"How are you feeling?" Theo asked after Rachel finished the last of the hexes against the dummy.
Rachel tightened her grip on her wand. How was she feeling? It was six days until the third task and she felt like she wanted to be unconscious until it was time to go into the maze. "I'm okay."
Theo raised an eyebrow at her. "I suppose I should have been more specific. Do you feel like any of the spells we've been practicing need more attention, or do you feel like you can do them even under pressure?"
"I feel like I can cast them all fairly easily, but I suppose I won't really know until I'm in the maze. It's not the same as dueling," Rachel said. They had spent some time casting some of the less dangerous hexes at each other, and while it was good practice for dodging and casting the Shield charm, it didn't exactly simulate being in the maze either.
"That's true enough. I wish we could go in there with you," Theo said, frowning as he glanced around the room.
"Me too." Rachel followed his gaze. Luna, Hermione, and Fleur were working on practicing the barrier ward that Severus had taught Rachel. Millie and Ginny were chatting with Viktor and Predrag, targets still hanging in the air from where they'd been practicing with the Stunning spell for accuracy. Neville was with Cedric and his friends, the two dummies they'd been working on now with a visible amount of damage.
"I think this is what Professor Dumbledore wanted," she said after a while.
"What?" Theo asked.
"People from the different schools working together, sharing spells with each other, making friends," Rachel said.
"Making allies. It goes both ways though," Theo said. "Alice, Jacob, and Avery have become pretty close with three of the Durmstrang students. I know Alice at least plans to see Maksim again during the summer."
Rachel nodded and reminded herself that Death Eaters were something she could worry about after the third task. For now she needed to stay focused on surviving the maze.
"Everyone, there's one last thing I want to show you," Hermione called.
Rachel went with Theo to join the others. It seemed like all the champions, and their friends, had learned that it paid to listen to Hermione.
"I found this spell in the library the other day, and while its usefulness in most situations is limited, I thought it was perfect for the third task. It's called the Four-Point spell and it's very simple. Hold your wand flat on the palm of your hand and say 'point me' and the tip of your wand will move so that it points north," Hermione said, demonstrating with her wand.
Curious, Rachel tried it out. "Point me." Her wand moved on her hand, nearly causing her to drop it, and pointed toward the door. When she looked up she saw that most everyone else's wands were doing the same thing.
"That is a good spell, Hermione," Viktor said, still managing to mispronounce Hermione's name.
"Yes, it is curious that it is in English and not in latin," Fleur said.
"I think it's fairly new. It was in a book about spells that were useful for magizoologists," Hermione said.
"Could you show me that book?" Luna asked.
"Of course," Hermione said. "Can anyone think of anything else that we should all know?"
"Not really, I'm actually pretty surprised, I learned a few things," Roland said, patting Cedric's shoulder.
"It was good that we were all able to prepare with each other. I think it will be a fair competition between the four of us," Cedric said with a smile and a nod.
"I think we are as prepared as possible," Viktor said.
"Yes, we will do well and bring pride to our schools," Fleur said.
Rachel nodded. She would just be glad when it was over with. She couldn't think of anything else she could do to prepare, and now she had a week of final exams before the task.
"It's almost time for dinner," Heidi said from next to Cedric. "We should get going, we're prepping for exams after dinner."
"Thanks for inviting me," Cedric said, smiling at Rachel before he and his friends left the room.
"Yes, thank you for the invitation," Fleur said. "I was impressed, but I suppose after the second task I should not have been surprised."
"Thanks," Rachel said. "And thank you for joining us. If you wait for a moment we can walk down to the Great Hall with you."
"That is alright, I know the way," Fleur said.
"Come flying with me one last time on Wednesday," Viktor said once Fleur had left.
Even though Rachel knew she should use that time studying she nodded anyway. "I'd be glad to. Same as our usual practice time?"
"Yes, then," Viktor said before leaving with Predrag.
"Rachel, was it alright that I shared that spell with everyone? I know we talked about keeping some spells to ourselves," Hermione asked.
"No, it was fine. I think that qualifies as a survival spell. I wouldn't want to keep anything from them that might help them stay alive," Rachel said quickly. "Besides, anything that gets the task over with sooner is fine by me."
"It will be over soon and then it will be done for good," Neville said.
"I think I'm going to spend all of the week afterward asleep," Rachel said, looking wearily around the Room of Requirement. It had served them well as a place to practice.
"I think you'll feel better when it's done," Ginny said.
"We have our Herbology exam first thing in the morning. Shall we do one final review after dinner?" Hermione asked.
"I think that's a good idea," Theo said. "Rachel, we should get you down to Professor Snape's office before you're late."
Rachel checked her watch and nodded. "Good idea. Thanks for agreeing to this practice session today, even though we have exams starting tomorrow."
"It's no problem," Millie said. "It will help for our Defense exams too. I can't see Professor Moody giving us anything but a practical exam."
"Maybe it will be an obstacle course again," Neville said.
"An obstacle course except he's shooting spells at us," Millie said with a grin.
"I hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised either," Hermione said.
They collected their bags from where they'd left them at the tables at the side of the room. Six days and then it was over.
Severus sat in his armchair, a pile of essays on the table next to him with a quill marking where he'd left off. He expected that Rachel would arrive any moment now for dinner.
Somehow this whole thing had grown drastically more difficult over the past few months and he wasn't entirely sure why.
Part of it was the revelation that the Dark Lord was taking action. He had known, in theory, that the Dark Lord was working on returning. To have the details of it sent into Rachel's mind while she slept was an entirely different story. Obviously once the Dark Lord returned his first task would be killing Rachel. Severus had no doubt that his name was also high on the Dark Lord's list of people to eliminate. All of their protections were in place, but it didn't stop Severus from feeling worried.
And part of it was Rachel's reaction to him. She was easily upset, no doubt because she was under an immeasurable amount of stress, and had alternated between being distant with him and being emotional. Severus had already gone to Torey to ask for advice and she had told him that part of this was just Rachel being a teenager and he could expect a few years of Rachel being emotionally unpredictable. She had also told him that Rachel was struggling with anxiety and with her response to the trauma that she'd experienced and that it was something she was continuing to work with Rachel on.
Severus didn't know what to do about that. It was clear to him that Rachel was struggling, though so far none of the other professors had mentioned her openly struggling in class. He knew she still had nightmares and woke frequently at night, but she steadfastly refused to take any Sleeping potions. He had asked Torey about that as well, and Torey had said that taking a Sleeping potion needed to be Rachel's choice and not to pressure her about it. As it was, Severus was getting used to seeing dark circles beneath Rachel's eyes. Hopefully once the pressure of the tournament was over she would be able to sleep better.
He had also asked Torey about Rachel's difficulty with skipping meals, which Torey had indicated she hadn't known about. The more emotionally fragile Rachel seemed to be, the less she seemed to eat. He had half a mind to task Millie and Theo with making sure that Rachel was eating in the Great Hall, but he also knew that Rachel would be rightfully upset if he did so. As it was he plied her with simple sandwiches and soups in hopes that she'd eat something.
"Sorry I'm late," Rachel said as she came into the room. Her hair was ruffled and she looked fatigued.
"It's not that late," Severus said, checking the clock on the mantle and finding it just barely past six. "What would you like for dinner?"
"I'm not very hungry," Rachel said as she sat down on the couch, setting her bag at her feet.
"You need to eat something. How about tomato soup? Maybe with a toasted cheese sandwich?" he suggested.
"That sounds okay," Rachel said. "Grading essays?"
"Last essays of the year," Severus said.
"Is there a reason you only have us brew a potion instead of a written exam or an essay for the final? Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall have us do both written and practicals," she asked.
"Because I'm far more interested in your potion brewing skills than I am in your essay writing skills or your ability to regurgitate facts. Also, brewing a potion typically takes much longer than performing some charms or a transfiguration," he explained. "Are you certain you still wish to take the final exams?"
"I do, it's important," Rachel said.
Severus knew that Cedric had also decided to take the end of year exams, though he wasn't sure if Rachel had influenced him or if both of them were simply too school focused for their own good.
"Oh, there's something I should tell you," she continued.
A number of things immediately came to Severus' mind - something traumatic had happened, she'd had another vision of the Dark Lord, Moody was bothering her, some other dramatic revelation that he couldn't possibly prepare himself for. "Oh?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral.
"Theo said that Alice, Jacob, and Avery have become close with three of the Durmstrang students. Alice is planning on seeing Maksim this summer," Rachel said.
"Do you think Theo can find out the names of the other two students they're close with?" Alice Jugson was one of Severus' regrets. He had attempted multiple times to mentor her over her seven years at Hogwarts but she had politely rebuffed his efforts. Her father, Abraham Jugson, had been one of the Death Eaters who had looked down on Severus for his heritage. Undoubtedly he had told his daughter that Severus was a half-blood.
"I can ask him to find out, he might already know. Do you think if the Dark Lord doesn't come back the Death Eaters will eventually just stop?"
Severus couldn't bring himself to lie to Rachel, not about this at least. "No. I think that if the Dark Lord doesn't return, they will eventually choose a new leader. It might not come to war, in that case, but I don't think the Death Eaters themselves are going anywhere, and I do believe that they will recruit their children and any young people they are in a position to sway."
"They're just going to spend the rest of their lives trying to kill me?" she asked.
"If the Dark Lord doesn't return, and if we show them that you are consistently well protected, they may decide it's too much of an effort to attack you. However, I think we should be prepared for them to continue to gather information about you and for them to potentially attack," Severus said. At this point he thought it was more when the Dark Lord came back, rather than if, but Rachel didn't need to have that conversation right now. "Our home is very well protected, you will be safe there. And Hogwarts is relatively safe as well as long as we take the appropriate precautions."
Rachel bit down on her lower lip while she thought about this. "I suppose it doesn't matter. They'll do what they're going to do and we can't stop them."
"We may not be able to stop them from acting, but we can protect you," he insisted. "That's one of the reasons I've been teaching you so many defensive spells this year, and we'll continue to work on it over the summer. How are you doing with the barrier ward?"
"I've got it," Rachel said, getting to her feet. She drew her wand and began making the appropriate wand movements. "Claustrum salvus," she said, repeating it for each side of the ward.
Severus got to his feet and pressed his hand against the ward. "Well done. This will serve nicely. Did you want any additional practice on any of the spells you've learned?"
"No, I've been practicing with my study group and with the other champions. I think we're as ready as we're going to get. Hermione taught me a good one today, watch this. Point me," Rachel said, holding her wand flat in her hand and watching as it spun around. "It points north."
"That will be a useful spell in this instance, I've never seen that one," Severus said. "Why don't you dispel your barrier and we'll have dinner."
"Okay," Rachel said.
He left her to take down her barrier ward and went to floo the kitchens. Two minutes later there were two meals on the dining table - soup and a sandwich for Rachel, shepherd's pie for himself.
"Is there anything that you need? Anything that you can think of that might help you?" he asked as they sat down.
Rachel shook her head. "Just for this school year to be over."
"Soon. Very soon it will be over. Then you can rest and take a long break," he promised. It would do both of them good to take a break.
On Monday morning after breakfast Rachel, Millie, Theo, and the rest of the Slytherin fourth years trooped down to Greenhouse three for the start of their final exams. Theo looked particularly distant while they walked and Rachel had to grab his arm to keep him from tripping over the edge of the path.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Fine, just reviewing in my head. I'm guessing essays on Shrivelfigs and tending to Bouncing Bulbs," he said. "I'm trying to remember all the properties of Shrivelfigs."
"Shrinking Solution and Euphoria Elixir," Rachel said after a moment of digging through her mind.
"And the leaves for a Healing salve," Millie added.
Theo nodded. "Unless the essays are on Wiggentrees, but I really think they'll be on Shrivelfigs."
"We'll find out soon enough," Rachel said, nodding to where Professor Sprout was waiting for them at the entrance to the greenhouse.
Sure enough their essays were on Shrivelfigs, which Rachel quickly wrote out properties, care, uses, and made a rough diagram with the parts labeled. Then they repotted Bouncing Bulbs, which was both messy and a little bit fun. Millie had to grab wildly to prevent one of hers from bouncing away, but fortunately Professor Sprout had been with the Hufflepuffs with her back turned.
They had a break afterward and then lunch, and then joined Hermione and Neville to go back out on the grounds for Care of Magical Creatures.
"Follow me," Hagrid called once the entire class had gathered and had each been handed a knife and a satchel.
"Any ideas?" Hermione whispered as they started walking across the grounds.
"No, but the knife worries me," Millie said.
It worried Rachel a little bit too. Hopefully they weren't about to harvest some poor creature. She wasn't sure she could bring herself to do it.
"No way," Draco said, coming to a stop as they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"We're not going far now," Hagrid called as he stepped into the forest. "Stay close."
Rachel looked back at the castle and then shook her head. At least it was a sunny day and they couldn't exactly get in trouble for going into the Forbidden Forest if a teacher had told them to go in.
"I don't like this," Neville whispered.
"It's an exam. And Hagrid will protect us," Hermione said, though she was frowning.
Rachel stepped into the forest, Millie hurrying up to walk next to her, and when Rachel looked back she saw that most of the class had followed, but not everyone. Rachel decided that she wasn't going to tell Severus about this exam, not that he generally asked about the contents of her exams anyway.
"Alright then," Hagrid said, coming to a stop about twenty minutes later. "I want each of you to bring me back a piece of wand quality wood, about wand sized. Don't go further away than this grove, make sure you stay in sight of me. You have everything you need."
Glad that the knife was for cutting the tree and not a creature, Rachel took a look around and examined the trees closely. Finally she spotted a bowtruckle on the trunk of a nearby tree. She examined the contents of the satchel, finding a variety of food that might tempt different creatures, and sure enough there was a few woodlice in a container.
"Hello," she told the bowtruckle, even though she knew it couldn't understand her. "I just want a piece of one of the smaller branches, okay? I've got a treat for you."
She fed it the woodlice and then carefully reached for one of the lower branches. Keeping her eyes on the bowtruckle, Rachel used the knife to saw on one of the smaller branches. The bowtruckle seemed a little bit agitated, so she put more pressure on the knife and was finally able to snap the branch off. "Thank you," she told it, backing away quickly.
"There you go, Rachel, well done," Hagrid said when Rachel handed him the branch.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to be in the Forbidden Forest?" Rachel asked, looking around at where her classmates were all working nearby.
"Sure it's okay, I won't let anything happen to you. We're far away from the acromantula nests and the centaurs know not to come this close to the school," Hagrid said. "And there's nothing like hands-on experience."
"I suppose," Rachel said, watching as Neville came over to them with his own branch.
Soon the study group was gathered around Hagrid and they watched as their classmates attempted to finish the exam.
It wasn't until they were back in their study room that Hermione sighed heavily. "I care about Hagrid, he's a good friend to us, but I don't know about his lessons sometimes. There were a few people in our class who didn't even complete the exam because they didn't want to go into the Forbidden Forest, and I can't say I blame them."
"I don't think Hagrid has a very good idea of what is dangerous to us, compared to what is dangerous to him," Theo said. "He might be able to walk into the Forbidden Forest and not have to worry about being attacked, but we do."
"And we're not supposed to go into the Forbidden Forest in the first place, it's right in the name," Neville said.
"I don't know what we can do about it," Rachel said, pulling out her two-way book. "And no one did get hurt, we all stayed close to Hagrid."
"But think what might have happened if a bowtruckle had attacked someone. We were a long way from the hospital wing," Millie said. "You're right though, I don't know what we can do about it either."
"Well, let's think about it at least. But for now, we've got our Potions exam first thing in the morning and then Arithmancy in the afternoon. Let's review Potions now and then Arithmancy after dinner," Hermione said.
"Any ideas on what Professor Snape will have us brew?" Theo asked Rachel.
"An antidote would be my bet, either an antidote for general poisons, or an anti-venom," Rachel said, though she was mostly guessing based on what Severus had put the most emphasis on that year.
"Makes sense," Millie said. "Let's start there and then do a basic review of the others. We should have enough time."
The evening passed quickly and Rachel felt like she'd barely slept when she went into Severus' classroom on Tuesday morning. She was somewhat relieved to see that the antidote to common poisons was the recipe written on the chalkboard.
Ninety minutes later and everyone in the study group had teal colored potions.
Rachel gave Severus a small smile when she handed her vial in and got an approving nod in return.
After lunch they went up to the seventh floor for Arithmancy and were each given several sheets of parchment with equations on them. The room was absolutely silent except for the scratching of quills as everyone in the room bent over their parchment and worked fervently. Rachel had a long moment where she puzzled over the equation for the Disarming Charm but finally managed to remember how to balance the unknown variable of the power for the person who was being disarmed. She had just finished the last equation when Professor Vector called that the exam had ended.
"Sometimes I don't know about this class," Millie said as they dragged themselves back down to the study room for another review session.
"It will be better after exams, it's always bad at exams," Neville said, sounding a little frazzled.
Rachel nodded. It was always better after exams were over.
On Wednesday morning they had their Charms exam. They wrote short essays about the Exploding charm and the Severing charm and then were called up individually.
"The summoning charm, Miss Snow?" Professor Flitwick asked when it was Rachel's turn.
"Accio pillow," Rachel said, the pillow flying from across the room into Rachel's hand.
"And now banishing?"
"Depulso," she said, sending the pillow neatly back to where it had started.
"Very good, and the Scouring charm, on the table if you would," Professor Flitwick directed.
"Scourgify," Rachel said, pointing her wand at the mess of sawdust that Professor Flitwick had left on the table. It obligingly disappeared.
"Full marks, very good, you're done," Professor Flitwick said.
Rachel sighed with relief that she had at least one class she didn't have to worry about and went back to her desk.
"I hear we have to duel Moody," Draco said as they were all sitting down for lunch. "That's what Michael Corner says at least."
"Better than writing another essay," Blaise said.
Rachel thought she'd rather write the essay. "Surely he doesn't expect us to win the duels?"
"I think the goal is survival, rather than winning," Millie said. "I don't particularly like my chances though."
"Why not? We've gotten plenty of practice," Theo said around a mouthful of ham sandwich.
"It's not about practice, it's about Professor Moody being able to end any one of us with a single shot," Millie said.
"I would assume he's going to take it relatively easy on us, it's not like he expects us to be at his level, we're only fourth years," Blaise said, shaking his head.
Rachel would be shocked if she ever saw Professor Moody taking it easy on anyone, but she applied herself to trying to eat a sandwich and hoped that she wouldn't mess up and accidentally send something like the Cutting hex or the Bludgeoning hex at Professor Moody.
When they got to the Defense classroom they found that all of the desks had been removed.
"This doesn't bode well," Neville said.
"Rumor is we have to duel him," Theo said.
"At least we have some practice with dueling. More than most, I'd expect," Hermione said, though she was fiddling with her wand in the way that meant she was nervous.
Rachel set her bag down and leaned against the wall. Whatever happened it would be over within the next two hours.
After the entire class had gathered Professor Moody clunked into the room and looked around. "I'm sure you all know by now what you have to do. Each of you gets three minutes. Zabini, you're up."
"Me, sir?" Blaise asked.
"You're Zabini, aren't you? Let's go," Professor Moody said, drawing his wand.
Rachel grimaced as she watched Blaise, Ron, and then Dean Thomas, get taken down by Professor Moody. Professor Moody wasn't casting disabling hexes or stunners, but they were both repeatedly knocked down and hit by a variety of spells.
"Snow," Professor Moody called.
"Good luck," Millie whispered.
Rachel stepped out into the empty space of the classroom and held her wand at the ready. "Protego!" she shouted as soon as she saw him start to move. His spell bounced harmlessly off her shield.
"Depulso!" she called. "Protego!"
Another spell hit her shield and she stumbled back from the feedback.
"Stupefy!" she shouted, dodging a spell. "Protego!"
She barely had time to think and she wound up limiting herself to the Shield charm, the Knockback jinx, the Stunning spell, and banishing. Nothing she cast actually hit him, he either had a shield ready or moved with a speed that was surprising given what she'd seen of him before.
"Stupefy!" she called again, nearly falling over her own feet in the process. "Flipendo!"
"Time!" Professor Moody called, shielding her last spell. "You need to start practicing non-verbal magic. Also, don't fall into patterns, it's tempting to use short spells that are easy to cast, don't do it. Patil, you're up."
Rachel went back to her spot at the side of the classroom and sat down on the floor, her heart pounding and her hands shaking. She couldn't tell if that meant she passed. Professor Moody hadn't given instructions to Ron or to Dean after their exams.
"Good job," Theo said quietly.
"Thanks," Rachel said, leaning against the wall. If that's what dueling was like in a non-threatening situation, she never wanted to have to do it in a situation where she was being threatened.
Everyone in the class struggled with the exam, but Rachel was proud to see that the study group did the best even if no one managed to land a spell on Professor Moody.
"I thought I was going to pass out," Neville said as they left the classroom.
"But you didn't," Theo said. "I think we all did very well under the circumstances."
"As long as we don't have to do it ever again," Millie said wearily. "We've got Astronomy tonight. I think I need a nap."
"Let's review before dinner, and then take a break afterward. We don't have anything tomorrow until the afternoon," Hermione said.
Rachel nodded grimly and tried not to think about the maze that was growing on the Quidditch pitch.
Astronomy went as well as it always did, though she noticed that she had less time at the end of the exam than she usually did for Astronomy exams. Deciding that she didn't care, Rachel yawned and went back to bed.
On Thursday morning they prepared for their Ancient Runes exams and in the afternoon they took the exam itself. The main focus of the exam was on translation and Rachel found herself going back over the exam again once she'd finished it. She thought she had everything right, but she wasn't entirely sure. Everything they studied seemed very hazy at the moment.
She tried to remind herself that she just had two exams left, and then the stupid maze, and then she was done. She wondered what Severus would do if she simply decided not to get out of bed on Sunday.
On Friday morning they had their Transfiguration exam. They wrote an essay on Transforming spells and then set to work transfiguring hermit crabs into armadillos. The shell was the easy part, only winding up with four legs - and a tail - on the armadillo was the hard part. Rachel sighed heavily at the end of the exam. Her armadillo had still been a bit orange at the end of the exam, but she thought some armadillos were probably orange. She hoped they were at least.
It was difficult to make herself care about the History of Magic exam, but she forced herself to focus on recalling what she could about the Goblin Rebellion of 1612 and reminded herself that she only had to take this class for one more year.
"I want to go back to bed," Millie said as they left the History of Magic classroom in the early afternoon.
"Soon. Rachel, do you want to go upstairs and practice one last time?" Theo asked.
Rachel didn't, but she nodded anyway. "One more time. Just to be sure."
"We'll look for you in the common room after dinner," Millie said, as she and Theo dropped Rachel off outside Severus' office.
"Thanks, I think I just want a quiet night," Rachel said.
Theo nodded. "Understandable. I'm sure Pansy and Daphne will let the two of you have the dorm room for the evening without much fuss."
"They'll probably want to be celebrating the end of exams in the common room anyway," Rachel said. She was not in a mood to party tonight, or even be anywhere remotely near a party. "I'll see you after dinner."
She went through Severus' office and through the wall into his quarters, and found him sitting in his armchair with a thin book open on his lap. "Can you really read a book with it on your lap?" she asked, flopping down onto the couch.
"I can. Perhaps it's time we had your eyes examined again if you can't do the same," Severus said, looking up at her. "Are you able to see the chalkboard in the classroom still?"
Rachel tried to remember. "If I'm sitting at the front of the classroom, I'm okay. Further back, I kind of have to squint."
"I'll make you an appointment for next week," he said.
"Can I get new frames?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, of course." Severus put aside his book. "How was your week?"
"Long," Rachel said, though she couldn't exactly complain about exams when she was the one who insisted that she take them. "My grades might not be quite as good this year."
"As I have told you before, many times if memory serves, I do not expect your grades to be perfect. Nor will I be disappointed if your grades are less than perfect, especially while you're under the stress from the tournament. I literally could not ask you to study more," Severus said, his tone oddly firm.
Rachel looked down. "It's just important. I want to do well."
"You do very well. Can you not see that?"
"It's just not enough," she said, pressing her hand to her forehead. She was a little bit surprised at how upsetting this conversation had become. She had been fine a moment ago. Maybe this was just because she was stressed about the task tomorrow?
"Enough for what?" Severus asked. "Can you tell me?" he prompted when she didn't answer.
Rachel bit her lip as she tried to find a way to put it into words. "I used to try to be perfect, because I thought if I was good enough, then things would be okay. If I got everything right, then my relatives would be happy with me. But I couldn't. I tried everything, but it wasn't enough."
There was a long silence between them and Rachel took the moment to try and calm down from where her heart was thundering in her chest. She didn't talk about the Dursleys much to Severus, there wasn't really a point. She didn't talk about them much to anyone.
"There was nothing that you could have done that would have changed the way they treated you," Severus finally said. "You were never the problem. They were the problem. And much of it had nothing to do with you."
"It seemed like it had to do with me," Rachel said. "I was the one there. I was the one they got upset with."
"You were, but it wasn't about you. It was about what you represented. Have I told you that I knew your aunt when we were young?"
"I'm not sure," Rachel said, trying to comb through her memory. Some of her early conversations with Severus were a little fuzzy. "I know that you knew my mom, before both of you came to Hogwarts."
"That's right. And I knew her family, I visited them on many occasions," Severus said.
"You knew my grandparents? What were they like? Aunt Petunia never talked much about them. I don't actually know how they died," Rachel said.
"I'm not certain how they died either, Lily never mentioned it to me, though it must have been some time after she finished at Hogwarts. As far as I could tell, Lily's parents were good people and they were always kind to me when I visited. They doted on Lily. Petunia became very jealous of Lily when Lily started at Hogwarts, and that jealousy and resentment only grew as they got older. They had stopped speaking to each other entirely by the time you were born," Severus explained. "Petunia came to hate magic and anything to do with it. More than once Lily passed me her summer homework to keep until we went back to Hogwarts because Petunia would destroy it."
"And because she hated my mom and hated magic, she hated me," Rachel said. "What about Uncle Vernon?"
"I don't know. I can only assume Petunia found someone to marry who was just as hateful and spiteful as she was," Severus said.
"Worse, in some ways," Rachel said. Uncle Vernon had definitely been the worst of the two. "I wish they'd never agreed to take me in. I don't know why they did."
"I wish they hadn't agreed as well. Albus wished to protect you, and he was correct in that you were safe at your relative's house due to the blood wards, especially in those early days while the Death Eaters continued to attack. If they had found where you were, they would have attempted to kill you. Regardless, he should not have left you there once the threat had mostly passed."
"Because of attacks like the one on Neville's parents," Rachel said. "Why did they go after Neville's parents?"
"Neville's parents were aurors and Order members and were responsible for many of the arrests of Death Eaters at the end of the war. It is said that they were targeted because the Death Eaters involved, the Lestranges, believed that they had information about what had happened to the Dark Lord," Severus said, the lines around his mouth deepening as he frowned.
"So they tortured them for information they didn't have." Rachel shuddered.
"Yes, but I believe we're getting off topic," Severus said.
"There's a topic?" Rachel asked.
"Your relatives' behavior and your need for perfection," he said with an arched eyebrow. "I don't know how else to tell you this, so I will be blunt. My caring for you is not contingent upon your grades, your behavior, or anything else. I will care about you regardless."
Rachel stared at him, not exactly sure what to do with that.
"Even if you fail your exams, if you fail your classes, if you disobey me, or if you make decisions that I disagree with, I will not stop caring about you, nor will I treat you the way your relatives treated you. You do not have to be perfect. You do not even have to attempt to be perfect," Severus finished.
Severus had just said that he cared about her. Multiple times. In a way, Rachel had kind of known that, even though neither of them were particularly big on talking about their feelings. But the things that he did for her, things that he didn't have to do, said it well enough. It was just weird to be told directly.
"I care about you too," she finally said. "In a different way than I've cared about anyone else."
"I'm glad," Severus said, though now he also looked uncomfortable. "Do you wish for me to talk to any of your professors about your exam scores?"
"No. It's fine. I mean, you don't care if I drop History of Magic after my OWLs, do you?" Rachel asked.
"I certainly don't mind. Hardly anyone continues on to take a NEWT in that class," he said. "There isn't much call for a NEWT in History - most people would rather focus on NEWTs that will improve their career prospects."
Rachel moaned with a sudden realization. "We promised Hermione that we could start OWL prep as soon as we finished our end of year exams."
"I'm sure Hermione will be willing to wait for a week or two, at the very least until she has time to peruse the bookshop for OWL study guides," Severus said.
"That's right, she'll have to pick books first. Thank god. I don't think I could study right now even if I wanted to," Rachel said.
"That's fine. You're nearly finished. Speaking of which, do you feel like you need to review any spells before tomorrow?"
"No, though I had an idea I wanted to run by you," she said. It had actually been a good thing that they had gone up to the Room of Requirement after their last exam, or she wouldn't have even thought of it.
"What's that?" he asked.
"What if I copied what I did in the first task and disillusioned myself and removed my scent? That way I could spot any creatures in the maze before they see me, and I can decide to go another way if I don't think I can get past them."
"I think that's a very good idea, however I will also teach you the Muffling spell so that they do not hear you approach, some creatures rely more on sound than on sight," Severus said. "It's fairly simple. Point your wand directly down and to your side and draw it in a half-circle. The incantation is obvolvo."
Rachel got up from the couch and drew her wand. "Obvolvo." She took a few steps and then stamped her feet. There was no sound whatsoever.
"Very good. Now this won't keep you from stumbling into any traps or obstacles that were placed in the maze, but I think it's a wise idea to avoid any creatures you do not wish to fight," Severus said, also standing up. "Are you ready for dinner?"
"Yes. I assume finite will end this?" she asked.
"It will. Any special requests for dinner?" he asked.
"Finite incantatem," Rachel said, tapping her leg and then taking a few steps. "Um, nothing heavy. Maybe fish? Do the House Elves do fish?"
"I will ask, perhaps they'll have something. Did you want to stay here tonight instead of in your dorm?" Severus asked.
Rachel thought about it. It would be a lot quieter here than it would be in Slytherin House. "Is that okay?"
"That's fine. You're welcome to stay in your room here any time you wish," he said.
"Okay. I'll go get a few things that I need after dinner, and let Theo and Millie know where I am so they don't worry," Rachel said.
Severus nodded. "I'll see what I can get us for dinner."
Rachel watched for a moment while Severus flooed the kitchen and then went over to the dining table. One more day, then she could take a break.
Rachel checked her watch as she finished her breakfast. It was almost nine in the morning. They had to enter the maze at seven that evening. She wished they had decided to hold the task in the morning like the other tasks. Now she had to spend all day thinking about it.
A knock on Severus' office door caught their attention and Severus rose from the dining table and went through the wall. "Rachel," he called a moment later.
She got up and went through the wall into Severus' office and found Millie and Theo waiting in the doorway.
"We weren't sure if you wanted to stay in here today," Millie said.
Rachel glanced at Severus. "Do you need me for anything?"
"No, you may go with your friends if you wish to. I believe we need to have dinner in the Great Hall tonight as it is part of the event," Severus said.
"Okay," Rachel said.
"I'll be here in my quarters most of the day if you need anything, or if you just wish to be away from everything," Severus said.
"Thanks," Rachel said, glad that Severus seemed to understand how crazy and overwhelming the castle could be sometimes. "I'll see you before the task."
"You will," Severus promised.
Rachel left his office and joined Millie and Theo.
"There's kind of a surprise for you," Millie said as they started walking back up into the castle proper.
"A surprise?" Rachel asked, not entirely sure she wanted to be surprised today.
"A good surprise, I think you'll like it," Theo said.
"Alright." She supposed she didn't have much say in the matter. "What are we doing today?"
"We'll let you decide after you see the surprise," Millie said.
"We may want to avoid the common room too," Theo said, glancing at Rachel. "People were asking about you last night. I think people are going to want to approach you today and ask what you're going to do about the third task."
"We'll keep them away from you as much as possible," Millie said.
"But it's probably better to stay away from them anyway," Rachel agreed. "Let's get lunch from the kitchens and have a picnic by the lake."
"That's a good idea," Theo said. "Did you want to spend some time practicing?"
"No, but we should. Professor Snape showed me a new spell last night, but it's easy," Rachel said as they stepped into the entrance hall. She could see her friends waiting for her and two men with them. "Sirius? Remus?"
Sirius broke out in a big grin. "There you are. Dumbledore said your friends would know where to find you."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, letting Sirius hug her briefly before pulling away.
"Albus allowed the families of the champions to come spend the day with them. Since Severus is already here with you, Albus invited us," Remus said, smiling at her.
"I'm glad you're here. It's good to see you before the task," Rachel said. "Was there something specific you wanted to do?"
"No, no. We're happy just to tag along with you and your friends," Sirius said "What are your plans?"
"We were going to practice some more and then have a picnic by the lake," Rachel said, hoping that was alright with the rest of the group. She looked past Sirius to her friends. "Is it alright if we show them?"
"As long as they can keep it a secret," Ginny said.
"Well I'll never tell about any mischief you get into, and Remus isn't a professor anymore, so you don't have to worry about him," Sirius said.
"Follow us," Rachel said, letting Hermione take the lead up the staircase.
Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the seventh floor corridor with the tapestry of the trolls learning ballet.
"There it is, that's the tapestry I was telling you about," Sirius said.
Rachel abruptly remembered the story about her dad that Sirius had told her and grimaced. "That's nice?"
"You told her about that?" Remus asked.
"It's a good story," Sirius said.
"Do we even want to know?" Millie asked, her eyebrows raised as she looked from Sirius to Rachel.
"You really don't. Okay, stand back for a moment," Rachel said. She started pacing, keeping her thoughts focused on needing a room to practice in. She'd noticed that the room wasn't always exactly the same, even though each time she focused on wanting to practice spells. And the practice dummies always came back fixed, or they were new dummies.
The doorway appeared and Sirius' jaw dropped. "A secret room? You found a secret room?"
"Yes, I think Hogwarts probably has at least a few," Rachel said, opening the door.
Remus smiled. "We put quite a bit of effort into finding all of Hogwarts' secrets back in our day. I'm impressed."
"Impressed? I'm flabbergasted! And proud. James would be very proud to know that you're keeping the traditions in the family," Sirius said, putting his hand on Rachel's shoulder.
Rachel decided not to tell them that all she'd had to do was ask a painting for help. And besides, she'd sort of found the room on her own in her second year, she just hadn't known what it was. She opened the door and led them inside.
"We've been practicing here for a few weeks now," Theo said.
"It's a good space, I wish I'd known about it while I was a teacher, but I can understand why you'd want to keep this to yourselves," Remus said as he looked around.
Rachel glanced at her friends and realized they'd somehow made the collective decision not to reveal the room's true nature.
"Why don't you show us what you can do, and we'll see if we can offer any pointers," Sirius suggested.
"All of us?" Neville asked.
"Why not?" Sirius said. "The more the merrier."
"I'll show you the new spell from Professor Snape before we start. It's called the Muffling spell. The incantation is obvolvo, you point your wand directly down and draw it in a half circle in front of you," Rachel said, drawing her wand. "Obvolvo."
The rest of the study group tried it as well.
"Pair that with the Disillusionment charm and you're ready to go. It took us until our fourth year before we figured that out," Sirius said.
"And the Scent Removal charm, in case of creatures," Luna added.
"That might have helped us evade Mrs. Norris," Remus said with a nod.
"I always wondered how she knew where we were, it was like she could see straight through our Disillusionment charms," Sirius said.
"Let's start with hexes and work our way down?" Hermione suggested.
Rachel nodded and they got the practice dummies situated before they got to work. An hour later, with a few minor corrections from Remus and Sirius, they had finished going through everything they'd learned over the past few months.
"Well, at this rate you're going to get Outstandings on your Defense OWLs," Remus said with a nod.
"You really think so?" Hermione asked.
"I do. You've already covered the majority of the fifth year material along with some of the sixth year material as well. Well done, all of you," Remus said.
Rachel smiled and wished that Remus could have stayed their Defense teacher. She much preferred his teaching methods over Professor Moody's.
"I can't think of anything new to show you that would specifically help with the maze," Sirius said. "While you're in there, keep focused on your goals. Avoid creatures and traps where you can. Do whatever is necessary, alright?"
"Alright," Rachel said. Her plan remained the same - get out of there as quickly as possible.
"Now, someone said something about a picnic lunch?" Sirius asked. "I'm assuming all of you know how to get into the kitchens by now."
"We do," Theo said.
They made their way down the staircases and to the kitchens where the House Elves packed them several picnic baskets. By the lake, Remus conjured them three big blankets and they spread out their feast.
Rachel was part way through her turkey sandwich when she saw Cedric walking with his parents. A weird feeling twisted in her stomach, like Professor Dumbledore had invited the champions' families out to spend one last day with them in case they died. She put down her sandwich and looked out at the lake.
"You okay?" Millie asked quietly, her voice barely carrying under the tale that Sirius was telling about some adventure they'd had at Hogwarts.
"I will be, once this is over," Rachel decided. Once this was over and everyone was safe.