. "He's been here for ages."
"Why?" Ginny asked.
"Many people want a more traditional looking cat. This one is a persian mixed with a kneazle. Very smart, very loyal," the witch explained.
Rachel got a closer look at the cat and found that his face was rather squashed. He was purring loudly in Hermione's arms.
"Dad, I know I said I wanted an owl, but look at this cat," Hermione said.
"That's fine, I expect a cat will be easier to keep than an owl anyway," Mr. Granger said. "Make sure you pick out a carrier."
"Just keep it away from Scabbers," Ron said, cradling his rat and glaring at the cat.
"Here, hold him for a moment while I pay for him," Hermione said, unloading Crookshanks into Rachel's arms.
Rachel looked into Crookshanks' yellow eyes. "Hello. You're going to come to Hogwarts with us."
Crookshanks purred loudly.
Rachel smiled. Some day she'd have a cat. When she was ready. For now she'd settle for petting Hermione's and Millie's cats.
Rachel didn't bother unpacking much in her room in Severus' quarters, she'd only have to repack and then unpack in her dorm room in a week anyway. They'd returned to Hogwarts early so Severus could get his classroom set up and have a number of staff meetings before all the students came back.
She got her broom and stuffed her practice Snitch in her pocket and left her room, intent on spending some time flying on the pitch. She wasn't going to be out of practice once the team started practicing again.
"Rachel, I need to talk to you before you go out," Severus said.
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked.
"I want to talk to you about the new security measures on the school," he said. "It's not ideal."
"I can't go out?" Rachel asked, reminding herself that it wasn't the worst thing in the world. She still had all of Hogwarts to go around, and the library.
"You can, I just want you to be prepared," Severus said. "Sit down for a few minutes."
Rachel sat down on the couch, balancing her broom next to her, and watched as Severus sat down in his armchair.
"What do you know about Dementors?" he asked.
"I don't think I know anything about them, but I feel like I've heard the name before," Rachel said, trying to remember where she'd heard it.
"They are the guards at Azkaban," Severus said. "They're dark creatures. They feed on emotions and memories and drain them away from you. Long term exposure to them leaves people weak and in despair."
"And the people in Azkaban, they're subjected to this all the time?" Rachel asked quietly.
"Much of the time, yes. My point is, however, that the Ministry is loaning Hogwarts some Dementors to act as guards. They'll be arriving soon and I want you to stay as far away from them as possible," Severus said. "They won't be allowed on the grounds, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Rachel wasn't quite sure what to say. "They'll do as they're told and stay off the grounds?"
"Yes, they are intelligent enough to follow commands," Severus said. "Between the Dementors and the wards on the castle, you should be safe. I still want you to use sensible precautions. Be aware of your surroundings. If something seems odd, tell me."
"What do I do if I see Sirius Black?" Rachel asked.
"Run. Scream for help. Try to get to a teacher," Severus said. "It should be a moot point. There should be no way for Black to get into the castle."
"I can still go visit Hagrid on the weekends?" Rachel asked. "And go to Quidditch practice?"
"Yes," Severus said. "But you need to stay with your friends or your teammates."
Rachel nodded.
"I don't mean to frighten you, I merely wish for you to remain safe," Severus said.
"I know. I'm not frightened, not really," Rachel said. That was mostly true.
Severus looked at her for a long moment. "Alright. If you do have concerns, please come to me."
"I will. I can go out flying now?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, be in the Great Hall for lunch," Severus said.
"I will," Rachel said.
She left Severus' rooms in a hurry even though she didn't really feel like flying anymore. She went out to the pitch anyway and climbed up the steps of the stands until she was at the top row in the Slytherin section.
It was a lovely day out, warm with just a light breeze, only a few clouds spotting the sky. It didn't match her mood at all.
She felt guilty. It was kind of her fault that Leander was in Azkaban. He was in there, suffering from the Dementors right now.
She had already known prison was a terrible place - she'd heard about it often enough from Uncle Vernon. He'd talk about it when reading the newspaper in the morning, every time there was an article about a criminal getting caught. 'He's in prison, getting what he deserves,' Uncle Vernon would say almost gleefully.
Somehow the Dementors sounded even worse than just regular prison, if that was possible.
Rachel sat for a while, watching the clouds and thinking, before she finally mounted her broom and started to fly. There wasn't much she could do about the situation, so it was probably better not to think about it too closely.