"You should read this," Draco said, handing over the Daily Prophet before Rachel could even sit down at the Slytherin table.

"We have got to stop finding stuff out like this," Rachel said, sitting down between Millie and Theo. She really did not appreciate getting news this way, especially when it was often about herself.

"Well, not all of it is you this time," Draco said.

It was a Rita Skeeter article, which didn't bode well, but the headline wasn't about Rachel at all.

"'Professor Dolores Umbridge named High Inquisitor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.' What does that even mean?" Millie asked, leaning in to read the paper.

"Can the Ministry really do that without a Wizengamot vote?" Theo asked, his eyes darting back and forth as he read.

"Apparently, or they wouldn't be announcing it in the paper," Draco said, glancing up at the staff table.

Rachel followed his gaze to where Professor Umbridge was sitting, looking relatively pleased with herself. Professor Dumbledore and all the Heads of Houses were missing from the staff table.

"Educational Decree Twenty Three," Theo murmured as he read. "But other than saying that she's providing evaluation to Professor Dumbledore, it doesn't say what this position gives her. And, Rachel, here's the part about you."

Rachel turned her attention back to the newspaper and skimmed until she found her name. She felt her jaw drop. "But this was just last night. Is that what she really thinks?" The accusation was not direct, but anyone could read between the lines to see that Rita Skeeter was insinuating that either Severus or Professor Dumbledore used memory charms on Rachel to cause her to say the Dark Lord had returned. Professor Umbridge was quoted as 'looking into the matter'.

Millie shrugged. "I don't know. But-"

"I don't think we should discuss it here," Theo said quietly, taking the paper and folding it up.

Rachel carefully looked around and saw that they had the attention of a number of people, including the Carrow twins. "Right."

Pansy met Rachel's gaze. "Does this change anything? About things that have been planned?"

"No, everything stays the same," Rachel said, getting a nod from Blaise while Draco rolled his eyes. They were definitely still having the DA meeting - so far nothing they'd seen suggested they'd been found out.

"Alright, if you're sure," Pansy said, returning to her breakfast.

Rachel picked up the Daily Prophet again and began skimming through the headlines, searching for any sign of Death Eater activity.

"You don't want anything?" Millie asked. "Not even some pumpkin juice?"

"No, not really," she said, frowning at the newspaper. Food was just about the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. Draco had been right when he said they needed to do something about the Daily Prophet or about Rita Skeeter. Basically any articles they printed were suspect, considering how they reported about Rachel, and who knew what sort of information they were leaving out.

It was a problem that Rachel didn't have any idea of how to begin to solve.

But it was important and it seemed like it would be even more important as the war went on. Rachel doubted that Rita Skeeter was a Death Eater, or Minister Fudge for that matter, but both of them seemed to be willing to promote misinformation that supported the Death Eaters. If things got worse, that could potentially get people killed.

"Find anything else?" Theo asked.

Rachel shook her head. "How do newspapers even get started?"

"The Daily Prophet started around 250 years ago and it hasn't always been influenced by the Ministry the way it is today," Theo said, pausing to eat some toast.

"Professor Snape said that happened during the war with Grindelwald," Rachel said, recalling the conversation she'd had with him about the newspaper.

"The biggest problem is that it doesn't have a rival paper to keep it honest, but wizarding Britain isn't really a large enough community to support two newspapers," Theo said.

"Couldn't it, though?" Millie asked. "I would bet there are a lot of people who would like a different perspective on things."

"I don't really want to run a newspaper as a career, do you?" Theo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really," Rachel admitted. "But if it's bad now, then, later..."

Millie nodded. "I don't know what we do about that though."

"Me neither. I think this might be a problem that we're not in a position to solve," Theo said.

Rachel frowned. It seemed like a problem that needed solving, and not just so that they'd stop writing articles about her. She looked back at the paper and wondered how many other people were out there, reading the Daily Prophet, and just accepting it as the truth. If you couldn't trust your newspapers, and couldn't trust your government, then what?

"Let's go get our cauldrons and potions kits, we're brewing the Invigoration Draught today," Theo said, dusting off his hands as he stood up.

Rachel and Millie followed him from the Great Hall, Rachel's mind still back with the newspaper.

"Rachel?"

She turned and found Cedric hurrying up to her. "Hi Cedric."

"Hi. Are you alright?" Cedric asked.

"Fine, why?"

"That's the second time we've seen your name in the paper this week and it's not very flattering," Cedric said, looking concerned.

"I don't think the Daily Prophet is ever going to flatter me, though I'd prefer if they stopped writing about me altogether," Rachel said, folding her arms.

"That would be best. Are we still...tonight?" Cedric asked with a quick glance around them.

"We're proceeding as planned," Rachel said firmly.

"Good, just wanted to check considering this High Inquisitor thing," Cedric said.

"Any idea what actual powers this position grants her?" Theo asked.

"No idea, but it can't be good. Alright. I'll see you later," Cedric said, turning to go back into the Great Hall.

"I'm a little nervous, but I'm looking forward to tonight," Millie said as they continued down into the dungeons.

Rachel nodded. "Me too."

"We definitely need a way to communicate about this that isn't having people come up to us at the table or in the halls," Theo said, looking back to make sure no one was following them directly.

"Hermione said she's working on it, she had an idea, but she wouldn't say what until she found out whether or not it worked," Millie said.

"Hi Curbin," Rachel said as they passed Curbin's portrait.

"Good morning, Miss Rachel. Time to be getting on to class," Curbin said.

"We are, just have to pick up our cauldrons," Rachel said. "A maiore ad minus."

The common room door appeared and they stepped inside.

"See you in a minute," Theo said, heading toward the boys dorms.

Rachel and Millie returned to their own dorm and collected their cauldrons and potions kits.

"You're with Neville today, right? Or you're with Hermione and I'm with Neville?" Millie asked as they went back out into the common room.

"I think I'm with Hermione, but if you'd rather work with her, I can partner with Neville," Rachel offered.

"Either way is fine, I just don't remember what our last rotation was," Millie said, leaning against the couch while they waited for Theo.

"Hermione will know," Rachel said. Hermione was good at keeping track of things like that.

Theo emerged carrying his cauldron. "It's nice that we don't have to carry our cauldrons around all day like the Gryffindors."

"That is nice," Rachel agreed. She already had enough books in her bag as it was.

They backtracked through the dungeons and found the classroom door already open, with Severus at the front of the classroom with a frown.

"Miss Snow, come speak with me for a moment," Severus said.

Rachel followed Severus to his office and waited while he put up a privacy ward.

"I want you to come down to my office after your classes are finished for the day," Severus said, looking pensive.

"To talk about Professor Umbridge?" Rachel asked.

"We can, if you wish, though I don't have much information at this time," Severus said. "I'll see you in my office by four thirty?"

"Sure," Rachel said, wondering if he wanted to talk about the part of the article that was about memory charms, but Severus ended the privacy ward before she could ask.

She went back out into the classroom, Severus closing the office door behind them, and found that Hermione and Neville had arrived. "Who is partnering with who today?" Rachel asked.

"Me and you, Millie and Neville, Theo and Draco," Hermione listed, already opening her book to the instructions for the Invigoration Draught.

Rachel shrugged and took a seat next to Hermione. At least while they were working on brewing a potion she could concentrate on something other than the Daily Prophet.


"Why does he want to see you on a Friday?" Neville asked as they left Ancient Runes.

Rachel glanced around them, but most of the class had left before the study group had. "I don't know, I assume he wants to talk about that article."

"Do you think Professor Umbridge believes, well-" Hermione paused and looked around them. "Does she believe what they said in the paper about you?"

"I don't know," Rachel said. She wasn't at all sure that pretending to be under the influence of Veritaserum had fooled Professor Umbridge.

"It makes sense though, doesn't it?" Millie asked. "If she refuses to believe that the Dark Lord is back, and she accepts what Rachel said, then she has to come up with another explanation."

"When exactly was Professor Dumbledore or Professor Snape supposed to do the memory charm though?" Hermione asked. "They were in a crowd of people pretty much from the time you entered the maze until you, uh, returned. Can someone do a memory charm on someone and have it only take effect later?"

Everyone looked at Theo.

"I don't know, maybe with a Confundus charm, but Rachel would have been killed in the maze if she'd been confunded when she entered," Theo said after a moment as they started down the staircases.

"I definitely wasn't confunded," Rachel said firmly.

"We're not going to learn much of anything about memory charms in the Hogwarts library either. Those books will be in the Restricted Section, if the Hogwarts library even has them," Theo continued.

"I wish we could go in the Restricted Section, just to see what is there," Hermione said.

"You can probably ask Professor McGonagall for a pass once you've finished with the OWLs. I bet she'd give it to you," Theo said. "You're her favorite student."

"I don't know that I'd say that," Hermione said modestly.

"I bet Professor Snape would give you a Restricted Section pass, Rachel," Millie said.

"Probably not," Rachel said. She wasn't even planning to ask for one.

"Do you want us to wait to do homework until you get back?" Neville asked.

"No, don't wait for me, I don't know how long this is going to take," Rachel said. "Worst case scenario I'll see you at dinner."

"You think everything is alright?" Millie asked, turning to look at Rachel as they passed the landing for the fourth floor.

"Yeah. I think he just wants to put together a new plan for dealing with Professor Umbridge." She wasn't sure what else Severus might want that couldn't wait until Sunday.

"Let us know if he wants us to change tactics as well," Theo said.

Rachel nodded. She thought the best tactics they could have in this situation was to stay as far away from Professor Umbridge as possible.

"Want me to walk you down to his office?" Millie asked as they reached the third floor.

"No, it's not far from here and you'll just have to walk back up. I'll come up to our study room or I'll see you at dinner," Rachel said, continuing down the steps before anyone could volunteer to escort her.

"Good luck," Neville called after her.

Rachel turned back long enough to smile at him and then continued on her way. As she got lower into the castle the staircase became busier with Gryffindors and Ravenclaws heading up to the library or to their respective common rooms. She kept a general awareness as people passed around her, but she wasn't worried. No one would be stupid enough to attack her in the middle of a dozen witnesses.

She reached the entrance hall quickly enough and followed the back corridor down into the dungeons. There were a few Slytherins in the corridor, but they were mostly lower years returning to the common room after a day of classes. Rachel came to Severus' office door, opened it, and stepped inside.

His office was empty, but the door to his classroom was open and Rachel peered into his classroom to find him talking with Tracey and presumably another sixth year girl who was wearing a Ravenclaw tie. They were all standing over a cauldron that had a trail of purple smoke coming from it.

"Give me two minutes, Miss Snow," Severus called.

"It's fine, take whatever time you need," Rachel called, stepping further back into his office so that it didn't seem like she was listening to their conversation.

There were three piles of essays on Severus' desk, including the ones her class had handed in this morning, and Rachel shook her head. There was no way she was becoming a teacher. It seemed like a massive amount of work, and Severus was doing that on top of being a Head of House, and watching out for her. No wonder the other professors didn't have children or spouses - where would they find the time?

Severus entered his office and pulled his classroom door shut behind him.

"What happened?" Rachel asked, curious about whatever potion had gone wrong. That was unusual for a NEWT student, from what Severus had said about his classes.

"One of the students' potions kits contained contaminated leech juice. I'll have to have everyone in each of my classes test theirs so there won't be any additional mishaps," Severus said. "Let's be on our way before we're late."

"What did it do to the potion?" Rachel asked, following him out of his office.

"The resulting reaction was acidic enough that it began to eat into the cauldron itself. We were fortunate that Miss Nettlebed recognized that something was wrong with her potion and caught my attention before it ate through the cauldron and splashed on her or anyone else," Severus said as they walked through the corridor, back toward the main castle.

"Where are we going?" she asked, realizing she should have asked that first.

"To see Poppy," Severus said.

Rachel came to a stop. "Why? I thought you wanted to talk about the newspaper article, maybe with Professor Dumbledore because it was accusing him too."

Severus took a few more paces before he seemed to realize that Rachel wasn't right behind him. He turned back. "We can discuss the matter further in the hospital wing."

"Are they going to look at my mind to prove that no one performed a memory charm on me?" Rachel pressed, not moving.

"No, this does not concern what was in the paper. Albus and I are still attempting to get a handle on all that has occurred." He stopped and looked around. "I would prefer that we discuss this privately and not in the corridor."

Rachel took out her wand and cast a privacy ward around them. "Then why are you taking me to see Madam Pomfrey? Are you sick?"

"No. I am well. I am concerned about you. As I said, we can discuss this privately," Severus said.

"No, I want to know why you're taking me there. If you want to discuss it privately we can go back to your office." Rachel couldn't say why her heart was beating faster or why this felt so important, but it was. She didn't want to be taken to Madam Pomfrey for no good reason.

Severus frowned. "I wish to ascertain that you are well and Poppy knows more appropriate diagnostic charms than I do. Healing is not my specialty. Why is it that you do not wish to see her?"

"Because." She bit her lip. She didn't have a good reason, she just didn't want to do this. She was fine.

"Are you concerned about my reaction to what she may discover?" Severus pressed.

"No, I don't even know what you think you're going to discover. I'm fine. I feel fine. I'm not sick and I don't know why you think I am." Rachel stopped and tried to slow her breathing. She could feel panic coursing through her and she couldn't even say why. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I'm taking you to a Healer because I'm concerned about your health. Shall we continue this conversation in the hospital wing or are you going to insist that we continue it here?"

Severus' voice was low and level, but Rachel could tell that she was irritating him. "Fine. I don't care," she said, dismissing the privacy ward with a hard stroke of her wand. She began walking in the direction of the hospital wing, hunching her shoulders reflexively as she heard Severus' footsteps come up beside her.

They walked in silence down the corridor and out into the entrance hall.

"Hi Rachel, hi Professor Snape," Colin said cheerfully from where he was sitting with his younger brother on the bottom of the staircase, his camera cradled in his lap.

"Hi Colin, hi Dennis," Rachel said, unable to bring herself to smile at the moment.

"Mr. Creevey, I do not believe this is an appropriate place to sit," Severus said.

"Yes, sir," Colin said, both him and Dennis moving out of the way. "See you later, Rachel."

"Okay," Rachel said, reminding herself that at least she had something to look forward to. The first DA meeting was after dinner. Assuming she got Severus to let her loose by then.

"I was unaware you were friends with Mr. Creevey," Severus said as they climbed the staircase to the first floor.

"Acquaintances," Rachel said stiffly. She didn't know Colin well enough to call him a friend. Her footsteps dragged a little as they made it to the first floor and started in the direction of the hospital wing. The hospital wing took up the east wing of the castle on this level, with the classrooms off down the west corridor.

It didn't take them long to reach the hospital wing and Rachel sighed when she saw Madam Pomfrey come out of her office, her wand already drawn. "I'm not changing into a hospital gown," Rachel said, slightly petulantly.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Severus said.

"Miss Snow, come take a seat and we'll have a look," Madam Pomfrey said, motioning to one of the beds.

Rachel frowned but walked across the room and sat down on the bed, setting her school bag down beside her. "I'm not sick."

"That's quite alright," Madam Pomfrey said. "Can you tell me how you've been sleeping?"

"Same as usual," Rachel said, watching Madam Pomfrey's wand as it moved. She recognized the standard diagnostic charm, but she didn't recognize anything beyond that.

"How frequently do you wake from nightmares?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"About twice a week, maybe three times on a bad week," Rachel said, shooting a look at Severus. She did not appreciate him talking to Madam Pomfrey about her behind her back. Severus merely looked back at her impassively.

"Do you stay awake after them?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes I go back to sleep. I don't need a Sleeping Potion."

"And how about meals?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I eat meals," Rachel said, looking at Severus again. Was that what this was all about?

"Please be more specific," Severus prompted.

"I eat at least twice a day," Rachel amended, and that was mostly true.

"Alright, come step on the scale for me, dear," Madam Pomfrey said, pocketing her wand and pointing to a scale.

Rachel folded her arms and stepped onto the scale. She presumed it told Madam Pomfrey her weight somehow, but she didn't see anywhere that it did.

"Are you feeling tired or run down?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "Come sit back down again."

"Not usually," Rachel said, going back to sit next to her bag. "I really am fine."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "And does the Stomach Soothing potion help you feel like you can eat?"

"Sometimes, I don't usually need it to eat. Can I go now?" Rachel felt the very strong desire to flee from the hospital wing and this conversation. She ran her hand along the strap of her bag and focused for a moment on the feel of the stitching.

"Not yet," Severus said, his gaze still fixed on Rachel.

"Well, your nutrition is still adequate, I don't see that we need to supplement with potions at this time. I'm not seeing anything on my diagnostics that should cause problems with your digestion. Your weight has dropped since when I saw you last year, and that's a little concerning. You're just barely within the normal weight range for your height," Madam Pomfrey said, picking up a clipboard and a quill.

"But I'm fine, right?" Rachel asked before Severus could speak.

"You should eat a little more than what you're currently eating, probably take an extra portion or two at one of your meals, but otherwise you are well," Madam Pomfrey said. "You're still growing, but your body needs food if you're going to get taller."

Rachel raised her eyebrows at Severus. See? She was just fine.

"Thank you for checking on her, Poppy. I appreciate it," Severus said.

"No problem at all, come by any time," Madam Pomfrey said, heading back to her office.

Rachel got to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Are we finished?"

Severus arched an eyebrow at her tone and cast a privacy ward around them. "I brought you here because Torey and I were concerned and wanted to make sure you were physically healthy."

"You talked to Torey?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, because I am concerned about you. You have seemed to struggle more with eating since we've returned to Hogwarts."

"If you want to be concerned, be concerned about Death Eaters and the Dark Lord," Rachel said, well past the end of her patience.

"I'm concerned about them as well. Did you wish to come back to my quarters and we can speak?" Severus asked.

"Not really, I'm missing a homework session with my study group. Unless you want to tell me to do something different with Professor Umbridge?" At the moment she didn't even really want to talk to Severus about that.

"Albus and I are trying to understand the latest developments. I intend to meet with him tomorrow along with the other Heads of Houses once he's more thoroughly reviewed the information the Ministry has provided. As for the accusations that you were memory charmed, I'm not certain that anything will come of that, but Albus is keeping an eye on it as well. I'll let you know once I know more. In the meantime, I want you to continue to be respectful to Umbridge and to stay out of her way."

Rachel nodded. She wanted to stay out of Professor Umbridge's way. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then?"

"Yes, you will. Please be safe. Stay aware of your surroundings," Severus said, watching her with a pensive expression.

"I will," Rachel said, taking the opportunity to leave. She sighed heavily once she was out of the hospital wing. She didn't know why Severus had felt he'd had to go about it that way, but she really didn't appreciate it. At least Madam Pomfrey had told him that she was fine, so maybe he'd leave her alone about eating now.

She hurried back up the staircase and to the study room.

"What did Professor Snape say about Professor Umbridge?" Hermione asked once Rachel had closed the door behind her.

"They're still trying to figure things out. I'll ask again on Sunday," Rachel said, taking her seat and glancing at Millie's stuff. They were doing Astronomy homework. She quickly began pulling the things she needed out of her bag.

"Professor Snape wanted to see you, just to tell you that they didn't know anything yet?" Theo asked.

"Not exactly," Rachel said, hoping that if she didn't elaborate that Theo and everyone else would get the hint. She watched as Theo and Hermione glanced at each other, but neither of them said anything. "Saturn's moons?"

"Yes, two feet, which is mostly taken up by listing them, plus a diagram, which you can find in our two-way books," Neville said.

Rachel put her name on the top of her piece of blank parchment and settled in to get to work. Right now listing Saturn's moons sounded much better than thinking.


"Do you think it's big enough for thirty people?" Hermione asked as she looked around the recently formed Room of Requirement.

"Should be," Theo said, also looking intently. "There's definitely room for fifteen pairs, with some space to spare."

Rachel checked her watch. In fifteen minutes they were starting their first meeting of the DA. Their plans were pretty simple - dodging, disarming, and Shield charms - but it would be a good way to get a feel for where everyone was at. It helped that nearly half of the club were NEWT students. They at least should be able to manage themselves for the first few times the club met.

"I'm having second thoughts about our curriculum," Hermione said, digging into her bag.

Theo walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, relax. We know what we're doing. And our curriculum is good, we even went over it with Roland."

"I just don't want to disappoint anyone," Hermione said.

"Just think, there is absolutely nothing we can do that would be as bad as the Defense lessons we're currently receiving. We could have people practicing Expelliarmus for the entire year and it would still be better than our actual Defense class," Ginny said, nodding encouragingly.

"Let's just see how things go and if we need to make changes, we have at least a week to do so," Theo said.

Hermione stood and nodded. "Alright. We'll see how it goes."

Millie exchanged a wane smile with Rachel. All of them were a little nervous about this, though it seemed like they were nervous for different reasons. Rachel also wanted the club to go well, but her biggest concern right now was not attracting attention or getting caught.

The door opened and Colin peered in. "Can we come in yet?"

"Yes, come in," Ginny said. "Colin, do you know everyone in my study group?"

"Not everyone," Colin said, stepping inside with his brother.

"Alright. That's Millie, Theo, and Rachel. You know Hermione, Neville, and Luna of course. Everyone, this is Colin and Dennis," Ginny said, pointing to people as she spoke.

"Hi," Dennis said as he looked around eagerly.

"Come take a seat somewhere, we need a few more people to arrive before we get started," Hermione directed.

The door opened again and this time it was most of the Slytherin prefects - Cassius, Tristram, Tracey, and Pansy. Rachel went over. "We're glad you're here and that you found it alright. We've still got about ten minutes before we start, so you can get settled in."

"We saw Umbridge in the Great Hall when we left, we think there's still time for people to come up here without attracting her attention," Tracey said.

"Good. There's no reason for her to come up here," Rachel said. She also had her spy scope in her bag so she could check out what was around them before they sent people away.

"As long as it stays that way," Cassius said.

Rachel was aware of more people arriving and various members of the study group greeting them. The Gryffindor Quidditch team - plus Lee Jordan - showed up next, followed by Cedric, his friends, Cho, and Roger.

"Do we have the right place?" Susan asked as she peeked in.

"You do, come in," Rachel said, returning from where she'd left the Slytherin prefects.

"This is kind of exciting, but my mom would kill me if she found out," Hannah said as she looked around.

"She doesn't have to know, it's better for all of us if no one knows, at least not until Professor Umbridge is gone for good," Rachel said. Preferably not even then. She thought that Severus would have a few things to say to her if he ever found out. "We've almost got everyone, but we're going to wait a few more minutes."

"Okay," Susan said, and she and Hannah went to join near where Terry and Anthony were standing.

Blaise entered with Daphne and Astoria and Theo went to speak with them.

Not two minutes later the Slytherin Quidditch team showed up - minus Martin and Stephen - and Rachel frowned when she realized Draco wasn't with them either. Maybe he'd decided not to come after all.

"What are we doing today?" Scarlett asked as she bounded up to Rachel.

"Disarming, dodging, and Shield charms," Rachel said.

"Oh, I don't know the Shield charm," Scarlett said.

"We'll teach it to you," Rachel promised.

"You should have told us, we would have taught it to you," Miles said. "I'm guessing Stephen and Martin don't know it either?"

"Probably not. Professor Moody didn't teach it to us, and he's the only real spells focused Defense professor we've had," Scarlett said.

"Sunday, bring them down outside the Quidditch stands thirty minutes before practice and we'll make sure all of you can do it," Miles said. "Adrian, you're helping."

"It's not like I have NEWT studying to do," Adrian said, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "But yes, we'll do it."

Rachel decided that would have to do. She didn't know Stephen and Martin well enough to invite them to the DA yet, but she could still make sure they knew the most important spells they needed to know.

The door opened again and Draco stepped through.

Rachel stepped away from the Quidditch team to greet him. "Draco, I'm glad to see you."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "I can't believe this door was actually here. I went looking for it yesterday and I was sure you were setting me up."

"I wouldn't do that," she said, wondering if he really had thought that she would. She didn't think she'd ever been non-trustworthy to Draco.

"Look at it from my perspective," Draco said, glancing around. "Is this everyone?"

Rachel turned and looked around the room. People had mostly divided themselves by House, though the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws were mingling in the center. "I think that's everyone. We should get started, we only have an hour." She left Draco with the Slytherin Quidditch team and found the rest of the study group gathering.

"Alright everyone, thank you all for coming. We're very pleased with the turnout. As I've mentioned before, I'm aware that many of you are on a NEWT level in Defense, but we're mostly going to be focusing on OWL level spells. There will still be plenty of practice for you to do, because Defense isn't just memorizing a list of spells, or studying from a textbook," Hermione called, catching everyone's attention.

There were a few snorts and shaken heads at the comment about studying from a textbook.

"We have a curriculum developed for the rest of this year, starting with spells that we learned earlier on and going up to OWL level combat spells. So, if it seems easy at first, it's supposed to, but we're all here to practice. For today we're going to focus on disarming, dodging, and the Shield charm. The only spells allowed are Expelliarmus and Protego, but you can also move your body to get out of the way. Like Professor Moody was fond of saying, don't just stand there and let someone cast spells at you. We'll start by partnering up, but wait for me to blow the whistle before you begin. Look for someone who is on a similar skill level as you. We'll take everyone who is younger than fifth year over by the windows, everyone else look for a partner," Hermione instructed.

Rachel watched as people began to partner up with their friends.

"I'm going to take the lower years. Luna, do you want to help me with them?" Hermione asked.

"That would be nice," Luna said.

"I'm going to go to where the upper years are meeting up, make sure that everyone stays on target," Theo said, looking in the opposite direction of the room.

"I'll come too," Ginny said.

Rachel noticed that Ron was standing by himself, looking a little uneasy. "Neville, would you mind partnering with Ron? I think he could use someone familiar right now."

"Sure," Neville said, taking off in Ron's direction.

Ironically, Rachel noticed that Draco was also standing by himself, and while he didn't look uneasy, it was clear that he wasn't happy either. "I'm going to partner with Draco, can you watch the fifth years?" she asked Millie.

"I can do that. I think you and Neville have our potential troublemakers covered anyway," Millie said.

Rachel went over to Draco. "Can I partner with you?"

"I think that would be fair. You're probably the only fifth year other than Theo who can actually keep up with me," Draco said.

"You and Theo don't duel, do you?" Rachel asked, a little bit worried. Theo had never mentioned anything about it, but he didn't talk about the boys dorm much.

Draco rolled his eyes. "No, we don't duel. But last year in Moody's class, we were the only ones who did decently. Millie wasn't terrible. Neither was Granger, all things considered."

It was Rachel's turn to raise her eyebrows at Draco.

Draco shrugged unrepentantly.

"Okay, go ahead and start on my whistle. Remember, disarming, dodging, and shields only. Do not intentionally try to harm someone. I'll whistle again in three minutes," Hermione called.

Draco took a few steps back and raised his wand. Rachel copied him, looking around to make sure she wasn't going to bump into anyone.

Hermione's whistle sounded and there was immediate chaos as people called their spells.

"Protego," Rachel called, knowing that Draco would immediately go for disarming her. As soon as his spell hit her shield she shouted "Expelliarmus!"

He neatly dodged without bothering with a Shield charm and silently sent another Disarming charm back at her.

Rachel ducked and sent her own Disarming charm back. They settled into an intense volley, only pausing for a Shield charm when they couldn't dodge. It helped that the Disarming charm was five syllables, which meant they had plenty of time to react before the spell was cast.

The shrill sound of a whistle found Rachel instinctively pointing her wand in the direction of the noise. She realized multiple things in short order - she was panting for breath, Draco had also reacted by turning his wand in the direction of the noise, she had forgotten about the rest of the duelers, and just about the entire room was watching them.

She brought her wand down to her side, a little bit embarrassed.

"Did anyone learn anything?" Hermione called, getting everyone's attention.

"Some people are fast!" Scarlett called loudly, getting some laughter.

"It's easier to send spells at your opponent if you're not maintaining a constant shield," Anthony said.

"And, you really don't have to, if you're watching closely enough," Terry added.

"Non-verbal spells make a huge difference, especially if you're casting against someone who can't do it," Cho offered.

"Aiming directly at your opponent's wand will bring their wand directly to you, but it's much easier to miss them entirely," Alicia said.

"Good," Hermione said when people seemed to run out of suggestions. "So now we're going to do this a little more unstructured. Partner with someone, but maybe have someone watch to suggest what you can do better. Practice your aim. Practice watching whether someone is casting the Disarming charm or the Shield charm if you're casting non-verbally. Practice going without the Shield charm entirely. Help each other, or ask one of us for help."

The room settled back into a slightly more organized chaos as people partnered up again.

"Draco, you and me, and then you and Miles," Adrian called.

"You're on," Draco said.

Glad that Draco was more comfortable now, Rachel began to wander around to see where she could be useful.

"Rachel," Susan called, motioning her over to where she and Hannah were standing. "Can you teach us to cast the Shield charm? We never got the hang of it last year."

"Sure," Rachel said. She smiled. This was exactly why they were having the DA. "Why don't you show me where you're at with it and we'll see what we can do?"

"Protego!" Susan said, holding her wand out. There was the barest shimmer and she sighed and lowered her wand. "If you cast even a Disarming charm at it, it just breaks. The Stunning spell goes right through it."

"How about you, Hannah?" Rachel asked.

Hannah frowned but held out her wand. "Protego. Protego!" There was a slight shimmer but she shook her head. "Useless."

"My Shield charm looked like that for me at first too, it's okay," Rachel said. "You need to let more of your magic into it. Do you know how to feel your magic?"

Susan and Hannah both shook their heads.

"Try casting the Wand Lighting charm, but do it non-verbally. But don't just say it in your mind once, keep mentally saying Lumos while you try to will your wand to light up," Rachel said, holding her wand out. After practicing with this for the fourth animagus meditation she could summon that feeling almost instantly, but not without holding her wand.

"Even though we haven't learned non-verbal magic yet?" Hannah asked.

"It's better that we haven't for this. Your magic wants to go out through your wand, it wants to follow your will, and if you put enough of it there, you can feel it," Rachel insisted.

Susan held out her wand and closed her eyes. After a moment she started mouthing "lumos" silently, over and over. It took about two minutes, but she opened her eyes in surprise. "I felt something."

"You did?" Hannah asked.

Susan nodded, peering at her wand.

"Now try to do the same thing with the Shield charm, but once you feel that feeling, actually say the spell," Rachel instructed.

Susan closed her eyes again, her wand stretched out. She seemed entirely focused. "Protego," she said, her eyes opening just as her shield shimmered into place. "But, you don't do that before casting the Shield charm, I was watching you."

"After a little while of practicing it, my magic knows what to do, and yours will too. It's just like in first year where it would take us entire weeks to learn a new spell, but after that, we usually learn a new charm in a single class period," Rachel explained.

"I'm going to try," Hannah said, closing her eyes.

"It really works like that?"

Rachel turned and found that Astoria, Scarlett, and Roland had joined them.

"It's magic theory without any of the theory, but what Rachel is describing is called channeling and it's how witches and wizards put more magic into a spell, or into a magical artifact that they're creating," Roland said.

"Do you think it will work for me?" Astoria asked.

"I don't see why not," Rachel said.

Hannah abruptly dropped her wand. "I felt it! I felt my magic!"

"Me next!" Scarlett said. "Do you have to close your eyes? Does that help?"

"You don't have to, but it might help you visualize your magic gathering and moving to your wand," Roland said, looking thoughtful. "The Shield charm is a good spell to know, but you don't want to become too reliant on it. It's very useful for protecting yourself as you sort out what is happening in a situation, but after that you need to start moving and start casting back."

Rachel nodded. "And not every spell can be shielded against. A lot of times it's worthwhile to retreat to a place that's better protected if you can. Use your environment as well as your body." She was glad she had Severus' summer lessons to add to this.

"One day, I'd like to duel you, Rachel. Just out of curiosity," Roland said.

"We can do that, but maybe not right now," Rachel said, looking up at Roland. She knew he was good, and that he was near the top of his class with the rest of Cedric's study group, but she'd never seen him cast spells in anything approaching a duel.

"Of course. When the time is right, and only if you're interested," Roland said politely.

"Protego!" Scarlett shouted. Her Shield shimmered into existence. "I did it! I did it! I'm going to go show Miles and Adrian." She took off before anyone could congratulate her.

"I'm going to try with the Shield charm now," Hannah said.

"Does it make you tired, to channel your magic? What does it feel like?" Astoria asked.

"No, it doesn't make me tired," Rachel said, thinking that was a bit of an odd question. "It mostly just feels warm and kind of nice."

"It's something you don't need to worry about at the basic levels," Roland said. "Some very powerful wizards, like Professor Dumbledore, would need to be careful when they're channeling because they have practiced so that they have complete access to their magic. Putting all of their magic into one spell would likely cause them to pass out. When you're just beginning, you're really just accessing a small part of your magic, like pushing a wedge into a crack."

"So, it's safe?" Astoria asked.

"At this level it's just as safe as casting any other spell you'd learn at Hogwarts," Roland promised.

"Protego," Hannah said, her voice shaking slightly. There was a bright shimmer as her shield formed.

"Good job, Hannah," Rachel said. "I'd suggest that both of you practice casting it every so often, so that your magic becomes familiar with it."

"We can do that. Thank you," Susan said.

"Yes, thank you," Hannah said with a smile.

"No problem," Rachel said, turning her attention back to Astoria. "Try it with just the Wand Lighting charm. You'll feel as the magic builds up, wanting to form."

Astoria looked worried as she held her wand out. "I'm not very strong. Magically or otherwise."

"That's okay. Casting spells takes practice, that's why we're here," Rachel said. "Try focusing on feeling like you really want the light, you want your wand to light up. You want your magic to make the light. It's part of you and you can direct it."

Roland nodded. "That's what incantations are all about at first, teaching your mind and body how to direct magic. After you know it, not just mentally, but with your whole self, that's when you can cast it without the incantation."

Astoria glanced around and then closed her eyes, her wand shaking slightly as she held it out.

Rachel took the moment to look around the room. Hermione and Luna were working with Colin and Dennis. It looked like most of the sixth and seventh years were forming a bracket to see who was the fastest, with Theo and Ginny adjudicating. Neville and Millie were with most of the fifth years as they worked on speed and accuracy, and it seemed like Heidi had joined them to help out.

It was a strange mix of years and abilities, but Rachel felt like this was what Defense class should look like. Students learning new skills and teaching each other. Students who had mastered skills working to improve them even further. No one was yelling or demanding or ordering anyone about. She wouldn't mind if all of their classes were like this, though she could see that being impractical in a number of ways.

"Lumos," Astoria whispered. Her wand tip was bright, like a flare.

"Good job. You felt the magic?" Rachel asked, squinting against the light until Astoria lowered her wand.

"I did. I've never felt anything like it before," Astoria said.

"Do you want to try it with the Shield charm now?" she asked.

Astoria shook her head. "I'm going to go sit down for a bit."

"Alright," Rachel said, a little confused as she watched Astoria wander away. Daphne's sister was a bit odd.

"There goes Cedric, but that's no surprise," Roland said, his gaze focused on the seventh years. "It took me three years to stop being jealous of him, and another two on top of that to stop asking why he was sorted into Hufflepuff. You're another one of those, you know, that you can't predict from your House. You'd make a good Ravenclaw."

Rachel shrugged, watching as one of the Weasley twins stepped up to duel Cedric. "I don't think intelligence or working hard is restricted to just one House. I assure you I'm not very witty. I went the other direction in the maze when I saw the sphinx."

Roland chucked. "You'd hate the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room then, we have to answer a riddle if we want to be let in."

"I'll stick to obscure passwords and dungeons, thank you," Rachel said amiably.

"How did you make it through the maze? Cedric wouldn't say," he asked.

"Slytherin cunning. I cheated and went through the maze walls with a Cutting hex," she admitted, wincing slightly as the Weasley twin's shoulder was clipped by a Disarming charm. Cedric easily caught his wand.

"Well, there is definitely more to you than meets the eye. Cedric was worried about you last year, Heidi and Martin too for that matter. Before the first task I told them there was no way Professor Dumbledore was going to let you get killed in the Tournament. After I saw the dragons, I revised my opinion a little," Roland said, his attention still focused on where Miles was now stepping up to face off with Cedric.

"In what way?" Rachel asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know.

"The tasks were clearly deadly, but you seemed well prepared. Cedric also told us that you were the one to tell him what the tasks were. I didn't believe you, but Cedric insisted that you were telling the truth. And, obviously, he was right. Not very Slytherin to tell your competition what the tasks were," Roland said, now turning his full attention on Rachel.

Rachel thought about it for a moment. "Part of being Slytherin is about achieving your goals. We have ambition, though our ambitions aren't always obvious. My goal was never to win the tournament. My goal was to see that everyone made it through the tournament alive."

"And so, to achieve your goal, you made sure everyone had time to prepare for the tasks," he said with a nod. "Including training with them. I'm not sure the tournament went how anyone was envisioning it would go."

She frowned - the tournament had gone exactly how the Dark Lord had wanted it to go, it had delivered her straight to him. She was saved from answering by Hermione blowing her whistle again.

"That wraps up our first DA meeting. We're glad you all could make it. We plan to meet again next week. We'll make sure you hear about a date and time. We're going to check the corridors before we send anyone out, and we want people to leave in small groups. We suggest the youngest students leave first, accompanied by an upper year in their House if we can manage it," Hermione called.

"That's my cue," Rachel said, going to where she had placed her bag on the windowsill. She withdrew the spy scope that Sirius had given her.

"Let me go with you," Millie said, hurrying over.

"Alright," Rachel agreed. The hallway was empty so they stepped outside and checked the hallway beyond that. Rachel made it as far as the staircase before she pulled out her spy scope and started looking around. "Whoa, this is kind of weird."

"Weird how?" Millie asked.

"You've got to move slowly because you're changing perspectives every time you go through a wall. I should be able to see down through the fourth level staircase," Rachel said, carefully adjusting the spy scope. "Mrs. Norris is on the fifth level staircase, so Mr. Filch is probably somewhere nearby. Otherwise, I think we're clear."

"Okay, let's go," Millie said.

They went back to the Room of Requirement and made their way over to Hermione and Theo. "Mrs. Norris and Mr. Filch are somewhere around the fifth level, otherwise we're good down to the fourth level," Rachel reported.

"Thanks," Hermione said. "Okay everyone. Mr. Filch is about, so try not to look suspicious. Let's start with lower year Gryffindors, followed by lower year Ravenclaws, then lower year Hufflepuffs, and then lower year Slytherins, then we'll do groups of upper years."

"We'll take Dennis and Colin," Angelina said, coming to join them with Alicia and Katie.

Rachel stood back and watched as the room slowly emptied. They kept about a minute between groups of people they sent out, leaving the study group for last.

"What do we think?" Hermione asked when it was just the study group left in the room.

"I think let's think about it, and we can discuss what went well and what we want to change tomorrow," Theo said. "We've got thirty minutes to curfew and it's going to take us nearly twenty to get to the dungeons."

"Alright, that gives me a chance to take notes anyway," Hermione said.

Rachel stowed her spy scope back in her bag and smiled to herself. She thought it had gone really well and she was glad there was at least one thing in her life that she could say that about.


"Come on in, Rachel," Torey said from her office doorway.

Rachel reluctantly got to her feet and walked over to Torey. Normally she didn't mind talking with Torey - Torey could actually be really helpful sometimes. But today she had a bad feeling about it, mostly because of her conversation with Severus yesterday. She sat down on the couch and watched as Torey settled into the chair that was across from the low table.

"It's been a little while since I've seen you," Torey said.

"We had a Quidditch match one Saturday and then Hogsmeade weekend on the next Saturday," Rachel said, thinking quickly. There was plenty there to talk about, she didn't need to let Torey pick the topic of conversation.

"You were playing against Hufflepuff, I believe?"

"We won. I caught the Snitch, but Cedric got hurt in the process. I felt pretty bad about that, I wasn't paying attention to him when I dove." Rachel came to the realization that she actually didn't want to talk about this either.

"You hit him while diving?" Torey asked, looking concerned for a brief moment.

"No. I was just concentrating on staying ahead of him, and I pulled up from the dive and he didn't. He's okay now, Madam Pomfrey fixed him up pretty quick, but he broke his ankle," she said, fidgeting restlessly. She didn't want to be here.

"It doesn't sound like it was anything you did then that caused the accident, and sometimes accidents do happen in Quidditch. It certainly wasn't anything you caused purposefully."

Rachel shrugged and looked away.

"How was your Hogsmeade weekend?" Torey asked when Rachel didn't reply.

"Fine. We went shopping and saw Sirius and Remus for lunch." Rachel didn't really want to get into the various conversations that had happened that weekend. "Did Severus come talk to you?"

"He did. Did he talk to you about it?" Torey asked.

"Not exactly. He mentioned it." She frowned as she tried to figure out what she wanted to ask. "Is he upset with me?"

"Not that I'm aware of. He's concerned about you."

"He shouldn't be. If he's concerned it should be about the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters," Rachel insisted.

"He's concerned about that too. He's allowed to be worried about more than one thing at once," Torey said neutrally.

Rachel pressed the edge of her fingernails against her thumb as she thought. "What I mean is, I don't know why he's concerned about me. I'm not doing anything wrong. My grades are mostly good. I stay out of trouble. Madam Pomfrey says that I'm healthy."

"Severus took you to see your school matron?" Torey asked.

She scowled for a moment. "Yes. And without asking me too. And without telling me why."

Torey briefly raised her eyebrows. "I can see why that would be upsetting. Has Severus said to you that he's concerned about you not eating?"

"I eat," Rachel said flatly. "Not every meal, but every day."

"That's a good start. Can you tell me what happens when you don't want to eat?"

Rachel sighed. "I don't understand why this is important."

"There's a few reasons. The first is for your health. Everyone needs to eat to stay healthy. We need both the right amount of food to maintain a healthy weight, and enough healthy food to give our bodies and our brains the right nutrients to work right and grow. The second is that either undereating or overeating is usually a sign that there's a problem somewhere and it's better to figure out what that problem is and address it before it affects your health. Does that make sense?"

Strangely, Rachel found herself thinking of her cousin Dudley. "My cousin, he used to overeat, like really bad. He was seriously overweight, but my aunt kept giving him food. Do you think he had a problem?"

"I think both your aunt and your cousin likely had some problems that they needed help with. Are you worried about overeating or becoming overweight?" Torey asked.

"No. My friend Millie though, her mom thinks she's overweight, but she's really not. She's just stocky and tall. She's still taller than Theo and Neville," Rachel said. "Her mom was keeping her from eating over the summer, but she said her mom wasn't starving her."

"Do you think Millie was being starved?"

"I don't know. She said she wasn't, but I don't think you always know when it's happening. When I was a kid I wouldn't have said that I was being starved." Rachel shifted uncomfortably. Maybe she should talk to Severus about Millie's mom. Maybe he could do something about it before Millie had to go home for the holidays.

"But you know now that your aunt and uncle were starving you," Torey said gently.

Rachel nodded, wishing she hadn't brought up her relatives.

"Does it remind you of that now when you don't eat?" Torey asked.

"No. It's not like that at all. I can remember being hungry. Some days it felt like all I could think about was how food smelled. Now I just don't feel hungry at all. My stomach feels like it will just reject anything I put in it," she explained.

"Has that happened, where you've tried to eat and you've become ill afterward?"

"No. It just feels that way."

"Are there differences in the times where you feel like you can eat and the times you don't feel like you can eat?" Torey asked, reaching for her notebook and pen.

She sighed again. "In the morning I really don't feel like I can eat at all. Lunchtime is usually okay unless something bad has happened. Dinner is okay unless I'm worried about something."

Torey tilted her head. "Are you usually nervous in the mornings?"

"Not nervous, not really," Rachel said, trying to find the right word for it. "Anticipation, maybe? I'm thinking of everything that's going to happen that day and all the things I need to remember, and there might be something in the Daily Prophet."

"I saw the recent articles. I'm sure it's not easy to be confronted with that in the morning, especially when you don't know when it's going to happen," Torey said.

Rachel frowned. "Do you know how they find out if someone has been memory charmed?"

"Typically a legilimens will examine your mind, and then the memories in question will be examined in a pensieve, which is a kind of receptacle for viewing memories," Torey explained. "Are you concerned that you might have been memory charmed?"

"No. Not at all. I'm sure I wasn't, there's simply no time in which it could have happened. There were too many people. And I trust Severus. He wouldn't do that to me, and he wouldn't let Professor Dumbledore do it either," Rachel said firmly. That much she was absolutely certain of.

"I'm glad," Torey said. "Do you think that you can set aside what you're worrying about in order to eat? Can you tell your mind that you'll have time to think about the day's events and what you need to remember after you've had breakfast?"

"Does it work that way?" Rachel asked.

"It can. You can train your mind not to think about things for certain periods of time. For example, when I'm at work I focus on the people that I'm with and the things I need to do there. When I'm done for the day, I focus on what I'm doing at home. If I have a thought about work while I'm at home, I tell myself that I can think about that the next day when I get to work. This may be helpful with your school work too, so that you can take breaks without worrying about homework and what you're studying. After a while your mind learns when it is allowed to worry," Torey explained.

"Like a schedule?" Rachel asked, uncertain that this was something that could actually work.

Torey nodded. "What time do you have breakfast?"

"Eight o'clock, with classes starting forty five minutes later."

"So, when your mind starts to think about your classes and what's going to happen that day, tell yourself that you can think about that at 8:15. That gives you a whole thirty minutes to prepare. If it's before 8:15, get yourself to refocus. If it's before you reach the table, think about what you might like to eat that day, or have a conversation with Millie. Once you reach the table, try to identify a food that is at least palatable and focus on eating it. And then, at 8:15, allow yourself to mentally rehearse your day."

"I can try," she said, though she was still doubtful.

"Let's start with breakfast, it's going to take a while for your brain to learn this, but you have to be consistent. It's just like training a pet. Once you've managed breakfast, we can work on other times as well, such as before bed so it will be easier for you to go to sleep," Torey suggested.

Rachel nodded. She didn't particularly care if she ate breakfast or not, but if it would ease Severus' mind, she could at least try this.


"Is there anything you'd like help with?" Severus asked, carefully watching the second year who was sitting at the table in his office.

"No, sir. I'm fine, sir," Malcolm Baddock said, hunching his shoulders.

Severus was getting very tired of people who he was responsible for telling him they were fine when they were clearly not fine. "How is the situation in your dormitory?" he pressed.

"Good, sir." Malcolm glanced at Severus nervously.

"Do you find your study sessions with the prefects helpful?" Severus tried.

"Yes, sir."

Severus didn't sigh, but it was a near thing. "Do you feel like you're doing well in your classes?"

"Yes, sir. In most of my classes," Malcolm said.

"Is there a class where you're having difficulties?"

Malcolm looked down. "Professor Umbridge doesn't like my essays, sir."

"Next Sunday, bring me your most recently graded essays as well as the essay that was just assigned and I will look them over. I can't promise you that it will change how Professor Umbridge grades them, but I can assist you if there are any issues." He wished he didn't have to add that caveat, but he had heard rumors that Umbridge didn't grade fairly.

"Yes, sir."

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Severus asked, trying the most general approach he could think of.

"No, sir," Malcolm said.

Severus glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes until dinner. "In that case you're excused. Be certain to go to the Great Hall for dinner."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Malcolm said, hurrying out of Severus' office.

Severus frowned as he sat back in his chair. Poppy had told him that the potions that Malcolm was taking were helping him to have adequate nutrition and Tracey had told him that Malcolm was eating regularly in the Great Hall at meal times. That suggested to him that Bertrand had been starving his son over the summer. While Severus was glad that it wasn't a Wasting curse or a medical problem, this was potentially more difficult to solve.

It would be difficult to prove that Bertrand had been starving Malcolm, especially since Malcolm had told Severus that everything was fine at home. In a way, magical or physical abuse would be easier to rescue Malcolm from. As it stood, Severus believed his best chance was to get Malcolm to trust him enough to talk to him.

He went through the wall in his office into his quarters and looked around. He still had a stack of fifth year essays to grade, but those could wait until after dinner. In the meantime he would wait for Rachel, assuming she actually showed up. She had been a little brusque with him ever since he'd taken her to see Poppy. He had hoped that Torey would be able to talk some sense into her, but she had been just as moody after her session as she'd been before.

Settling into his armchair, Severus thought about how quickly changes and chaos could sweep through the castle. The situation with Umbridge was unwelcome and was slowly growing more dire. Albus had informed him and the other Heads of Houses of the nature of the High Inquisitor position late yesterday evening. There was no doubt that Umbridge's - and Fudge's - goal was to oust Albus from Hogwarts. What collateral damage was caused in the interim remained to be seen.

Rachel stepped through the wall looking a little flustered. "Am I late? Sorry."

He glanced at the clock on the mantel. "You're right on time."

She came further into the room and sat down on the couch, setting her bag at her feet. "So, there's something you probably ought to know."

Severus managed to keep his expression neutral, even though his mind was quickly cataloging the number of disasters that might follow that statement coming from Rachel. "Oh?"

"I think Professor Umbridge tried to give me Veritaserum and that's why that bit was in the paper about you and Professor Dumbledore memory charming me." She winced a little bit.

He took a moment to try to put that statement together, feeling a slowly churning frustration about his lack of ability to protect Rachel. "When did this happen?"

She winced again. "Thursday, after dinner."

Which explained why she had wanted to talk with him about Umbridge on Friday. "When you say tried, I assume she wasn't successful?" he asked, wanting to hit the most important points first.

"No. She gave me tea, but she only put milk in my cup and I didn't even ask for it. So I pretended to sip at it and then dumped it under my robes when she wasn't looking. But I didn't know what people acted like under Veritaserum, so I just guessed, but I think it was Veritaserum because she was asking me about the Dark Lord."

Severus sighed. This kept getting better and better. "I'm glad you were aware enough not to drink the tea. What sort of questions did she ask you and how did you answer them?"

Rachel fidgeted on the couch. "She asked about the night of the third task, and I told her the truth, but I left almost everything out. And then she asked about you, and if you gave me potions or put charms on me. And she asked if Professor Dumbledore put charms on me, and I said neither of you put charms on me. And then she asked something about Professor Dumbledore's plans to fight the Ministry, and I told her no. How do people act under Veritaserum?"

"Generally they answer in a specific, if limited, way to the question being asked. More general questions lead to vague, if truthful, answers. Usually people under Veritaserum will have a somewhat flat affect, but there are exceptions. It's possible that Umbridge hasn't seen anyone under the influence of Veritaserum, she may have only heard the transcripts in the Ministry courts of people who were questioned under Veritaserum," Severus explained, his mind spinning over what Rachel had told him.

"Do you think she believes me then?" Rachel asked.

"What do you think, given her response to your answers?"

Rachel frowned as she thought. "I really can't tell. She just kept asking questions and then she told me not to talk about the Dark Lord to people and told me to leave. But the article in the paper, I think she was behind that, and that she suggested to them that I was memory charmed."

"It's a likely possibility," he admitted. It did explain that part of the article. He wanted to do something about Umbridge, to protect the students, but his options were limited.

"What does it mean that she's the High Inquisitor?" she asked.

"It means she can assess teachers, and if she finds them lacking, fire them. She can also enact new rules at Hogwarts," Severus explained, his mind still back on the Veritaserum problem.

"If you leave Hogwarts, can I come with you?" she asked.

Severus looked directly at her. "You will always have a place with me, but I don't think it will come to that. Umbridge would have to look very hard to find fault with my teaching."

"She doesn't need to be specific to find fault, she'll just say you're failing," Rachel said, looking away.

"You sound as though you speak from experience," he prompted when she didn't elaborate.

Rachel sighed heavily. "She's grading all my assignments as 'poor'. There's no comments, nothing saying what I'm doing wrong. Just 'poor'. She gives all of my friends 'exceeds expectations' and we're all writing from the same material. I know it doesn't really matter, it's our OWLs that matter, but it's still frustrating."

"Understandably so. Save all of your work. At the end of the year, after Umbridge is gone, I will ask one of the other professors to grade you objectively," Severus said. He knew perfectly well that going to Umbridge about this wouldn't yield results - it might even be what she wanted to have happen.

"Professor Dumbledore will be alright with that?"

"I'm sure he will be." He couldn't see Albus objecting to that under the circumstances.

"Thanks," Rachel said.

"I want you to let me know if you have another private meeting with Umbridge. Either before it happens, if you can, or directly afterward." He didn't know how that would help exactly, but it was the best he could come up with at the moment.

Rachel nodded.

"Is there anything else I should know?" he asked.

She seemed to think about it before shaking her head. "I don't think so. It's just been a busy week. Can I have a Stomach Soothing potion before dinner?"

"You can. Would you like some to take with you for other meals?" he asked. Maybe Torey had made progress with her after all.

"Just the one for now. Torey and I are trying something else for other meals."

"Alright. You can ask for one from me or Poppy any time. Let me go get you one." Severus got to his feet, his mind torn in various directions. He was glad the food situation with Rachel seemed to be improving, at least temporarily, but he needed to tell Albus about the situation with the Veritaserum. They all needed to navigate very carefully over the next few months.


"Take a close look at the larval stage of the fairies, I have magnifying glasses on the tables for you to use," Professor Grubbly-Plank instructed. "You might find it useful to draw a diagram of the life cycle of a fairy in your notes."

Set on the tables were fairy eggs, fairy larvae, fairy cocoons, and grown fairies. Rachel had been both relieved and disturbed to learn that fairy wings for potions were collected from living fairies, but that the process of removing the wings only irritated the fairies and didn't hurt them. They naturally shed their wings over a period of months.

The fairies themselves seemed to be enjoying having the class looking at them. They were preening and chittering in high voices.

"They're rather like butterflies," Hermione noted as she looked at a fairy cocoon with a magnifying glass.

"I can't believe they can lay so many eggs at once. They're so small, how do they get all of that out of them?" Millie asked as she peered at the small glistening eggs that were gathered on a large leaf.

"I'd rather not try to picture that, thank you," Theo said.

Rachel looked at the eggs and then at the fairies and decided she didn't want to know either. "Neville, I've finished with the notes if you want to draw the life cycle," she said, glancing over her notes in her two-way book to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

"I'll try. They're so little they're going to be difficult to represent accurately," Neville said, frowning at the table.

"We'll all understand it's not meant to be to scale," Hermione reassured him.

"Do you think the cocoon size determines the fairy size?" Millie asked.

"No idea. I'm just glad it's fairies and not pixies. Or worse, doxies," Theo said, holding up his finger with a fairy perching on it.

"Well no one would want to keep doxies," Neville pointed out.

"Only to extract their venom for potions," Rachel said. She wondered briefly about how that was done, but decided she didn't want to know that either. She'd stayed well away from the doxies at Grimmauld Place and had no plans for any personal encounters with them.

"Miss Snow," Professor Grubbly-Plank called as she approached them.

Rachel stood up straight, a little worried that she was being singled out. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office straight away, password is on the parchment," Professor Grubbly-Plank said, pushing a folded parchment into her hand. "Homework is two feet on a comparative analysis of fairies, pixies, doxies, and imps, due next Monday."

"Thank you," Rachel said, accepting the parchment and pausing to write the assignment down in her planner. She shoved her planner and her two-way book back into her bag along with her quill. "I guess I'll see you when I'm done with whatever this is."

"Do you want one of us to ask for permission to walk with you?" Theo asked.

"No, I'll be fine and I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will look for me if I don't show up," Rachel said as she shouldered her bag.

Theo didn't look reassured. "Alright. We'll send you a Patronus if we don't hear from you by third period."

"Thanks," Rachel said. She hoped it wouldn't take that long.

She started off for the castle, wishing she'd decided to wear her cloak. It was early November and the weather was starting to move from late fall into early winter. It hadn't snowed yet, but it had been raining off and on.

She already had a good idea of why she was being summoned. It seemed relatively obvious to her that someone, probably at the Ministry, would want to find out if the Daily Prophet's claim that Rachel had been memory charmed was true or not. She was only surprised that it had taken this long, but she supposed the Ministry took the weekends off.

The entrance hall and the main staircase was pretty well deserted at this time of day. Presumably everyone who didn't have class first period on Monday was tucked away in the library or in their common rooms studying. Or possibly, given a few of the upper years she'd heard about, still sleeping.

She reached the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office in short order and looked over the parchment for the password. "Cockroach Cluster," she said, wrinkling her nose. She hoped Professor Dumbledore didn't actually eat those. She had seen them at Honeydukes one Hogsmeade weekend and Theo had assured her they were made from real cockroaches. The idea was positively revolting and made her question how the world really worked if someone thought that was a good idea for a sweet.

The rotating staircase brought her up to Professor Dumbledore's office door and she steadied herself before knocking. The door opened almost immediately, though there was no one on the other side to have opened it.

"Come in, Rachel, if you would," Professor Dumbledore called.

Rachel stepped into his office and took a quick peek around. Severus was there, thankfully, along with Professor Umbridge, Professor Dumbledore, and a witch and a wizard she didn't know. Fawkes was also present on his perch, seeming very alert and curious.

"Rachel, this is Auror Matthew Weir and Unspeakable Esme Lloyd," Professor Dumbledore said, nodding to the wizard and witch.

"Unspeakable?" Rachel asked, glancing at the witch.

"It means I work for the Department of Mysteries," the witch said, giving Rachel a small smile.

That didn't greatly clarify things, but Rachel nodded anyway.

"Auror Weir and Unspeakable Lloyd are here investigating the claim that either myself or Professor Snape used a memory charm on you, presumably to provide a false memory that Voldemort has returned," Professor Dumbledore continued.

Auror Weir and Professor Umbridge both flinched at the use of the name Voldemort. Severus' expression remained grim. Only Unspeakable Lloyd continued to smile placidly.

"As such, Unspeakable Lloyd would like to examine your mind using legilimency to see if there is any evidence of tampering." Professor Dumbledore paused and looked at Rachel expectantly.

"But I know I wasn't memory charmed, there simply wasn't time. The last time I saw Severus before the task was surrounded by other people. And I didn't see Professor Dumbledore in person at all before the task," Rachel said. She wasn't really enthused by the idea of someone she didn't know looking around in her head.

"In general people are not aware of when someone has used a memory charm on them, whether to remove memories or to place false memories. It's possible that your lack of memory of seeing Professor Dumbledore before the task is suspicious in and of itself," Auror Weir said.

Professor Umbridge made a small noise that sounded approving.

"Miss Snow, I can assure you that I will not be simply looking through all of your memories, I will only be looking at your memories of the third task on 24 June 1995, and whatever lies directly after you left the maze," Unspeakable Lloyd said.

Rachel looked at Severus.

"You are not required to submit to the Unspeakable's examination. You may make the choice," Severus said.

"Hem hem, excuse me, but I will not be allowing Miss Snow to impede an auror's investigation," Professor Umbridge said, stepping forward.

"Miss Snow is a minor and is not a suspect in a criminal investigation. She has the right to decline examination by an Unspeakable," Auror Weir said. "However, it would help to clear Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape's names if she was willing to allow us to examine the memory."

"It would help? You can tell for sure if I was memory charmed?" Rachel asked the room at large, not sure who she should be addressing her question to.

"Most of the time, upon examination by a skilled legilimens, we can determine if a memory is false. It's a little harder with missing memories as we have to look for something that isn't there. There is always a chance that someone very skilled in mind magic could pass a false memory off as true, but I would say that it's very unlikely, especially when the memory in question would be difficult to create," Unspeakable Lloyd explained.

Rachel wanted to ask if that meant the Ministry would leave Professor Dumbledore and Severus alone after that, but she could guess that wasn't the right question to ask. Besides, she'd be showing them the truth about the Dark Lord's return, and maybe that could influence the Ministry and Minister Fudge himself. "As long as it's just the memory of that evening," she said. There were plenty of things in her mind she didn't want other people to see.

"Of course, you have my word," Unspeakable Lloyd said. "I presume we're doing this now?"

"We are. The Ministry needs to get to the bottom of this. This should have been done months ago," Professor Umbridge answered before anyone else could.

"You are welcome to use my office for this, however I think it is best if I and Rachel's guardian remain present," Professor Dumbledore said as though Professor Umbridge hadn't spoken.

"I insist on remaining with Rachel," Severus said firmly.

"That's quite alright. I just need a place for us to be seated," Unspeakable Lloyd said.

Professor Dumbledore waved his wand and five armchairs appeared, two in the center, facing each other, with the others stationed around the edges of the rug. "Will this suit your needs?"

"Yes, this will do nicely. Miss Snow, may I call you Rachel?" Unspeakable Lloyd asked.

"That's fine," Rachel said.

"Rachel then, come take a seat across from me. Then I want you to think about the night of the third task. Try holding as much of the memory in the front of your mind as you can, as if you could describe it in detail right now. It's best if you maintain eye contact with me as well. Any questions?"

Rachel shook her head and sat down. She stared at the Unspeakable and remembered entering the maze, how it had been getting dark, how it felt unbelievably large and more than a little spooky.

"Oh, oh dear. I didn't realize you were an occlumens. Can you just lower your shield for me?" Unspeakable Lloyd asked after a moment.

Rachel glanced questioningly at Severus. "I don't know how to do that."

"You don't know how to…" Unspeakable Lloyd trailed off, looking flummoxed. "By chance, are you a natural occlumens?"

"Yes, I think so," Rachel said.

"My, that's very rare. I've only met one other natural occlumens in my life," Unspeakable Lloyd said. "Well, if you could just push the memory above your shields then, so I can examine it."

She shifted uncomfortably. She hadn't realized exactly how much she hadn't known about occlumency. "I don't know how to do that either."

"Miss Snow has not had any occlumency training," Severus said.

"Well, alright then. We'll just have to muster through. Rachel, if you could come to your shield while I'm inside your mind and let me inside, then I could locate the memory."

This was getting embarrassing. "I don't know how to do that either."

"It should be relatively simple, even for an untrained mind. I will call to you while inside your mind and you will come toward the sound and reach for me to pull me inside your shield. Shall we try it now?"

"Okay," Rachel said, because what else could she say at this point. She stared back into the Unspeakable's brown eyes and waited, trying to hear something inside her mind. It was definitely an uncomfortable silence to rival the uncomfortable silences in her Defense class.

"Did you not hear me calling or were you unable to come toward me?" Unspeakable Lloyd finally asked, blinking and breaking the connection.

"I couldn't hear anything," she admitted.

Unspeakable Lloyd wasn't smiling now. Her lips were pursed and her forehead was furrowing. "How old were you when you were first prompted to raise your shields?"

"I don't know," Rachel said.

"Her shields have been in place at least since she was eleven, and I suspect longer than that. However, Miss Snow was not around any witches or wizards from the time she was one year and three months, to the time she received her Hogwarts letter," Severus explained.

"Then how..." Unspeakable Lloyd trailed off again as she looked at Rachel. "Surely not. I can't fathom that an infant mind would be capable of constructing an occlumency shield, even in a natural occlumens."

Rachel looked to Severus, unsure what she was supposed to do here.

"I think the scope of this investigation has gotten off track. Can you view the memory or not?" Auror Weir asked.

"I suppose I could try to penetrate her shields. You might wind up with a bit of a headache if I make the attempt, but it's a possibility," Unspeakable Lloyd said, frowning to herself.

"Would my shield come back again?" Rachel asked. She wasn't sure that having the shield itself was doing much good, but she liked the idea of being able to keep people from reading her mind, however little practical day-to-day applications it had in her life.

"Oh yes, it will be right back where it was within a day, you'll just need some rest. In fact, if we do this, I would recommend you take the afternoon off and go take a little nap. The choice is yours, Rachel, I will not attempt to break the shields of an unwilling minor," Unspeakable Lloyd said, looking expectantly at Rachel.

Rachel looked to Severus again.

"It is your choice, but I do not anticipate that there will be long term harm from it, but I also urge you to say no if you have doubts," Severus said.

She frowned. She did have doubts, but she also wanted to clear Severus' name. "You can try, but I still only want you to look at that one memory once you're inside."

"Is there something you wish to hide, Miss Snow?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"Everyone has secrets, Dolores," Professor Dumbledore said steadily. "I imagine Rachel may wish to keep things, such as a crush, or certain embarrassing childhood memories that we all have, to herself."

Unspeakable Lloyd nodded. "All of us have things we prefer to keep to ourselves, it's part of being human. Rachel, all you have to do is close your eyes and say stop and I'll cease my attempt to access your mind. Do so at any time you wish to stop."

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said, bracing herself.

She stared into Unspeakable Lloyd's eyes and waited. And waited. She supposed people weren't supposed to be bored while their minds were being attacked, but she honestly couldn't feel anything happening. She resisted the urge to look at Severus and see what he thought about this.

Unspeakable Lloyd finally sagged back in her chair, blinking and looking weary. "I can't. I dare not do more than what I did without damaging her mind."

Rachel glanced around the room. Severus had a look that was somewhere between concerned and thoughtful. Professor Dumbledore looked intrigued. Auror Weir looked confused. Rachel didn't dare look back to see what Professor Umbridge thought.

"Esme, you can't access an untrained child's mind?" Auror Weir asked.

"Not without doing serious damage, and possibly not at all. We'll need to examine the memory in a pensieve, but I need a moment first," Unspeakable Lloyd said, shaking her head.

"And who exactly did the Ministry send to this inquisition? Are you still in training, Unspeakable Lloyd?" Professor Umbridge asked.

Unspeakable Lloyd straightened in her chair. "Certainly not. I have been an Unspeakable for fifteen years and an occlumens and legilimens for twenty! I am telling you, the shield in Rachel's mind is not an ordinary shield, even for a natural occlumens."

"So you are saying that there is something unnatural about Miss Snow's mind?" Professor Umbridge pressed.

Rachel felt her eyes go wide.

"No. Not at all. I'm sure her mind is perfectly normal. It's the shield that is unnatural," Unspeakable Lloyd said, in the tone of someone explaining something to a small child.

"Perhaps either Professor Dumbledore or Professor Snape are extending their shields to protect Miss Snow's mind from you?" Professor Umbridge suggested.

"If you knew the first thing about occlumency or mind magic you would know that is not how any of this works at all. Now, is there a pensieve available or will we need to return to the Ministry for this?" Unspeakable Lloyd asked with an air of finality.

"You are certainly welcome to use my pensieve," Professor Dumbledore said, getting to his feet.

"Matthew, will you be joining me in viewing the memory?" the Unspeakable asked, standing up.

"I think I had better," Auror Weir said, also getting to his feet.

Rachel watched as Professor Dumbledore retrieved his pensieve from a cabinet and brought it to his desk. "I presume you wish for the actual memory and not a copy?" he asked.

"Yes, indeed. Rachel, do you know how to use a pensieve?" Unspeakable Lloyd asked.

Rachel stood up and withdrew her wand, glad to be able to answer that she did know something for once. "I do."

"Very good. From just before you enter the maze through when you return to Hogwarts grounds if you would," Unspeakable Lloyd said.

Rachel focused again and brought her wand to her temple. She slowly brought the wispy strands of her memory down into the pensieve and wobbled slightly. It was a bit of a disorienting process, to feel like you knew something one moment and to have a weird gap of almost knowledge the next.

"Come sit down, Rachel," Severus said softly.

Rachel sat back in the same chair she'd been sitting in and watched as the Auror and the Unspeakable peered down into the pensieve and stopped moving.

"Tea, while we wait," Professor Dumbledore said, chiming a small golden bell. A House Elf appeared a moment later. "Tea service for five, if you would."

A tea tray appeared a few moments after the House Elf had gone. Severus rose and prepared tea both for Rachel and for himself, passing her a cup and saucer along with three chocolate biscuits.

Rachel accepted them and set them on her lap as she pondered everything that had just happened. Her mind was unnatural. There was something wrong with her occlumency shield. Or, alternatively, something very right if it meant that people couldn't get through it. But the Unspeakable had raised a good question - where did her shield come from if she'd had it since before she'd started at Hogwarts?

Albus, with a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits himself, settled down into the chair across from Rachel. "How are your classes going, Rachel?"

"Very well, sir. We're quite busy," Rachel said, deciding to ignore the small huff from Professor Umbridge.

"I'm sure you are, OWLs are a busy time. Are you enjoying your classes?" he asked, as though they were just having a casual conversation and not waiting on the Ministry officials to decide whether or not he'd used a memory charm on her.

"For the most part. Sir, why is Professor Binns still our History of Magic teacher?" she asked, deciding she might as well find out what he thought about it.

"Ah, yes, Cuthbert. He was my History of Magic professor when I attended Hogwarts, though he was still alive at the time. I'm not actually sure we could stop him from teaching even if we tried, he's very set into a routine," Professor Dumbledore said cheerily, as though they were not speaking of a dead person. "Cuthbert has a passion for history. He passed away in front of the staffroom fireplace in 1954 and went straight on with teaching the next morning."

Rachel blinked. She wouldn't say Professor Binns was passionate about anything. He barely seemed aware that he had students.

"I think what Miss Snow is saying is that perhaps a living instructor would be more engaging for students," Severus said, setting his cup on his saucer with a slight clink.

"Perhaps that is so, but like Defense professors, and Potions Masters for that matter, a good History professor is hard to come by," Professor Dumbledore said.

In other words, there was no one qualified. Which would make sense if no one ever went beyond the OWL level of History because the professor was so boring. Rachel decided to change the subject. "What was your favorite class while you attended Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore?"

"Ah, Transfiguration was my top subject while I was at Hogwarts, but what I really had a passion for was Alchemy. I have Masterys in both Transfiguration and Alchemy, though I did them nearly ten years apart," Professor Dumbledore said, smiling fondly.

Rachel was only vaguely familiar with alchemy from their research about the Philosopher's Stone in her first year, and she certainly wasn't about to bring that up in front of Professor Umbridge.

"What about you, Rachel? What would you say your favorite subject is?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

Fortunately this was an easy answer. "Potions class. There are a lot of interesting things to learn about it and it gets really complex the more you learn."

"That it does. Fortunately you have an excellent resource in Severus, I'm sure he's provided you a great deal of instruction in potions over the summer," Professor Dumbledore said.

"I've certainly learned a lot, but mostly what I've learned is how far I have to go before I really understand the subject." She had basically abandoned her project with the Dreamless Sleep, but there simply weren't enough hours in the day at the moment.

"A truly important step, one many people miss entirely," Professor Dumbledore said.

Rachel felt Fawkes land on top of her chair. "May I give him a biscuit?" she asked, not knowing what phoenixes ate.

"Certainly," Professor Dumbledore said.

Carefully balancing her cup and saucer, Rachel turned and offered Fawkes one of the chocolate biscuits. Fawkes seemed to consider her for a long moment, his gaze just as intense as the Unspeakable's, and finally reached down and took the biscuit in his beak. She watched him eat, though no crumbs seemed to fall from the biscuit as he crunched down on it. "How long have you had Fawkes?"

"Since 1906. Fawkes joined me while I was studying in France, before I returned to Hogwarts to teach. He has been a steadfastly loyal companion ever since. Remarkably intelligent, phoenixes. They choose exactly where they wish to be," Professor Dumbledore explained.

Rachel thought that it must be nice to have a pet that could live as long as you did, longer even, since phoenixes were essentially immortal. She wondered how long Fawkes had been around, how much history he had seen. Being alive for that long must give someone a very different look at the world. And being a bird must too, of course.

"How long may we expect this to take?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"I'm uncertain, given that I'm not familiar with the techniques Unspeakables use to examine memories," Professor Dumbledore said politely.

In other words, they might be here for a while.

"Is the tea not to your taste, Rachel?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"No, it's fine. I'm just a little nervous at the moment," she said.

Professor Dumbledore smiled gently. "There's nothing to fear, the Ministry is simply doing their jobs. I would be more concerned if they heard rumors of professors using memory charms on students and simply ignored it entirely."

Professor Umbridge gave a small huff again.

"I find that when I'm nervous, if I take some slow breaths and ask myself what might happen next and how likely is what I fear, it helps me feel a little safer and more in control," Professor Dumbledore continued.

"You get nervous, sir?" Rachel asked in disbelief.

"Not as often as I used to when I was a young man, but from time to time I do feel nervous. I believe that fear of what may come next is part of the human experience. I would be very wary of someone who did not get nervous. However, being nervous and showing that you are nervous are entirely different things. You can appear perfectly calm and collected on the surface while being a shivering bundle of nerves on the inside, but that is something that comes with time and practice. Also, especially among family and friends, it's usually unnecessary."

Rachel pondered this. She thought it was fairly obvious when she was nervous - she tended to fidget or look uncomfortable. Other emotions though, she thought she was pretty good at keeping those to herself. Well, most of the time. Sometimes not so much with Severus.

The Auror and the Unspeakable stood up. Both looked troubled.

"You have finished your examination of the memory in question?" Professor Umbridge asked sharply.

"We have," Auror Weir said, his eyes focusing on Rachel for a long moment.

Rachel shifted. She had memories of telling people about what had happened in the graveyard, but she still wasn't exactly sure what they'd seen without having the memory herself.

"There is no evidence that the memory is false or was constructed," Unspeakable Lloyd said, brushing her hands against her robes.

"There's no possibility whatsoever that the memory is false?" Professor Umbridge pressed.

"It's impossible to say with absolute certainty, but given the artifacts in the memory I would say that there is less than a one percent chance that the memory is false," Unspeakable Lloyd said.

Auror Weir nodded. "I'm officially closing this investigation due to lack of supporting evidence. Both Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape have been cleared in this matter. May we use your floo to return to the Ministry?" he asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Of course. I appreciate both the promptness of your investigation and your thoroughness in this matter, Auror Weir and Unspeakable Lloyd," Professor Dumbledore said, standing and shaking Auror Weir's hand. "Floo powder is on the mantel."

They watched as the Auror and the Unspeakable flooed back to the Ministry.

"I hope this resolves the matter to your satisfaction, Dolores?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

Rachel turned and watched as Professor Umbridge's expression seemed to shift quickly through a number of emotions that she couldn't quite name. "For the moment," Professor Umbridge finally said.

"Would you like to view my memory of the night of the third task, Professor Umbridge?" Rachel asked, wondering if it would make a difference.

"I have seen enough for today. If you'll excuse me, I have things to attend to," Professor Umbridge said, turning and walking out of Professor Dumbledore's office.

Severus put his hand on Rachel's shoulder. "You do not need to try to convince her. She will not believe it, even with the evidence right under her nose, until Fudge believes it. Would you like to put your memory back?"

Rachel nodded, set her teacup and saucer aside, and pulled out her wand again. She went to the pensieve and carefully hooked the wispy memory with the end of her wand and brought it back to her temple. It took a moment to sink in and then she shuddered at the vivid image of Pettigrew cutting off his own hand. If she could take that minute of memory out and put it away in a pensieve somewhere where she never had to think of it again, that would be nice.

"Rachel, may I impose upon you one more time today?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, sir," Rachel said, turning to face him.

"I would like to examine your occlumency shield, if I may," he said, his expression very serious.

"To see if it is unnatural?" Rachel asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to know if it was.

"I do not believe it is unnatural. It is merely unusual," Severus said. "Most occlumency shields are not quite as literal as yours is. However, it would not be a bad idea for Albus to assess your shield and check for any lingering damage that may have been left by the Unspeakable, but it is your choice," Severus said.

"I assure you I will not be looking for memories, just examining the shield itself. Nor will I try to break through your shield," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Alright," Rachel said. She didn't see that it could hurt if he was just looking at the shield.

"Come sit back down for a moment and gaze into my eyes," Professor Dumbledore said, resuming his seat.

Rachel sat back down and looked at Professor Dumbledore's surprisingly blue eyes while trying not to blink. She still didn't feel anything. She wondered if she was supposed to.

Professor Dumbledore finally blinked and leaned back. "Very curious. As Severus said, I do not believe your occlumency shield is unnatural, but it is formidable. In your childhood, did anyone teach you how to mediate or clear your thoughts?"

"No, I don't remember anything like that," she said.

"Did you have a head injury severe enough to cause a concussion or that caused you to lose consciousness?" he asked.

"No." She was pretty sure she'd remember that.

"Any head injuries in general, a fall hard enough to cause your vision to black out, perhaps, or your ears to ring?"

"No," Rachel said. Aunt Petunia had slapped her hard enough to cause her ears to ring a few times, but that didn't really count as a head injury.

"Is there any possibility that her occlumency shields formed due to the feedback from reflected Killing Curse on Halloween 1981?" Severus asked.

Albus shook his head. "It may be where she gained a predisposition to occlumency, much as we suspect she gained her ability with parseltongue, but no infant could create and keep occlumency shields, their minds are too malleable. In general, occlumency can't be taught before seven or eight years old."

Rachel was actually slightly relieved to hear that her shields weren't from the Dark Lord. "So my shield is okay?"

"Your shield is fine and I did not see any lingering interference or damage from the Unspeakable's attempts to enter. However, you still may wish to rest during the afternoon. If you feel unusually tired, dizzy, or gain a headache, please see Madam Pomfrey and then rest," Professor Dumbledore said with a slight nod.

Rachel nodded, but she thought she was alright. She hadn't felt anything at all.

"Additionally, I believe it would be wise for you to learn to access your own mind through occlumency so that you have control of your occlumency shield rather than it simply being in place. Of course, given that this is your OWL year and you are understandably very busy, that instruction may have to wait until summer. However, I may recommend that you begin sooner should you continue to have your dreams interrupted by Voldemort. Have you had any more dreams influenced by him recently?"

"Not this past week, and I tell Severus every Sunday if I've had one of the regular ones. And if it wasn't a regular one, I'd go directly to him," Rachel said.

"And your scar?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"A little prickly this last week, mostly in the evenings, but no twinges," Rachel recounted.

"Please continue to keep track and alert Severus or myself if you feel anything out of the ordinary," Professor Dumbledore said. "Do you have any questions for me?"

Rachel couldn't think of anything off the top of her head, so she shook her head. "No, sir."

"I believe it is lunch time, Albus. If you don't mind, I'll escort Rachel to the Great Hall and speak with you again this evening," Severus said.

"Of course, good day to you both," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Are you feeling well?" Severus asked once they had gone down the staircase and past the gargoyle.

"I'm fine, I didn't feel a thing," Rachel said.

"As Albus said, if you do start to feel unwell, let your professor know and then go to the hospital wing. You're also welcome to ask for one of your friends to accompany you, all the professors know that you're allowed that," Severus said.

It was a bit embarrassing to think that all the professors knew Rachel apparently needed an escort through the castle. What must they think of her?

"And if you are concerned about anything, or if there are further developments with Umbridge, please come see me," Severus continued.

"I will," Rachel said. She thought she had things pretty well under control though.