Over the first weekend of the new term, copies of the picture of baby Timmy start circulating around the school. On each photo are the words 'Elena's bastard, mudblood brother.'

Tonks comes across the photo first. She tells Fifi and Charlie, and they all try to keep it from Elena, but it's harder than they originally thought. After all, how are they supposed to keep the talk of the school away from their friend? It's like trying to keep a dam from bursting with a single piece of Scotch tape.

Elena is sitting at lunch when Rita Skeeter herself comes over to the Ravenclaw table, the picture in her hand and a smirk on her face. "Hey, Elena."

Elena rolls her eyes as she turns around to face Rita. "What do you want, Skeeter?"

Rita's smirk grows impossibly wider. "Oh, I just thought you'd want the picture of your bastard, mudblood brother back."

By this point, Charlie and Tonks have both made their way over to the table. Tonks tries to take the picture from Rita, but not before Elena grabs it.

Elena's eyes fill with tears. She rips up the photo and sprints out of the Great hall.

Tonks, Charlie, and Fifi circle around Rita. The smirk has finally fallen from her face, and they can see she's afraid of what is about to come.

Tonks jabs a finger at Rita and snarls, "You had no right to do any of that."

"How did you even get a hold of that picture?" Fifi questions, ever the curious Ravenclaw.

Rita smiles sickeningly. "If the picture meant that much to her, she should have kept a better clutch on it. She dropped it on the floor in Potions a few weeks ago."

Before any of the friends can retort anything, Snape walks over to where they're standing. "What is the meaning of this?"

Tonks hands a picture of baby Timmy to Snape, who carefully scrutinizes it. "Rita has been spreading these pictures of Elena's brother around school, Professor." She hopes mentioning Elena will have its desired effect.

Snape looks directly at Rita with a heated glare. "Is this true, Miss Skeeter?"

"No, sir," Rita lies.

Snape sees right through her. "You will serve detention with me every weekend this month. And if I so much as see one more of these around school, I will personally see to it that your parents will be notified of this."

Rita pales. "It won't happen again, Professor," she mutters.

"You are right, it will not." Snape turns on his heel and stalks out of the Great Hall.

~3~

Tonks and Elena meet up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom later that night. While Tonks sits in a corner with her legs folded under herself, Elena paces across the bathroom tile to alleviate some of the nervous energy that is building within her.

"We have to get back at Rita for this! I knew she could be an arrogant bitch, but I never thought she would ever stoop this low!"

"I agree, and I have the perfect idea."

Elena stops pacing and turns to face Tonks with an interested eyebrow raised. "And that would be?"

"We Parent Trap the shit out of Rita and those ugly friends of hers."

Elena walks over to Tonks and sits down in front of her, hugging her knees to her chest. "Why do I feel like this plan will get me in trouble?"

"Because it probably will."

"So, what's the rest of this crazy plan of yours?" Elena asks, resigned to the idea of getting in trouble if it means she can even out the score with Rita.

"You take the Cloak and break into Snape's private storeroom to steal Polyjuice Potion, while I sneak into the greenhouses with the Map to grab the special plants we need to terrorize Rita and her evil cronies."

"When are we going to be doing all of this?"

Tonks smirks. "Tonight, my four-eyed friend."

~3~

Once their roommates have gone to sleep, Elena and Tonks meet up briefly in the corridors before going their separate ways on their individual missions. Tonks has the Map, and Elena has her Invisibility Cloak. They both have their Mirrors stowed safely in their robes. They agree to meet up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom after they've finished collecting everything they need.

Elena only hopes they'll be able to make it to their rendezvous without getting caught by any of the professors.

Thankfully, Elena and Tonks manage to grab everything they need and make it back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom without getting caught by anyone. They seem to have even evaded Mrs. Norris.

"Did you grab everything?" Tonks asks as she lays out all of the things she managed to grab.

"Yeah. You?"

Tonks smirks. "Like you even need to ask, nerd girl. Now, drink that Polyjuice Potion you snagged from Snape's private stores and we can get going."

Elena pulls out a glass and pours herself a small amount of the potion, then places a strand of Rita's hair in it. She raises it as though toasting Tonks. "Bottom's up, I suppose." She gags as she drinks the potion, but she manages to keep it down.

Elena feels funny for a moment before the potion begins to take effect. Her bones feel as though they're being stretched. Her hair changes from its long length and natural black to Rita's bleached blonde pixie cut.

When the transformation is finished, Elena turns to look at Tonks, whose eyes are wide. "What?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like a carbon copy of that bitch."

Elena rolls her eyes. "That's kind of the point of Polyjuice Potion."

"I know, but still. I didn't think you would look exactly like her."

"And that, my dear friend, is exactly the reason why you weren't Sorted into Ravenclaw."

Tonks punches her arm. "Whatever."

"Come on. I only have an hour of being Rita, so we need to get a move on."

"You're becoming more like Fifi with each passing day," Tonks mumbles to herself as she follows Elena out the door.

~3~

The duo enters the Slytherin dormitory with ease. Aside from the fact that they're disguised as Slytherins, it's also past midnight, so most students are in bed- even the prefects have finished their nightly rounds.

Once they're finished setting everything up, they quickly hightail it out of Rita's dormitory. Elena makes it to the bottom of the stairs before Tonks.

Suddenly, Elena's startled by someone placing their hand on her shoulder. She turns to see Snape standing behind her with a hard look on his face.

"Miss Skeeter, you and I need to have a word," Snape says in his commanding, drawling voice.

"This late at night?" Elena squeaks.

"Yes. We need to have this conversation sooner rather than later."

"A conversation? About what?"

"About what you have been doing to Miss Davies."

Elena takes a deep breath. "I thought we settled this when you gave me my punishment earlier."

"No. As I recall, I later pulled you aside and told you we would be continuing this argument. I knew you were a bit dim in the head, but I never thought it extended to your memory. Turns out I was wrong."

Summoning her inner Rita, Elena says, "I simply forgot, Professor. Surely that's not a punishable offense?"

"Unfortunately not, Miss Skeeter. Now, let us discuss your recent actions. Why did you do what you did to the picture of Miss Davies's baby brother?"

"Half brother," Elena bites out.

Snape seems surprised by her correction, but he quickly puts his stoic mask back on. "I am still waiting for an answer, Miss Skeeter."

"I don't have one at this moment, Professor."

Snape glares at her.

Elena feels the moment the Polyjuice Potion begins to wear off. She tries to think of a way to escape, but she knows there's no way she will be able to get away in time without Snape figuring out who she actually is.

Snape notices the sudden changes in Elena's appearance. He grabs her wrist to keep her from running away. "Who are you, and why are you sneaking into the Slytherin dormitory?"

Elena doesn't answer. She just waits until the potion fully wears off, which doesn't take very long.

Snape is stunned silent when he sees that it's Elena standing before him. "Miss Davies, how in the world have you managed to get your hands on Polyjuice Potion?"

"That's a… complicated story."

Snape looks over Elena's shoulder and sees Tonks standing on the staircase, still as a statue. "Miss Tonks, get down here this instant."

Tonks swallows noticeably but does as he said.

Snape grabs them both by the scruff of their robes and drags them to his personal office. They sit down at Snape's desk. Snape sits down before them, absolutely seething with anger. He just sits there, watching them, as he tries to figure out where to begin lecturing them.

"We're sorry, Professor," Elena nervously blurts. She's never been a fan of prolonged silence, especially when she knows she's in trouble.

Snape glares at her. "I highly doubt you are sorry for more than getting caught for your actions. Am I right, Miss Davies?"

Elena looks down at her hands, not wanting to answer his question.

"That is what I thought." Snape turns to Tonks and says, "You will have detention with me tomorrow evening. We will discuss the rest of your punishment then."

Tonks, knowing she has been dismissed, looks nervously at Elena, then gets up and leaves the room. The door slams with a resounding thunk behind her.

"Am I not receiving the same punishment as her?" Elena asks, crossing her arms defiantly.

"You are in far more trouble than she is," Snape all but growls.

Elena raises an eyebrow. "And why is that? We were doing the exact same thing, so why should I be in more trouble than her?"

"Because her life is not in danger like yours is!"

"Ah, so this comes back to me being in the same danger that has been looming over my head since first year. Why am I not surprised?"

"You need to take this more seriously, Miss Davies!"

"How can I when I don't even know what kind of danger I'm in?! Just tell me the damn truth already!"

"How many do I have to tell you that I cannot?"

"Apparently at least once more."

Snape scrubs a hand down his face and takes a deep breath in an effort to get control of his anger. "If I told you why I think your life is in danger, you would be attacked much more often than you already are."

"At least I would know how to protect myself! Keeping me in the dark is not a great option."

"And neither is telling you the reasoning behind everything that has happened- and will happen- to you."

Elena huffs in frustration. "Fine. Since I'm clearly not getting any further in this argument than I have in the past, let's discuss what my punishment is."

"That is the only good idea you have had all night," Snape deadpans. "You will serve detention with me every weekday evening for a month."

"I'm assuming I will also serve some kind of punishment on weekends?"

"Yes, and if you had been so kind as to not interrupt me, you would have been told what it is. You will aid me in brewing medicinal potions for Madam Pomfrey's supply every weekend from now until the end of term."

Elena rolls her eyes. "Okay. May I go now?"

"Yes, and I had better not see any sign of you for the rest of the night, so help me God."

"I was already caught once tonight, and I do not plan on getting caught again," Elena comments as she closes the door behind her.

Snape groans loudly.

~3~

As Elena sleeps that night, she tosses and turns, her legs and arms tangled in the sheets. Her sleep is anything but restful. Her blankets fall off her at some point during the night from her restlessness.

There are three women standing before her. All three of them have long dark hair. Their features are familiar, but they're not in clear enough focus for Elena to be able to make out who they are. From what Elena can tell, the three look exactly the same- for everything except their hair. Two of them have curly hair, and the third has straight hair. In each of their arms is a bundle of blankets.

The first bundle, which is in the arms of the woman with the straight hair, disappears. The second's blankets begin to drip with blood. And the third begins to wail loudly.

The nightmare suddenly changes.

The woman with the straight hair now stands in an empty field, cackling madly.

At the edge of the field, a woman with curly hair shouts, "Where is she?!"

"She's gone, and you will never find her!" The first woman screams.

The nightmare shifts again.

The same woman is standing before Elena. The woman looks worse for wear, but her eyes are wide alert. She seems so real that Elena believes she could reach out and touch the woman.

"I'm coming for you, Elena Davies."

Elena knows she will never forget those words or the tone they're said in for the rest of her life.

Now everything that has happened to Elena since she came to Hogwarts is making a lot more sense to her.

~3~

Fifi shoots up in bed. At first, she isn't sure what has woken her up, but then she hears muffled screams coming from Elena's bed. Fifi immediately rushes to her friend's side.

"Elena," Fifi says, shaking her friend's shoulders in an effort to wake her up. "Elena!"

Elena sits bolt upright. She looks around frantically, but when she only sees Fifi, she calms down. "What's going on?"

Fifi frowns as she sits down beside Elena. "I was hoping you could tell me. It sounded like you were screaming into your pillow."

"Oh," Elena says. She tries to force a smile, but she's so tired that Fifi sees right through it. "I was having a nightmare. I'm sorry I woke you."

Fifi's frown deepens. "It seemed to me like it was more than just a nightmare, Elena. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Elena says firmly.

Fifi tries not to let how dejected she feels show on her face. "Okay. Well, if you change your mind, you know where I sleep."

~3~

Elena doesn't dare sleep the rest of the night. There are a few times where she almost dozes off, but she quickly shakes herself awake. By the time her roommates wake up the next morning, she has a pounding headache and is dreading the day ahead of her, especially because she will be having her detention with Snape after classes are done for the day.

Fifi seems to know that something is off, but she thankfully leaves Elena alone, sans a few concerned glances here and there.

At breakfast, Elena nearly falls asleep in her oatmeal, but Tonks comes bounding over to them, keeping her awake.

Sitting down between Elena and Fifi, Tonks says, "I can't believe we have to serve detention with Snape. Rita deserved everything she got- and more. She's a heinous bitch."

"Nymphadora Tonks!" Fifi hisses.

"What? She is. And don't call me Nymphadora."

Fifi wipes a hand down her face. "That still does not give you the right to call her such a terrible name."

Tonks rolls her eyes in true Tonks form. "Given what she did to our best friend, I can call her whatever name I want to. Isn't that right, Elena? Elena?"

They both turn to look at Elena, who quickly opens her eyes. Yawning, she nods.

Fifi looks at her sympathetically. "Sweetie, are you feeling okay? Do you want me to tell the professors you aren't feeling good today so that you can go back to our dorm and get some sleep?"

Elena emphatically shakes her head. "No. My studies shouldn't take a backseat just because I had a nightmare."

"First off, hun, you already memorized the entirety of our Hogwarts curriculum when you were in first year, so I think you can take a single day off. Secondly, you had a nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?"

Elena shakes her head again. "No. It's fine. I'm fine. Come on, let's just go to class." She stands up and walks out of the Great Hall without waiting a beat.

Concerned, Tonks and Fifi share a look.

"That was…." Fifi begins, unsure how to finish.

"Weird. Something is bothering Els, and I fully intend on finding out."

Tonks gets up and leaves as well, Fifi following her a moment later.

~3~

During Potions later that day, Elena falls soundly asleep at her desk. Tonks tries to wake her up, but Fifi quickly stops her.

"Let her rest. The poor dear has been having a hard time getting a good night's sleep," Fifi whispers.

"She'll kill us later for letting her sleep through class."

"It's not like we're making a new potion or anything. We're merely reading from our textbooks today."

"Fine, but it's your life at stake."

Just then, Snape walks over to their table. He stops just behind Elena. "Is Miss Davies asleep?"

"No, sir. She has a headache, so she's resting her head," Tonks smoothly lies. After all, she won't let her friend get terrorized by the bat of the dungeons- even if it means she will get skinned alive later.

Snape looks at them warily, an eyebrow raised. "Then if she is awake, she should have responded to me herself."

Under the table so that Snape cannot see her, Fifi kicks Elena's foot. Elena stirs slightly before she lifts her head off of the table.

"What's going on?" Elena asks through a yawn.

Tonks quirks her head to the side, and Elena looks behind her. She immediately regrets it when she sees Snape.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" Elena asks innocently, forcefully pushing down another yawn.

Snape smirks smugly. "I was wondering, Miss Davies, if you could tell me what I was just telling the class." Snape knows he has her when she looks down at her hands. "Very well. Since you fell asleep during class, Miss Davies, you will stay after class is finished. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," Elena mumbles.

Snape stalks back to the front of the room, making sure he can keep a close eye on Elena for the rest of class.

"For the record, I tried to wake you up, but Fifi wouldn't let me," Tonks says.

Both Elena and Fifi roll their eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Elena," Fifi apologizes. "You were so tired, so I thought it best to just let you sleep through class, but I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive," Elena says as she gives Fifi an awkward side hug. "It was my fault for falling asleep in class, not yours."

~3~

At the end of class, Elena practically has to blackmail her friends to get them out of the classroom.

"I'll be fine, guys. I promise," Elena repeats one final time as she hugs both of her friends.

When they still try to linger, she pushes them both out of the room and closes the door behind them. She then turns to face Snape, who has somehow managed to walk up behind her without her hearing him approach.

"Should I be concerned about your well-being, Miss Davies? It is not like you to fall asleep in my class," Snape says before Elena can start talking.

To say Elena is surprised by his concern would be an understatement. "I'm fine, Professor. There is absolutely no reason for you to be worried about me."

"Are you certain? You have not been yourself since the attack on the train."

Elena shrugs and looks down at her feet. "I guess it just freaked me out a bit, but I'm fine, sir. Honestly."

"Have you been taking your medicine?"

"Yes. And if you don't believe me, you can ask Madam Pomfrey and Polka." Elena looks at him with her unique fierceness shining brightly in her eyes.

"This may come as a shock to you, Miss Davies, but I do believe you. With your medicine, anyway. I am just worried about how you fell asleep in my class today."

"Why? Are my grades falling? Am I doing something that could hurt myself or others?"

"No."

"Then there's nothing for you to worry about, is there?" She turns and is about to walk out the door, but he stops her.

"I am worried about you. I could care less about your grades, but something is clearly wrong with you. All I want to do is help you. We both know that you will eventually come to me with whatever it is that is bothering you, so why do you not just acquiesce now and save us both the trouble of you holding onto this problem of yours."

Elena turns back to him, angrier than she's been in a very long time. Using his own words against him, she says, "This may come as a shock to you, Professor, but you are wrong. There is nothing bothering me, and even if there were, I would not give you the satisfaction of me giving in to your manipulation." She storms out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Snape rubs a hand down his face. He then exits the room and yells after Elena's retreating figure, "Miss Davies, come back here right now! You do not leave my room without my permission!"

Elena stops mid-stride and slowly turns to face him. "What's your problem?"

Snape stalks up to her, and Elena's breath catches in her throat from his determined expression. "My problem is that you do not care for yourself and refuse to let anyone in. You deserve more than you let yourself have. Stop punishing yourself for past mistakes and allow yourself to live in the present."

"You mean like you do? It seems to me like you haven't stopped beating yourself up over your past mistakes, so you have absolutely no right to tell me to do something you haven't done yourself."

Without thinking about the consequences, Snape grabs Elena's wrist and drags her through the nearest door, which happens to be his personal storeroom. He magically locks the door behind him as he pins Elena to the wall by her shoulders. He is absolutely seething with anger. "My mistakes got people killed. I have every right to beat myself up over them. Do not go talking about things you do not understand, little girl. It is a dangerous path to go down."

"Little girl?" Elena repeats slowly, the words tasting like battery acid on her tongue. "Is that really how you think of me?"

Snape looks her dead in the eye and says, "That is all you have ever been and will ever be to me, Miss Davies."

Elena scoffs and looks down at her feet.

Realizing that he's still holding her against the wall, Snape releases Elena's shoulders and takes a step back. He's slightly flustered, but Elena doesn't notice. "I will see you in my classroom for detention after dinner. And do not think about trying to skip it; I will personally hunt you down if need be."

"Don't worry, Professor. If there's something I'm good at, it's proving people wrong," she says as she leaves the room.

~3~

Rita catches Elena after dinner later that night and drags her to a secluded corridor. "I've no idea how you and Tonks managed to do everything that you did, but I promise you, Davies, that I will get the both of you back for it."

Elena smirks. "I'd like to see you try, Skeeter. Though, I highly doubt you and those cronies of yours will ever be able to match my and Tonks's ingenuity."

Elena leaves a gobsmacked Rita and heads to Snape's classroom with smug satisfaction. However, there's something bothering her that she can't quite place her finger on.

It isn't until Elena is curled up in bed for the night that she realizes what it is- Snape obviously didn't tell Rita anything about what happened the night before. The realization leaves her bewildered and more than a little bit surprised.

~3~

Every night for the rest of the week, Elena wakes up tangled in her bedsheets, with an image of the woman with the straight black hair vividly etched upon her mind. The words "I'm coming for you, Elena Davies" echo loudly in her ears every moment she's awake. Because of this, she's been running on very little sleep every single day. At this point, she's surviving on coffee alone.

Elena is surprised when she wakes up at five a.m.- she hasn't been able to sleep in that late in at least a week. She still had the nightmare, but it seems to have come later than usual.

Yawning, Elena gets out of bed and begins to get ready for the day. Today is Ravenclaw's last quidditch game of the season, and they're going up against Slytherin. All Elena wants to do is wipe Rita's smug look off her ugly face and beat the Slytherins for the Quidditch Cup.

Once she's dressed, she walks down to the Great Hall, where breakfast has barely just begun. She grabs a cup of coffee and downs it almost immediately. She fills it up once more and starts piling her plate high with food.

Elena suddenly feels a pair of eyes on her. She discreetly turns to look for the offending pair of eyes, and that's when she sees Snape staring at her from the staff table, a curious eyebrow raised. Elena only shrugs before turning back around and digging into her food.

Polka comes, gives Elena her medicine, and disappears again. Elena looks over at Snape again and sees him nodding at her. She can't quite decipher the emotion in his eyes. Though, if she had to guess, she would say he looks relieved.

A few minutes later, Fifi joins Elena at the table. "I see you're hogging the coffee again this morning."

Elena tears her eyes away from Snape and forces a smile. "Yup. I drink the coffee, and then I accomplish the things."

Fifi chuckles. "Just don't drink too much, darling. The last thing our quidditch team needs today is you being a jittery mess."

"I'll be fine, Fifi. I promise."

Fifi hums in response. "So, do you want to go over the plays with me one last time?"

Elena groans.

"Oh, come on. I don't want to let our team down."

"You're not going to let us down, Fifi. You are the best Chaser on our team, and everyone knows that."

Fifi blushes. "You're flattering me."

Tonks sits down beside Elena and grabs a piece of toast from the center of the table. Through a bite of toast, Tonks says, "It's true. None of the Chasers on any of the other teams compare to you, Fifi. Ravenclaw is lucky to have you."

Quite clearly trying to change the topic, Fifi says, "You're here early today, Tonks. I don't think I have ever seen you in the Great Hall this early."

Tonks smirks. "I couldn't get caught in some student's bed, could I?" she says with a wink.

Both Elena's and Fifi's eyes widen. Tonks laughs at their bewildered expressions.

~3~

About ten minutes before the quidditch game is set to begin, Elena runs out of the dressing room. She doesn't stop running until she reaches the lake. She's hyperventilating and has tears streaming down her too pale cheeks; it's like she's seen a ghost.

Fifi is hot on Elena's heels and kneels down beside her, taking in her panic and trying to figure out the best way to calm her friend down. "Hi, sweetheart. What's wrong?"

"I-I can't breathe," Elena whimpers.

"Breathe with me, sweetie. In, out. In, out. That's it. You're doing good. In, out."

Despite Fifi's efforts, Elena continues to hyperventilate. It's almost like she cannot catch her breath, even though she's breathing in time with Fifi.

Fifi sighs when she notices this. "Can you tell me what you saw in the dressing room that got you panicked like this?"

Elena shakes her head emphatically, unable to voice her deepest fears. Her breathing starts becoming even more erratic.

"That's okay. Everything's okay. Just focus on your breathing right now, sweetie."

~3~

When Elena and Fifi fail to make it onto the field with the rest of their teammates, Snape gets a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knows something is wrong.

Snape heads down to the field with the rest of the professors. He walks over to Ariya and questions her about the missing girls.

"I don't really know what happened to them, sir. They were here one moment, gone the next."

"Do you have any inkling as to where they are?"

"I think I saw them heading towards the lake, but I don't know for sure. Like I said: they left too quickly for me to figure out where they were going."

Snape nods curtly at her, then heads in the direction of the lake.

When Snape reaches them, he says in his usual drawling voice, "What is going on here?"

Fifi turns her head to face him but keeps her arms around Elena's shivering form. "She's been having nightmares, sir. I think she had one last night, got no sleep, and something reminded her of the nightmare just now."

"Nightmares?" Snape asks slowly, an unsettling feeling trickling down his spine. "What are they about?"

Fifi glances sadly at her friend. "I don't know. She's been reluctant to share any details about them."

Snape kneels beside Elena. In the softest voice he has ever used, he pleads, "Miss Davies, will you share with me what these nightmares you are having are about?"

He watches her and can see that she's actually considering telling him, but just as she opens her mouth to say something, Charlie and Tonks come running towards them. Elena quickly closes her mouth, and Snape silently curses her two friends.

Tonks pushes Snape out of the way and sits down beside Elena, wrapping her arms tightly about her friend's shoulders. "What happened, Ellie? Is everything okay?"

"It w-was j-just an anxiety att-tack," Elena stutters. She's doing all she can to avoid Snape's gaze.

Tonks jabs a thumb in Snape's direction. "Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with him?"

"Give it a rest, Nymphadora," Fifi hisses. "He was trying to help her."

"Don't call me Nymphadora! And what a load of help he is. Whenever something bad happens, he's always just around the corner."

Snape purposefully clears his throat. "You are aware that I am right here, Miss Tonks, are you not?"

Tonks looks at him from the corner of her eye. "Yeah, I'm aware, Professor. That was kind of my intention."

"Your mother is right- you are quite blunt."

Tonks rolls her eyes. "Mother thinks a lot of things about me that aren't true."

"Are you saying that you are not blunt?"

"No. That one is one of the accurate things."

"I'll say," Fifi and Charlie mutter.

"Get out of here, all of you. I will help Miss Davies," Snape demands.

Tonks is about to rebut, but a glare from Snape stops her. "Fine. Ellie, if you need anything, you know how to reach me."

Fifi squeezes Elena's shoulder. "Everything will be okay, sweetie. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Charlie just stands there awkwardly, waiting for the two girls to join him so that they can go back to the quidditch field together.

Once Elena's three friends are far enough away from them, Snape kneels in front of her again. "Tell me what is going on in that brilliant mind of yours."

Elena buries her face deeper into her hands. "No."

Snape gently grabs Elena's wrists and pries them away from her face. He then places a finger under her chin to force her to look at him. "I promise you, Miss Davies, that there is nothing you could say that could ever scare me away. Please, let me in."

For some reason, Elena finds herself thinking back to her conversation with Eileen several months prior. Severus may have done a lot of horrendous things in his life, but he has never broken a promise. Elena squeezes her eyes closed and forces herself to say, "She's coming for me."

"Who is?"

"The woman from my nightmares. Every night ends the same way: with her promising that she's coming for me."

If Snape is being honest, he's terrified of these nightmares Elena's having; they seem to be more than just simple nightmares, and he knows he has to do something soon to put a stop to them. "What does this woman look like?"

"I don't know. Her features are never in close focus. I only know that she has long, straight black hair."

There's a niggling feeling at the back of his mind, but he ignores it. "How long have these nightmares been plaguing your sleep?"

"Not long. Only about a week."

"I will brew a potion that will help you sleep without these nightmares every night from now on."

"You don't need to do that, sir. I'm fine. Really."

"I can see that," he replies drily. "However, I need you to give your best performance every day, and I am sure your teammates would agree with me."

Elena's eyes widen, and all of her residual panic flies out the door. "My teammates! I can't miss the final quidditch game and let them down, especially when it's against Slytherin!" She takes off running towards the field, yelling over her shoulder, "Thank you, Professor!"

Snape chuckles before he makes his own way back to the field to watch the game.

~3~

After dinner that evening, Snape finds Elena and brings her to his classroom.

"Whatever you think I did, I didn't do it," Elena rambles as soon as the door to the classroom is closed.

"I am sure you did whatever it is you are thinking of, but this has nothing to do with your shenanigans."

"Oh. Then why am I here?"

Snape resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Did I not say I was going to brew you a potion to help you sleep without those dreadful nightmares of yours?"

"Well, you did, but I just thought you would give it to Polka to give to me before I went to sleep."

"I would not trust a house-elf with something as important as this potion."

"I'm taking offense on Polka's behalf," Elena says, crossing her arms and throwing Snape a nasty look.

"I mean no disrespect to your house-elf friend. It is just that I want to be assured that you are taking this potion."

"You're forgetting that Polka stays by my side to make sure I take my medicine under Madam Pomfrey's orders, so you could do the same thing with this potion."

"I could, but I am not. I want to see you take it myself."

"So does this mean this is going to be a nightly thing?" Elena asks, feigning annoyance. In truth, she's elated at the prospect of having one-on-one time with him every evening from now on.

"Yes, I suppose it does. I need to know you are taking this potion; it is for your own protection."

"'My own protection'? What do you mean by that?"

Realizing he has made a mistake, Snape quickly tries to backtrack. "What I meant to say is that it is for you to get enough sleep."

"No, no, no. You are not doing this to me again. For once in your life, tell me the damn truth. I'm getting tired of things being kept from me."

"I am afraid that even I am not sure of the truth in this case, Miss Davies, so I am unable to grant you your request."

"But you have a guess as to what the truth is. If you didn't, you wouldn't have made that comment."

"Yes, I do have an assumption, but before you ask me to share what it is, let me tell you this: until I know, without a doubt, that my assumption is correct, I will not tell you because I do not want to cause you anymore worry."

"Lame excuse."

"It is no excuse, Miss Davies. It is the truth."

Elena scoffs. "Sure. Whatever. Look, I've got to get back to my dorm soon, or Fifi will begin to worry about me. Where's the potion you want me to take?"

Sensing Elena's agitation, Snape decides to leave well enough alone and silently hands her the potion. She downs it in five seconds flat, then swiftly makes her way out of the room.

~3~

At the end of the year feast, Elena smirks to herself when she sees that the Great Hall is decked out in Ravenclaw's colors. She's sitting beside Fifi and Tonks, who, as always, is sitting with them at the Ravenclaw table. Charlie is also sitting with them at the table, but Elena has a feeling that it's because the couple won't be seeing much of each other over the break.

Charlie smiles at both of the Ravenclaws. "Congratulations, you two. I'm so proud of everything you have accomplished this year. Without the both of you, your house wouldn't have earned the House Cup, nor the Quidditch cup. Ravenclaw is lucky to have you two."

Ariya, who happened to be sitting near the four friends, agreed with Charlie. "He's right, you know. It's nice to know that I will be leaving the quidditch team- and Ravenclaw House- in good hands now that I'm graduating. I expect great things from both of you, Elena and Phoenix."

~3~

The night before they leave Hogwarts for summer break, Elena goes to Snape's classroom as usual to take her potion. She's been wondering what will happen during the summer, but she hasn't had the nerve to voice her concerns to Snape. She also has a bag of cookies clutched tightly in her hands, figuring that it's easier to give them to him now than it would have been in class earlier that day.

When he hears Elena enter his private office, Snape looks up at her. "Ah, Miss Davies. Punctual as usual, I see. Close the door behind you and have a seat. We have much to discuss tonight."

Elena does as he says. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

Snape actually chuckles. "Not tonight, though I am certain you and Miss Tonks have done something worth punishing this past week if your past shenanigans around this time of year are any indication."

"Then why do we have a lot to discuss?"

"My, you really are a curious thing," he muses to himself. "We need to talk about your nightmares and what you are to do over the summer to prevent them."

Elena breathes a silent sigh of relief. "Are you going to teach me how to brew the potion you give me every night?"

"No. The potion is far too complex for your current skill level, but I have no doubt you will be able to brew it in the future. I have made enough for you to last the summer, with a few extra just in case of an emergency. However, I want to discuss with you what you are to do if you have another nightmare, or if anything else out of the ordinary happens over break."

"O-okay."

Snape opens one of his locked drawers and pulls out a piece of paper. "What I am about to give you is the key to getting into my mother's home, which you already know is under the Fidelius Charm. If anything happens over the break that puts your life in jeopardy, I want you to go to her home immediately. She is aware of the fact that I am giving you this, and she knows what she is to do should anything happen." Snape hands the paper to Elena, then says, "As soon as you have this memorized, give it back to me so that I may destroy it."

He doesn't need to share his reasoning with her; she already knows what happened with Lily and James Potter all those years ago.

Elena looks down at the paper, quickly memorizes what's written on it, then gives it back to Snape, who reduces it to ash. After that, she gets up to leave, but Snape stops her.

"If you have any more nightmares, or if anything less pressing happens that you feel is not enough reason to go to my mother's home, I want you to write to me immediately. Your owl will know exactly where to find me."

"I will be sure to do that, Professor."

Just before she leaves the classroom, she remembers the bag of cookies in her hand. She walks back to Snape and holds the bag out for him to take.

Snape represses a smile as he grabs the bag. "I thought you had forgotten to give me these scrumptious treats this year."

Elena smiles widely. "Never."

A/N I am SOOOOO sorry it has taken me so long to update. These past couple of months have been insanely busy for me. I also apologize for this scatter-shot chapter; I promise things will become clearer in future chapters.

Anyway, I would love to hear any comments or theories y'all have! Until next time, my lovelies!