"Hey!" Millie said as she opened the door. "I'm so glad we're back. Midnight has been crying for the past hour."

Rachel got up from her bed. "Good to see you. Let's let her out."

Millie dropped her bag on her bed and knelt down to let Midnight out of her carrier. "There you go. Look, it's Rachel. You missed her."

Midnight trotted over to Rachel and Rachel knelt down to let Midnight sniff her hand. She started rubbing her face against her fingers and purring loudly. "That's better, you're out of your carrier now. Good girl," Rachel said. "How was your holiday?" she asked Millie while petting Midnight.

"Kind of boring, but I got some stuff sorted out. Our first day back I locked Isobelle in her room until she'd speak to me," she said as she began to unpack her bag.

"Oh?" Rachel asked, a little worried. That's not how she would have dealt with the situation, but then again she didn't have siblings.

"Yeah. We've come to an agreement. I leave her alone while we're at Hogwarts and she'll come to me if she needs something or if something is wrong. We both send letters to my parents saying that we're checking on each other several times a week. And, even better news, apparently Cordelia Gifford is okay. Her father is a Death Eater, but apparently apart from an obsessive hatred of muggles, he's alright. And Cordelia is going through a rebellious phase and wants to know all about muggles, so their muggleborn dormmate is teaching both Cordelia and Isobelle about muggles. Apparently Cordelia was very impressed when Isobelle said that I'd been to a muggle shopping center and I had to tell Isobelle about it in more detail so that she could tell the other girls. I told her about the stuff in Hermione's house too."

Rachel smiled. "That is good. Do you think it will be a situation like Theo where we need to help Cordelia get away from her family?"

"I don't know enough to know that, but I told Isobelle if Cordelia said anything that worried her to tell me or Professor Flitwick, so I think it will be alright." Millie sat down on her bed. "How was it to be here with just Theo and Professor Snape?"

Rachel sat down on her own bed, getting Midnight in her lap moments later. "It was alright. We experimented some with the Room, I got it to do a weird fake snow thing. Mostly we just lounged in front of the fireplace and read books. I think both of us wished the rest of you could have been here."

"Yeah, me too. You didn't study, did you?" Millie asked.

"No. We took a break. I think the next five and a half months are going to have enough studying even for Hermione," Rachel said. It had been a mostly restful break, but it was time to get started again.

"I'm kind of thinking of dropping some classes next year. More than just Astronomy and History, I mean."

"That's fine. We don't all have to take all of the same classes, we'll certainly see each other often enough." Rachel was still deciding what she was going to drop. It was a big decision.

The door opened and Daphne came in. "Hello. How was your holiday?" she asked as she brought her bags to her bed.

"Pretty good, how about yours?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, you know. Had a bit of a worry with Astoria, but she was well enough to come back today, so it's alright," Daphne said as she sat down. She looked tired.

Rachel looked at Millie, wondering if she should ask Daphne about Astoria or not.

"Astoria's doing alright now?" Millie asked after a moment.

"As well as she ever is. I just worry about her. My mom wasn't even sure about sending her to Hogwarts in the first place. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape take good care of her, but even so." Daphne shook her head and opened one of her bags. "Enough about that. Millie, did you do anything interesting over the holiday?"

"Nothing much. My mom had to work a lot, so we only really saw her a lot on Christmas day and the day after, but I spent some time with my dad, which was nice."

"That is nice. And you, Rachel?"

Rachel decided to leave well enough alone, it was clear that Daphne didn't want to talk about what was going on with her sister, at least not right now. "Pretty quiet. I spent a lot of time with Theo, and I got to see my godfather on Christmas day."

Daphne looked up. "Are you and Theo together now that his father isn't an issue?"

"No," Rachel said quickly, feeling herself blush. "We're just friends."

"Maybe you feel that way, but are you sure Theo feels that way? He did ask you to the Yule Ball last year," Daphne pointed out.

Rachel looked to Millie for help, but Millie was grinning unrepentantly. "I am like almost completely sure that we went together as just friends. We spend all our time studying. I don't want to kiss him or anything."

Millie started giggling.

"And you're sure that he doesn't want to kiss you?" Daphne asked with a smile.

"Yes!"

She was saved by Pansy entering the room. Pansy looked a little harried and set her bag down on her own bed with a sigh. "I already checked the charms on everything and brought my charmed stuff to Professor Snape so he could check it, so we're free to talk," Pansy said.

The levity had completely disappeared from the room. "Was your holiday alright?" Rachel asked.

"Not particularly."

Rachel immediately felt her stomach fill with dread. "Did the Dark Lord show up?" she asked, barely managing to make the words audible.

"No, thank Merlin, but they both left to go to a meeting on the twenty sixth. My mother is a mess. She is barely holding it together. I tried to talk to her about getting help from Professor Dumbledore but she wouldn't even let me say it. She used the Silencing charm on me and took my wand! She told me that we're loyal to the Dark Lord, whatever comes, and that he'll protect us if we're loyal."

"Merlin," Daphne said, getting up to go sit next to Pansy.

"I think Professor Snape can help you so you don't have to go home over Easter or over the summer," Rachel said, shifting out from under Midnight.

"No. I'm going home over summer. I can't abandon my parents." Pansy shook her head.

"What if they ask you to join the Death Eaters?" Millie asked, her brow furrowed.

"I don't think they're going to do that. My mother doesn't want me to do that. My father said that I'm too weak to serve the Dark Lord, but I think he's trying to protect me."

Rachel frowned. She could think of so many ways that Pansy going home for the summer could go wrong. "Did Professor Snape say anything?"

"He said that if I'm sure I want to go home then we'll continue as we have been. My father said that I'm getting the right information, they just want more of it. We'll have to figure out some stuff to tell them. Rachel, I'm supposed to try to influence you away from Professor Snape, make you not trust him, though I'm not really sure how it is they want me to do to accomplish that. We'll have to talk about it with Professor Snape and see what the best way is to proceed."

A knock on the door caused all of them to jump.

Rachel got up and opened it and found Theo on the other side. "Are you and Millie coming to dinner?"

"Yes, just give us a moment and we'll meet you in the common room," Rachel said.

"Alright, tell Pansy that Draco is waiting for her too," Theo said, raising an eyebrow before walking away.

Rachel shut the door. "Draco is waiting for you. Do you want me to tell him to go away?"

"No. I got to see him at the Malfoy's Christmas party, which was nice. I told him I'd see him when we got back to Hogwarts." Pansy stood and pulled a small mirror out of her bedside table drawer. "We'll be fine. We'll figure it out."

Rachel nodded. They had a lot of things to figure out, but they had nearly six months to do it in.


On Monday afternoon, directly after lunch, Rachel stopped abruptly in the doorway of the Arithmancy classroom.

"Whoa, careful," Millie said as she bumped into Rachel.

Rachel gritted her teeth and forced herself to step in the classroom. She didn't know why Professor Umbridge was sitting there, but it couldn't be a good thing.

The study group took their seats in the front row and got out their books, parchment, and quills.

'Any ideas on why Umbridge is here?' Theo wrote on a piece of parchment and pushed it in Rachel's direction.

Rachel shook her head.

"It appears as though you have a very small class," Professor Umbridge said, once everyone was quietly seated.

"My class is one of the more difficult classes at Hogwarts. Only the most studious tend to remain," Professor Vector said icily before turning her attention to the students. "We'll be having a quiz and then we'll continue our work on parallelograms. You'll have fifteen minutes, please make the most of it."

Professor Umbridge made a disapproving sound and wrote something down on her clipboard.

Rachel did her best to focus on her quiz, but she was certain she could feel Professor Umbridge staring at her.

The class continued, Professor Umbridge interrupting every so often and Professor Vector's voice getting more clipped as the lesson continued. Equations for homework were passed out and they all packed their bags.

"You'll be receiving the results of your evaluation in approximately two weeks' time," Professor Umbridge told Professor Vector.

"I'm sure it will be something to look forward to, now if you don't mind I have my sixth years next," Professor Vector said, clearly wanting Professor Umbridge out of her classroom.

"She's evaluating other professors? I'm sure that will go over well with them," Theo said once they were a little ways down the staircase.

"I'd like to see her try that in Professor Snape's class," Millie said.

"Or in Professor McGonagall's," Neville added.

"I wonder who is teaching her classes while she's evaluating the other teachers," Hermione said as they reached the hallway that held the Ancient Runes classroom.

"Maybe she'll cancel our class this week." Rachel hoped she would.

"Wouldn't count on it," Theo said. "I wonder what she plans on doing with these evaluations. Do you really think she can fire teachers she doesn't approve of?"

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Hermione said.

Rachel immediately worried about Hagrid. She got the feeling Professor Umbridge wouldn't like Hagrid's lessons at all. She was a little surprised she wasn't worried about Severus, but she figured Severus could handle himself.

Professor Umbridge didn't join their Ancient Runes class, but she was there for Herbology and Charms on Tuesday. Rachel wondered a little bit if Professor Umbridge was purposefully picking classes with her in them.

Herbology seemed to go alright, the lesson was pretty simple and they were tasked with feeding the Chinese Chomping Cabbages.

At the end of Charms class, as they were leaving, they overheard Professor Umbridge asking about Professor Flitwick's goblin ancestry.

"My heritage is what it is, though I have far more in common with humans than I do goblins," Professor Flitwick answered, though his voice was uncharacteristically hard.

Professor Umbridge made a sound that was somewhere between disbelief and disapproval.

"Who is teaching her classes?" Hermione asked as they went down the stairs to lunch.

"Maybe she has a time-turner," Millie suggested.

"Would we see two of her on the map if she did?" Rachel asked. If she actually had a time-turner, and she didn't show up on the map, that could cause them problems.

"I have no idea, but I seriously doubt she has a time-turner. The Unspeakables are supposed to be incredibly strict with them," Theo said.

"We could ask Sirius and Remus, they might know the answer about the map," Neville suggested. "Just in case."

Rachel nodded. It couldn't hurt to ask, just in case.

To Rachel's dismay, they did have Defense class on Thursday afternoon. She received the essay she'd handed in before the holiday - with the usual poor written in red at the top - and grimly outlined another chapter from their stupid textbook. This chapter was about the Stunning spell, though most of the chapter was devoted to situations in which they could or could not use the Stunning spell. According to the book, it was only to be used to subdue someone who was acting erratically so they could be given assistance, or on dangerous creatures.

Professor Umbridge showed up for their Astronomy lesson that night, and by then, Rachel was pretty sure Professor Umbridge was choosing her classes. Although Professor Umbridge often bent down to speak to students, Rachel usually couldn't hear what she said. Professor Umbridge often watched Rachel, but she didn't approach.

Rachel would be more okay with that if she knew what Professor Umbridge's next steps were. For now, they'd just have to guess. She was unsurprised to find Professor Umbridge standing in the Potions classroom on Friday morning. Reminding herself that Severus could deal with it, she filled her cauldron half full with water and took a seat next to Neville.

"This is going to be bad," Neville whispered, looking between Professor Umbridge and Severus.

"Don't pay attention to them, pay attention to our cauldron. Professor Snape can handle it," Rachel whispered back as she flipped through her book to the section on the Befuddlement Draught.

It only took a few minutes for the class to quietly assemble, each pair with a cauldron and their potion's kits set out. Severus looked pensive as he surveyed them. "As you will recall from our last lesson, today we will be brewing the Befuddlement Draught," he began.

"Hem hem, excuse me, Professor Snape?" Professor Umbridge asked.

In unison, everyone's gazes moved nervously from Severus to Professor Umbridge.

"Yes?" Severus asked with a clipped tone.

"Can you tell me why exactly you are teaching fifth years a potion whose effects on the recipient include belligerence and reckless behavior?" Professor Umbridge asked, her quill posed above her clipboard.

"Because plants and potions that have an inflaming effect on minds are tested on the OWL exams that these students will be taking in five months time. The Befuddlement Draught demonstrates the trifold effect of scurvy grass, lovage, and sneezewort, as opposed to the Confusing Concoction, where the trifold effect is mitigated. If you have additional questions about my curriculum I will answer them at a time which is not devoted to students practicing their brewing skills," Severus said.

Rachel watched Severus closely. She could tell that he wasn't truly in a temper yet, his nostrils weren't flaring, but the set of his mouth meant he was well on his way.

"Of course. I would like to see your classroom as it usually is, carry on, Professor Snape," Professor Umbridge said.

"How kind of you." Severus turned back to the students. "I'm certain everyone here recalls not to inhale the fumes from your cauldrons when you are heating sneezewort. Monitor your progress closely, as incorrect levels of heat and incorrect times of steeping can render your potion either useless or potentially dangerous. Take note of the instructions on the board and begin your work."

Rachel had never really understood the literary turn of phrase 'tension so thick you could cut it with a knife'. Now she did. Most of the students barely seemed like they were breathing. She turned to Neville. "I'll chop the lovage and the sneezewort, you chop the scurvy grass, that way we don't have to worry about cross contamination between the lovage and the scurvy grass," she whispered.

"Alright," Neville whispered back.

They worked quietly as they prepared and measured ingredients. The complicated part of the Befuddlement Draught was in the heating, boiling, stewing, and cooling. The ingredients were simple enough. She swore she could feel Professor Umbridge watching her.

Glancing up, Rachel checked the instructions on the board against the instructions in her book. Nothing significant had changed, just the reduction of counterclockwise stirs after the scurvy grass had boiled for five minutes. She moved her head slightly to check on Professor Umbridge, and sure enough, she was watching her.

She focused her attention back on measuring the chopped lovage. She hadn't ever boiled over a cauldron in class and she certainly wasn't going to do so now.

"Are we ready for the cauldron to be at a low boil?" Neville whispered.

"Yes," she whispered back.

"Why is she watching us?" Neville asked, barely audible as he leaned in under the pretense of lighting the heat source with his wand.

"I don't know, she does this in Defense too," Rachel whispered. "Once we have a low boil you can add the scurvy grass and we'll watch it for five minutes." She set aside the chopped and measured lovage, wiped her scale and knife clean, and then began on the sneezewort.

"Tell me, how do you find your classes with Professor Snape?" Professor Umbridge asked, her voice suddenly loud in the hush of the classroom.

Everyone looked up at where she was standing in front of Dean and Crabbe.

"Good, ma'am," Dean said, sounding uncertain.

"Do you find his teaching practices to be fair and reasoned?" she asked.

Rachel glanced at Severus and found him silently fuming across the classroom.

"Uh, yes, ma'am," Dean said. He looked like he would rather be anywhere else than right here.

Professor Umbridge peered down at him, across the classroom at Severus, and then made a note on her clipboard. "I see."

Rachel glanced at her cauldron. "Time for the scurvy grass, wait until I say, so we can get exactly five minutes," she whispered to Neville.

Neville scooped up the scurvy grass and waited.

"Now," she whispered as the second hand on her watch reached twelve.

"Miss Brown, do you feel as though the potions you are brewing in class are useful to learn?" Professor Umbridge asked, now standing in front of Lavender and Daphne.

"Most of them, ma'am," Lavender said, sounding nervous.

"Can you tell me some of the potions you've been taught that aren't beneficial?" Professor Umbridge pressed.

Lavender looked almost frightened. "I can't remember, ma'am."

"Can you tell me what you brewed in class before the holidays?"

The room was awkwardly silent. Severus was clearly clenching his jaw.

"Um, it was a draught, ma'am. The Draught of Rest maybe?" Lavender asked.

Rachel winced. She was pretty sure there was no such thing as the Draught of Rest, and their last week in class in December they'd brewed the Deflating Draught. She checked her watch. Two more minutes before they should stir.

"The Draught of Rest," Professor Umbridge repeated, the scratching of her quill the loudest thing in the classroom.

Rachel kept a careful eye on her watch and turned down the heat at exactly five minutes and began counting her counterclockwise strokes with her stirring rod. She set her stirring rod aside, added the lovage, and began keeping time once more. She needed to turn up the heat to a high boil in three minutes.

"Miss Parkinson?" Professor Umbridge asked, approaching Pansy and Parvati.

"Yes, ma'am?" Pansy asked, sounding a little more confident than Dean or Lavender had.

"What do you think of Professor Snape's classroom practices?"

"They're very good, ma'am. We have a lecture on a potion on Wednesday, we have assigned reading and an essay, and then we brew the potion on Friday. Anyone who does the work is prepared to safely brew the potion in class," Pansy said promptly.

Rachel smiled a little bit. Pansy knew how to talk to people and she wasn't all that intimidated by Professor Umbridge.

"Do you believe that Professor Snape shows favoritism in the classroom?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"No, ma'am. In general Professor Snape only deducts points for mistakes, he doesn't award points for well brewed potions. He checks each of our cauldrons as we brew," Pansy said.

"So would you say that there is no positive reinforcement in this class?" she asked.

Pansy paused. "I would say that Professor Snape knows that the best positive reinforcement he can give is allowing us the success of correctly brewing."

The corner of Rachel's mouth twitched and she turned back to her potion and turned up the heat to bring it to a rolling boil. She needed to watch it now because she couldn't start timing it again until it was boiling.

"And Miss Patil, do you believe Professor Snape shows favoritism in the classroom?"

There was a long pause before Parvati quietly said "no, ma'am."

"Please do not be afraid to speak the truth. There will be no repercussions for it," Professor Umbridge said.

Rachel glanced at Severus again and found that he was outright scowling.

"He doesn't show favoritism, ma'am," Parvati insisted, though she sounded uncertain.

"Not to any particular students that he has a connection with?" Professor Umbridge pressed.

Rachel straightened. Professor Umbridge was talking about her.

Parvati's eyes were wide as she glanced in Rachel's direction. "No, ma'am. He'd yell at anyone who made a mistake, no matter who it was."

"Yell at them. I see. Thank you for your honesty, Miss Patil," Professor Umbridge said, writing frantically.

"It's boiling," Neville whispered.

Rachel pulled her attention back to the cauldron and checked her watch again. She hoped it hadn't been boiling like that for long. They had three and a half minutes and then they needed to reduce the heat again and then stir.

"Mr. Malfoy," Professor Umbridge said, now standing in front of Draco and Theo.

"Yes, ma'am, how may I help you?" Draco asked, actually smiling at Professor Umbridge.

Rachel rolled her eyes, glad that she was halfway across the classroom. Draco could be a bit much.

"How would you assess your Potions class?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"Overall, I'd say it's good. Professor Snape has a fast and demanding class pace, which is available to any student who puts in an effort to learn," Draco said.

"And do you find that Professor Snape shows favoritism to any single student that he has a connection to?"

Rachel looked up from her watch, curious what Draco would say.

"Not as such, ma'am. Professor Snape is very professional in the classroom," Draco said.

"And outside of the classroom?"

"Professor Snape has made it clear that anyone who needs him can speak to him in his office between classes and dinner. I wouldn't know how he behaves with other students there." Draco nodded.

"Turning down the heat," Neville whispered.

"I see. Has Professor Snape said anything to you about politics or the news that is reported on in the newspapers?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"No, ma'am," Draco said. "In class we strictly discuss potions."

"And outside of class?"

"We discuss prefect matters and matters relating to our House," Draco said.

"Professor Umbridge. Now that you've asked your questions, please cease distracting my students from their brewing. This is a delicate potion," Severus said, the tone bland for all of the murder in his eyes.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to distract anyone at a crucial moment," Professor Umbridge said.

"Stirring for two minutes clockwise," Neville whispered.

"Thanks," Rachel whispered back as she gathered up the sneezewort so they could add it directly after.

The rest of the potion went smoothly, despite Professor Umbridge continuing to circle the classroom. She stopped in front of them and Rachel met her gaze and waited. Rachel found that she was strangely proud of her classmates, and grateful. She knew that many of them didn't enjoy Potions class, but they had all stuck up for Severus.

"May I assume you're doing your fair share of the work, Miss Snow?" Professor Umbridge finally asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said levely.

"See that you do. I will not allow your misbehavior and academic dishonesty to continue," Professor Umbridge said before walking away.

Rachel couldn't wait until the end of the year and Professor Umbridge was long gone. She hoped whatever the curse did to kick her out was at the very least seriously embarrassing, if not a bit painful.


"Are we really learning patronuses?" Lee Jordan called as the DA got settled in.

"We really are," Hermione said. "I hope all of you had a good holiday. There are a few things to know about patronuses before we get started. The incantation is expecto patronum. For the wand movement, you can do a slow clockwise spiral, but all of us in our study group have found that once you have the spell, you can simply point your wand directly where you want your patronus to appear. Patronuses come in two forms, a mist, which is the non-corporeal patronus, and an animal form, which is your corporeal patronus. Do not be surprised if you can't cast even a non-corporeal patronus tonight, this week, or even this month. Don't be surprised if you're still working on your corporeal patronus at the end of the term. It took all of us at least six months to be able to cast a corporeal patronus. I recommend finding a time every day and practicing for ten minutes. I used to do it directly before I went to bed. Now, the most important part of this spell, and the hardest, is the emotional connection. You want memories of pure happiness and it's not just thinking about them, it's recalling them so vividly that the happiness is present right then. Does anyone have questions before we start?"

"Why is this such an important spell to learn? I mean, most adults can't even do it," Cho asked.

Theo stepped forward. "The primary use of the Patronus charm is protecting yourself against Dementors. Hopefully no one will ever be in a situation where it's necessary, but it is the only spell that works against them. More usefully, the Patronus charm can be used to quickly send messages. Expecto patronum." Theo's shark appeared. "To Ginny Weasley. This is a patronus message."

Everyone watched as Theo's shark paused and then swam across the room to Ginny. "This is a patronus message" came Theo's voice.

"Expecto patronum," Ginny said. Her horse appeared. "To Theo Nott. I know it's a patronus message, it came from your patronus."

There was laughter as Ginny's horse patronus galloped across the floor to deliver the message to Theo.

"I heard only people who are really powerful can cast the Patronus charm. Is that true?" Susan asked, raising her hand.

"I think I'm pretty good evidence that it's not true," Neville said. "It usually takes me a while to be able to cast a spell that we're learning in class. It took me about six months to be able to cast a corporeal patronus. I think the real limiting factor is most adults aren't willing to put in the effort to practice consistently."

"I'd also like to note that Rachel, Theo, Neville, Ginny, and Luna all were able to cast the corporeal patronus charm while they were third years. Age is certainly not a limiting factor. The things you really need are a will to do it and to commit to the practice, and the ability to focus and feel those happy memories," Hermione said. "Any other questions before we get started?"

"What determines what animal form your corporeal patronus has?" Scarlett asked. "I want a monkey."

There was more laughter and a few other people calling out what forms they wanted.

"We don't really know, but it's generally suggested that you share traits or affinities with whatever form your patronus takes," Hermione said. "For example, my corporeal patronus is an otter, and I share traits such as enthusiasm, curiosity, and loyalty."

"What traits do you share with a shark, Theo?" Tristram asked, his playfully teasing tone echoed by more laughter around the room.

"Boldness, ruthlessness, and I get results," Theo said, stepping up to the challenge, getting a few cheers from the Slytherin boys.

Rachel thought Theo was selling himself short a little bit, he was generally far more kind than ruthless.

"Alright," Hermione said, though she was smiling. "Let's get started. For this, either work independently or with friends, whatever makes you most comfortable. We'll be around the room, so ask us if you have questions or want ideas."

Rachel smiled as she looked over the room. It has been a long week, but it was good to be back with the DA. It was a little odd, but she found that she was growing attached to the people there, even the ones she didn't know so well yet.

"Rachel?"

Rachel turned. "Hi Astoria. How was your holiday?" she asked, remembering what Daphne had told her at the start of the week.

Astoria shrugged. "Well enough. Do you really think I can cast the Patronus charm?"

"I don't see why not, if you're willing to put in the practice. Is there a reason that you think you wouldn't be able to?" Rachel asked.

"I'm really not very powerful. I'm still struggling with the Shield charm." Astoria looked down.

"I didn't learn the Shield charm until after the Patronus charm, and both of them took me a while. And the Patronus charm isn't like the Shield charm. Do you remember how we were working on channeling more magic into the Shield charm?"

Astoria nodded. "I'm still working on that. I feel a little bit tired afterwards."

"Then it's probably important to take care while you practice it." It seemed like Astoria was more fragile than Rachel had realized. "The Patronus charm isn't like that at all, really. You're not so much feeding the patronus your magic as you are feeding it your emotions. It feels really good to cast it."

"That's an interesting way of putting it," Roland said, coming up next to them with the rest of his friends.

"You learned the Patronus charm in your third year? I had assumed it was in your fourth, because that's when you showed it to the judges," Cedric said.

"No, I learned it in my third year, trying to deal with the Dementors. I was worried they were going to come on the grounds again," Rachel explained.

"They were horrible," Astoria said, shivering.

"They really were," Heidi agreed. "During that match, where you fell, I felt like every real thought or emotion had been drained from me. For a moment I really thought I was going to die."

"Well hopefully none of us ever have to see a Dementor again," Martin said, shaking his head. "You really learned the Patronus charm just through practicing though? We spent three weeks on it in Charms class in November, but none of us could make more than the mist."

"A lot of it is practice and seeing what memories work for you. You'll notice that sometimes your mist is thicker than other times, that means you're moving in the right direction. What I found really worked for me was sort of stringing together memories in a medley and imagining connecting that emotion to my wand," she explained.

"Maybe not theoretically sound, but if it works, it works," Roland said. "I've read that the Patronus charm is on the Defense NEWT. It's weird they teach us it in Charms, but it's tested in Defense."

"That is a little odd. But I really want to put in the effort to do this," Cedric said, nodding. "I think it's an important skill to have, especially since you can send messages with it and no one can fake that message."

"You never really know who is sending you an owl, or who might have read it," Roland agreed.

Rachel hadn't thought of it that way.

"You really think I'm powerful enough?" Astoria asked again.

"I do, and I think part of is confidence too. Believe that you can cast it, while at the same time knowing that it's going to take work and practice. It won't happen right away," Rachel said. "Do you want to practice it right now so you get a feel for what to do while you're on your own?"

"Yeah. What do I do?" Astoria asked.

"Hold your wand and close your eyes. Think of the memories that you picked, one by one, but slowly. Take time and really remember what it was like to be there," she instructed. To her surprise she found Cedric and his group of friends following along. She waited, wanting to give them time to really remember. "When you're ready, when you're feeling the same way you felt in the memory, point your wand and direct all of that emotion toward it and say the incantation."

"Expecto patronum," Heidi whispered. She opened her eyes. There was a thick mist issuing from her wand. "That's better than it was before."

"Good, that means you're going in the right direction," Rachel said.

All three of the boys also got mists of varying thickness, Cedric frowning at his for a moment.

"Expecto patronum," Astoria said, opening her eyes.

"It's okay. It took me several weeks to get a mist. Just because it's not happening right now, doesn't mean you're not doing the right thing," Rachel said quickly.

Astoria nodded. "Can I see your patronus?"

"Sure." Rachel took out her wand. "Expecto patronum." Her doe formed and seemed to look around at the people gathered.

"It suits you," Cedric said.

"It's the same form as my mom's. And as Professor Snape's," she said, smiling fondly at her doe.

"That's really interesting. I wonder if patronus forms are hereditary," Roland said.

"I asked Professor Snape that too, but he didn't think anyone knew because it's so rare for people to put in the effort to cast the corporeal patronus," Rachel explained.

"It's pretty. I hope mine is something pretty. I don't want a spider or anything like that," Astoria said, making a face.

"I wouldn't mind a spider," Martin said.

"I would, yuck," Heidi said, shaking her head. "If you get a spider, you're not sending me any messages with it."

Cedric smiled. "Let's keep practicing."

Everyone closed their eyes again and Rachel left her doe where it was. This was a good end to the week.


The ocean was dark, far below. The air was freezing.

A strange three sided building emerged from the waves. It was dark enough that it was hard to tell if the stones were black or merely dark grey. Death Eaters in their robes and masks flew on broomsticks to either side. A wordless spell, a bright light, and the top levels of one side of the building exploded.

The Death Eaters flew inside the hole. A few moments later six Dementors emerged. There was a sense of understanding, of direction, and the Dementors waited.

Time seemed to be almost frozen but the Death Eaters on broomsticks began to fly back out of the building, each of them with an extra rider. Satisfaction at a job well done. Another flier came out of the building. A single spell of lurid green light met the flier and they dropped lifelessly into the waves below.

Rachel sat up, stifling her screams and holding her hands to her head.

"You're awake now. It's okay. Professor Snape is coming. Just hang on," Millie said quickly, putting her hand on Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel felt dizzy and a little ill, but she had to get to Professor Snape now. She had to swallow twice before speaking. "I'll meet him on his way here."

"I think you should wait," Millie said, though she stepped back as Rachel started to try to climb out of bed. "He'll be here soon."

She sat on the edge of her bed, trying to get herself together enough to stand and walk while her head was pounding. Her scar burned beneath her hand and she swore that she could actually feel heat coming from it.

A knock on the door solved the problem and Millie left her side. "She's asking for you."

"I've got the potions right here, is everyone sufficiently covered?" came Severus' voice.

There were a few rustling sounds. "Yes, it's fine," Millie said.

"Rachel," Severus said, coming to her side. "A Pain Reliever potion and Healing Salve, correct?"

"Yes, please," she said, hoping she could think more clearly when the pain had mostly stopped. He pressed a vial into her hand and she tried to drink it without tasting it.

"Can you move your hand from your forehead?" he asked.

Reluctantly she pulled her hand away and a moment later Severus was rubbing the salve over her scar. She could still feel it burning, and she still felt a little nauseated, but it was better than before.

"Are you okay now, Rachel?" Pansy asked.

"Yes. Sorry. Severus, I need to talk with you privately," Rachel said, pushing herself to her feet.

"Yes, of course. Socks, and a jumper or a dressing gown first," Severus said.

Frustrated, because what she had to tell him was important, Rachel pulled out socks and a jumper from her wardrobe and put them on, and then collected her glasses and her wand. "Sorry everyone."

"It's okay. We hope you get better soon," Daphne said, peering out of her bed curtains.

"Thanks." Rachel didn't know how likely that was. She followed Severus out into the hallway and shut the door behind herself. "I saw-"

"Wait until we're behind the wards in our quarters," Severus said quickly.

"It's really important."

"I understand, but we must be circumspect. Let's go quickly then," he said.

She hurried alongside him, through the common room and then down the dungeon corridor. She wasn't sure how much they could do about what had happened, but she figured they needed to know as soon as possible.

As soon as they were through Severus' office and the permeable wall, Rachel turned to Severus. "Azkaban is a big three sided stone building in the ocean, isn't it?"

"He broke the Death Eaters out of Azkaban?" Severus asked.

Rachel nodded. "People might be still alive, he blew a great hole in the side. He took at least ten people with him on broomsticks."

Severus quickly cast his patronus. "To Albus Dumbledore. Eleven o'clock. I'm in my quarters." His doe bounded away.

"Eleven o'clock?" Rachel asked, looking at the mantel. "It's nearly one in the morning."

"It's a code that the Order uses in case someone is in the company of someone who may not be aware. Six o'clock would mean that a situation is proceeding as planned. Nine o'clock means there is a problem but it's not urgent. Midnight would be mission failure. In this case, I'm using eleven to mean that a significant disaster has struck but we may be able to mitigate the situation should we act quickly," Severus explained.

"Severus, may I come through?" Professor Dumbledore called from the fireplace.

"Yes, please do," Severus called back, heading further into the room. Rachel trailed behind.

Professor Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace. "What has happened?"

"Breakout at Azkaban, the Dark Lord was present. At least ten Death Eaters were retrieved. There was significant destruction but there may still be survivors," Severus summarized.

Professor Dumbledore seemed to freeze in place for a long moment and then he nodded. "I'll go to the Ministry immediately. I'll say that I was Looking through space and saw an eruption at Azkaban. Send a message to Shacklebolt, have him meet me there." With that Professor Dumbledore threw more floo powder into the fireplace. "Headmaster's office." And then he was gone.

Rachel watched as Severus sent the message to Auror Shacklebolt and then she sat down on the couch. "Do you think the Ministry will believe him?"

Severus moved to sit down in his chair. "They can send a message to whoever is leading the guard at Azkaban. When they don't get a response, they'll send a team of aurors."

"What did Professor Dumbledore mean about Looking through space?"

"It's an advanced divantory technique that relies heavily on mind magic. I'm not sure if he can actually do it, but it wouldn't necessarily surprise me if he could," Severus explained. "It's a useful explanation though, if we need to disguise any more of what you see, though of course hopefully we'll solve that problem in the near future."

Somehow she thought it wasn't going to be as easy as that. "There's something else."

"What?"

"I think the Dark Lord was directing the Dementors. Some came out to him, and there was...it was like they understood each other. I think some left with him."

Severus looked startled and then concerned. "I will ask Albus to ask them to conduct a count of the Dementors when I see him next. I hope they would do that anyway, but I'll ask him to make certain of it. We do need to know if the Dementors are allying with him."

"There was one other thing that I'm a little less sure of," she said, rubbing at her arms through her jumper. She was still freezing.

"What's that?"

"I think the Dark Lord can fly."

"I'm not sure I understand you." Severus shook his head.

"We were hovering there over the ocean, a little lower than the top level of Azkaban. And I didn't see a broomstick. The other Death Eaters had broomsticks, but the Dark Lord didn't act like he was on one. It was more like he was standing. Is that possible?"

"No, unaided flight is not considered possible." He brought his hand up to rub at his temple. "On the other hand, the Dark Lord has done many things that are said to be impossible, so I won't dismiss it out of hand. I'll let Albus know and we'll see what he thinks of it. Anything else I should know?"

"Someone came after them, with a broomstick. The Dark Lord killed him and his body fell into the ocean," she said, frowning as she remembered how casually the Dark Lord had killed. "Why did they fly after them?"

"A sense of duty, I suppose. It was not a sound judgment on their part, though they may not have realized that the Dark Lord himself was there. Are you cold?"

"Yes," she said. Pressing her hands against her jumper wasn't doing anything for them. "I'm always cold, both while it's happening and afterward."

Severus stood and conjured her a tartan blanket and then cast the Warming charm on it. "Would you like tea? Or hot cocoa maybe?"

"I don't think so. If I drink that I don't think I can go back to sleep. I'm still a little tired." She felt weird about going to sleep right after she'd just watch someone be murdered, but somehow it didn't change the fact that she was tired. "Why do you think a vision happened again so soon? It was months between the others."

"I'm not certain. It could just be that the circumstances that cause a vision were simply in close succession. I think we need to work on occlumency on both Saturday and Sunday evenings, at least for the time being," he said as he sat back down.

"We can do that." Rachel yawned and pulled the blanket around her more tightly. "Is it okay if I sit here for a little bit and then go to bed?"

"Yes, that's fine. Whatever you need."

"As soon as I don't feel like an ice cube." She settled deeper into the couch cushions. In a strange way, she thought she was getting used to the visions.


Severus apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place early on Sunday morning. Albus had sent his patronus an hour ago, letting him know he'd be giving an update to the Order at eight. He let himself in and made his way to the kitchen, unsurprised to find it crowded already. He moved so his back was against the wall and he had a good view of the room.

Minerva was here, which was unusual. The entire Ministry crew had assembled, absenting Shacklebolt and Tonks, who were probably still at the Ministry dealing with the disaster. Bill Weasley was standing next to his parents. Black and Lupin were further down the table. Both Elphias and Dedalus were crowded at the other end of the table. Moody was standing on the other side of the room, glowering as he looked over everyone.

"We just had a fresh kettle on," Arthur said, approaching Severus with two cups of tea.

"Thank you," Severus said, accepting the cup mostly for something to do with his hands.

"I assume it's true?" he asked, his voice pitched so that only Severus could hear it with the conversation ongoing at the table.

"As far as I know, yes." He hadn't heard back from Albus yet, but if Rachel's vision hadn't been true, he would have heard by now.

"She saw it?" Arthur asked.

Severus glanced around the room but no one was paying attention to them. "Yes."

Arthur shook his head. "That poor child. Is there anything that can be done?"

"We're attempting to rectify the situation with occlumency. Albus believes that should prevent this from continuing." Severus believed that too, especially now that they had found the problem with her shield.

"Good. Still, learning occlumency at fifteen. Not that I doubt that she can do it, Ginny told me Rachel could cast a corporeal patronus at thirteen and she taught the rest of her friends to do it. I didn't believe it myself until Ginny cast hers," Arthur smiled. "Hers is a horse, which I think fits how headstrong she is. I believe Rachel's is the same as yours?"

"Yes, a doe. Same as Lily's as well."

Arthur nodded. "I think I remember that, and James' was a stag. I'm glad that they are preparing themselves. Ginny told me she learned a great deal of Defense last year while they were preparing for the tasks. It shouldn't be necessary though."

"Perhaps, but I would rather they were prepared for an eventuality that doesn't happen, than be left unprepared for what might come." He needed to start training Rachel again, but first they had to sort out her occlumency shields.

"You're right, of course. Please let Molly and I know if there's anything that we can do for you or Rachel," Arthur said.

"Thank you," Severus said, not about to turn allies away. Rachel needed all the allies she could get. "As I'm not your children's Head of House, I'm somewhat more limited in what I can do, but if they need something, I am available."

"Thank you, Severus. I can't believe Fred and George are about to finish their seventh year. Merlin help us all when they're out in the world." Arthur's smile was fond despite his words.

"If nothing else, they certainly have drive and ambition. I'm somewhat thankful they weren't Sorted into Slytherin, but they certainly would have excelled there." Severus was deeply grateful that the Weasley twins were only his problem three hours a week, but he wasn't about to tell Arthur that.

"Well, in that case, perhaps it's best that they weren't Sorted into Slytherin. I'm a little afraid of what they might do with even more ambition," Arthur said.

Everyone's attention turned as Albus walked into the kitchen, followed by Shacklebolt and Tonks.

"Thank you all for gathering at such short notice. I have two items of business," Albus said, sounding deceptively calm. "Last night, Voldemort attacked Azkaban in order to free the Death Eaters who were imprisoned there. Six of the guards on duty were killed. At this time we don't know how many additional prisoners were killed in the explosion. We believe a contingent of Dementors may have accompanied Voldemort away from the prison, but at this time, we don't know how many."

Murmurs and gasps sounded around the room.

"How many Death Eaters escaped?" Elphias asked.

"Ten, including the Lestranges, Augustus Rookwood, and Antonin Dolohov. We'll update our list of active Death Eaters later today," Albus said.

"I think it's important to note they're not going to be active right away," Black said. "It took a good six months before I could really get around, and almost a year before I was ready to be in a fight, and they've been in Azkaban another two years longer than I have."

"If they're vulnerable, then now would be the time to attack," Sturgis said.

"At this point in time, we don't know where they are. I would suggest that it's unlikely that more than two or three of the escapees are being kept in the same location," Shacklebolt answered.

"Did they ever find a safehouse or a central meeting place for You-Know-Who after the last war?" Tonks asked.

"I think Severus is best equipped to answer this question," Albus said.

Severus kept himself from sighing. "As far as anyone was able to ascertain, either through the interrogation of Death Eaters or by being summoned by the Dark Lord, either he has no location that he frequently returns to, or no one has ever seen it. The Dark Lord almost always had new locations for meetings, whether with a group or individuals. He occasionally was a guest of his Death Eaters, but never for more time than it took for a particular mission or project to be accomplished. The most likely scenario is that the escapees are recovering while staying with other Death Eaters, particularly those who have manors or large houses with warded and hidden rooms."

"That tracks with what I know of it," Moody said, his tone grudging. "We won't find them with their pants down, not after they orchestrated a breakout. Can we expect this on the front page of the Daily Prophet?"

"We can. The Ministry was alerted shortly after midnight," Albus answered steadily.

"And Fudge?" Molly asked.

"Minister Fudge believes this was the act of an unknown Death Eater. He continues to refuse to consider the possibility that Voldemort was responsible." Albus' voice was just as steady this time, but there was a brief steely look in his gaze.

Severus didn't expect anything different, but it was still frustrating.

There were more murmurs around the room.

"You said you had two items of business?" Minerva asked.

"Yes. As you may recall, at the end of the summer last year Unspeakable Broderick Bode was brought to St. Mungo's with severe spell damage and unable to speak. I believe that he was placed under the Imperius curse by a Death Eater and was forced to attempt to retrieve the prophecy that we are guarding."

"Thus activating the protections on the prophecy?" Emmaline asked.

"Indeed. The last I checked with the Healers, Bode appeared to be recovering. I recently was given news that Bode was murdered while still in St. Mungo's, presumably to prevent him from naming the person who placed him under the Imperius curse," Albus continued.

Next to Severus, Arthur shifted uncomfortably and placed his hand on his abdomen. "How was he murdered?" Arthur asked, his voice cutting through the quiet discussion in the room.

"Someone brought him a plant as a gift that turned out to be Devil's Snare in disguise. Unfortunately the entry on the visitor's log appears to be a false name and the Healer on the unit was obliviated and the memory of the visit is lost," Albus explained.

"What do we do next?" Lupin asked.

"We continue to guard the prophecy. It is vital that Voldemort does not hear it. We continue to track the Death Eaters and keep an eye out for suspicious behavior. Continue to have discussions with people, gently prompt them. Someone out there knows more than they think they know. Does anyone have any additional business to bring while we're gathered here?"

"The next Wizengamot meeting is in six days," Black said. "If they've bribed or threatened Jenkins, Bryant, and Davies, we've lost our one third voting block."

Albus nodded. "I will check on them and see what I can do. Anything else?"

The room was uncomfortably silent.

"I'll let you go about your day then," Albus said, taking a step back.

Severus left. He had no desire to mingle and chat and Albus could speak with him at Hogwarts if he needed to. He had other things to do.


Shortly after Severus left his quarters, indicating he had an Order meeting to get to but that he'd see her tonight for dinner and occlumency practice, Rachel hurried back to her dorm. She had awoken a number of times over the past few hours, cast a warming charm on her bed twice, and had generally fretted as she tried to get back to sleep. Out of everything she'd seen in these visions, it hadn't exactly been awful, not like some of the up close murders she'd witnessed, but it worried her about what it meant. The Dark Lord was gaining power and quickly.

She wasn't sure what time she had the realization, she had left her watch in her dorm, but while she hadn't seen the Death Eaters who were escaping very well, she could bet that the people who had tortured Neville's parents were among them. And, if she knew the Ministry and the Daily Prophet, this was going to be on the front page of the morning paper. She intended to get to Neville first, so at least he wouldn't have to read about it in front of everyone.

"Are you feeling better?" Pansy asked as Rachel came into her dorm.

"Yes, thank you. Sorry for waking you again," Rachel said, stopping by her bedside table to put on her watch. She tossed her nightgown back into her wardrobe. "Have you seen Millie?"

"She went to the bathroom a few minutes ago, but she'll be coming back here, her shoes are still by her bed," Pansy said. "Does it hurt terribly? You sound like you're in so much pain when it happens."

"Thankfully I don't feel any physical pain while I'm still in the dream, I'm not sure why I'm screaming when it happens. It's only after I wake up that it hurts," she explained, bending down to scratch between Midnight's ears as she rubbed herself on Rachel's ankles.

"I'm glad of that, at least. I think, in our letters, it's best if I just continue to say that you're having nightmares some nights and waking early, rather than tell them about the rest. It's not as if anyone else knows." Pansy looked at Rachel expectantly.

Rachel would prefer the Death Eaters not to even know she had nightmares, but she was sure they could read between the lines as to why she was awake in the night. "That's fine. I think as long as we don't say which nights are worse or different. If your parents ask about specific nights, I think that's something that Professor Snape should know." That would mean that the Dark Lord either knew or suspected about the visions he was sending without meaning to.

"That would be odd. Why would they ask that?"

She thought quickly. "Because it would mean they have another source of information somehow." That was both true and misleading.

Pansy nodded, her frown deepening. "That would be bad for both of us. I'll make sure Professor Snape sees the letters from my parents, in case he picks up on something I don't. He seems to know all about this sort of thing. Sometimes I suggest things to put in a letter, and he tells me no and why not, and I wouldn't have ever considered that it might put you in danger."

"He's good at what he does," Rachel agreed. The fact that he was still alive after turning spy on the Dark Lord was evidence enough of that.

Millie came in through the door, causing both Rachel and Pansy to jump slightly. "Are you alright now?"

"Yes, but we've got to go to breakfast," she said, meeting Millie's eyes.

Millie stared back for a moment and then nodded. "Let me get my shoes and my bag. What are we reviewing today?"

Rachel blinked. She'd nearly forgotten her homework in all this. "Astronomy essay. Transfiguration essay and conjuring practice. Herbology and Ancient Runes OWL reviews, I've got Quidditch practice at one, and we're seeing Hagrid for tea." She went back into her wardrobe and started packing her bag with what she needed.

"Do you like the OWL guides you're using?" Pansy asked.

"They're pretty good. Did you want to borrow some?" Millie asked.

"Can I borrow your Transfiguration one for today? I suppose I really should start putting in OWL study time now." Pansy sounded reluctant.

"Sure," Rachel said, taking her Transfiguration OWL guide out from the stack and going across the room to hand it to Pansy. "You could probably get Draco to study with you. Or Daphne."

"Daphne's not really interested in OWL prep. She says she'll get whatever she gets and she's okay with that. Draco says that he's a bit too advanced for OWL prep, whatever that means."

"Well, if you have questions or want someone to review with you, you can ask us," Rachel said.

"You might be able to get Blaise and those Ravenclaw boys to study with you too. They're usually in the library," Millie suggested.

"Maybe," Pansy agreed, looking down at the guide.

Rachel checked her watch. They had fifteen minutes until breakfast started and she wanted to be up in the entrance hall to catch Neville. "We'll see you later."

"Later," Pansy said absently.

"What's the rush?" Millie asked when they were out in the hall.

Rachel glanced around. "I'll tell you behind a privacy ward in the entrance hall, but we've got to go."

"What about Theo?" Millie asked as they started to walk.

She hesitated. "If he can go with us now, that's fine, but otherwise he's going to have to meet us there." She led the way across the common room and down the hall that housed the boys' dorms and bathrooms. She knocked on the fifth year dorm door and bounced on the balls of her feet while she waited.

Theo opened the door. "Am I late?"

"No, but we either need to go now or we'll meet you in the entrance hall soon," Rachel said, knowing that the rest of the fifth year boys would be listening.

"I can be ready now, let me grab my bag and my shoes," Theo said, closing the door.

Rachel checked her watch. The Gryffindors usually got to the Great Hall for breakfast before they did, and she needed to be there first.

The door opened and Theo stepped out and closed it behind him. "I assume there's a reason for the rush?"

Rachel nodded. "Tell you when we get there." She led the way back out of the common room, up the corridor that joined the dungeons to the rest of the school and out into the entrance hall. She hurried to the doors of the Great Hall and scanned the Gryffindor table, but only three people were there and none of them were her friends. There was a stack of Daily Prophets on the end of each table for students to read if they chose to do so. "Okay, we made it. Give me one more minute then I'll explain, wait here."

She left them by the doors, took a paper from the stack at the Hufflepuff table and read the headline. 'Mass Breakout at Azkaban' was accompanied by pictures of the Death Eaters who had been broken out. She rolled up the paper so the headline wasn't visible and went back to her friends.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Millie asked, her gaze going from the paper in her hand back to Rachel's face.

"Pretty bad. Let's move so we can grab the rest of the group before they go into the Great Hall," Rachel said, adjusting where they were standing so they were in view of the bottom of the staircase. She then cast a small privacy ward around the three of them. "The Dark Lord broke his Death Eaters out of Azkaban last night. I'm assuming the people that tortured Neville's parents were among them."

Theo and Millie stared back at her with identical expressions of shock.

"That's what you-" Millie cut herself off.

Right. She hadn't told Millie that Theo knew. "Both of you know about my visions, but no one else in the group does except Ginny. I did see this last night, just before one in the morning. I'm kind of thinking about just telling the entire group."

"Let's hold off on that for right now," Theo said. "I'm not saying you shouldn't, I'm just saying one problem at a time."

Rachel nodded. "I was right though, that we should tell Neville privately?"

"Yes, definitely," Millie said. "I assume it's in the paper?"

Rachel unrolled the paper so they could see the headline.

"The Lestranges, that's who was responsible for torturing Neville's parents, and it looks like all three of them are now loose," Theo said as he looked over the paper.

Rachel moved so that she could see it. "Bellatrix is Sirius' cousin too."

"That sucks," Millie said. "Here, let's put that away until Neville asks to see it."

She quickly rolled the paper back up again. "What do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure there's anything to do except support him and tell him that we'll protect him, just like we protected you when we thought Sirius was after you," Theo said.

"Do you really think the Lestranges will come after Neville now?" Millie asked.

"Hard to say." Theo said. "My father has said that Bellatrix is actually literally crazy, but also that she's the most dangerous woman he knows. Who knows what she'll do? I guess it's a matter of if they went after the Longbottoms just because they were aurors, or if it was a family thing."

Rachel saw their Gryffindor friends coming down the steps and waved at them.

Hermione immediately looked concerned and quickened her pace. "What's going on?" she asked as she hurried up to them, Neville and Ginny close behind.

"We should talk in private. Do we want to wait for Luna first?" Theo asked.

"I'm not sure if Luna was planning to join us for breakfast today. I can send my Patronus to Luna and ask her to meet us on the third floor, or the seventh floor if you want to go there," Ginny suggested.

"Let's say third floor, someone's likely to overhear that and I don't want them to come looking for us. We can meet her on the third and go to the seventh," Theo said.

Rachel nodded. It sounded paranoid, but considering everything happening around them, a little paranoia wasn't a bad thing right now.

"Expecto Patronum," Ginny said after drawing her wand. Her horse appeared. "I've noticed that has gotten easier over time. To Luna Lovegood. Meet us in the usual place on the third floor as soon as you can." Ginny's horse went galloping away.

"Okay, let's go by the study room to wait, and then we'll relocate," Hermione said. "We can get food from the kitchens later if we need to."

As they climbed the staircase, Rachel wondered a little about how easy that all was. She had told Theo and Millie that it was urgent and that she couldn't explain yet, and they had gone along with her. They hadn't even needed to tell the others that it was important enough to skip breakfast, they just understood. And she was certain that Luna would come when she got the Patronus message with no other explanations needed. It was nice to have that level of trust with people.

She knew that Severus and Professor Dumbledore wouldn't want her to tell her friends about the visions. But they were trustworthy. And it was important to her. She was already keeping plenty of secrets from Severus now. And half the group already knew. There wasn't really a reason not to tell them. She just had to find the right time. And a much better way of explaining it to them than how she'd done it with Theo and Ginny. That would be the hard part.

"Let's go inside, just in case there are people about," Hermione said when they reached the third floor study room. They all knew she meant Professor Umbridge. "I miss meeting here. It's right by the library."

"We can come back next year, assuming the next Defense teacher isn't a lunatic too," Theo said.

"I think Professor Dumbledore is arranging for someone from the Order to take it," Rachel said, thinking she vaguely remembered someone saying that.

"Well, whoever it is has to be better than this. I know we said this about Lockhart, but she literally cannot be worse," Ginny said emphatically.

"I think she could be worse if she wanted to," Theo said.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Neville said, grimacing.

The door opened and Luna peered inside. "We're not having breakfast?"

"Not right now at least. Actually, come in, did anyone follow you here?" Hermione asked.

"Not that I saw, and the Muahorns were quiet, so I don't think anyone else was around after I stopped at the third staircase," Luna said, coming further into the room.

Hermione peered out into the hallway. "Was anyone around for the Patronus message?"

"My dormmate Yvonne, but I don't think she recognized your voice, Ginny. She asked me what just happened, I don't think she knew what a Patronus was either. That's the first time she's talked directly to me in almost three years," Luna said.

"What did you tell her?" Millie asked.

Luna looked serene. "I told her that sometimes things like that just happen, and then I left."

Rachel felt the corners of her mouth twitch despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Well, I can't actually say that I blame you," Hermione said, seeming caught between amusement and disapproval. She closed the door and pointed her wand at it. "Conpingo."

Theo flinched. "That's a little close to the Blasting curse, don't you think?"

"It's an advanced locking charm and the wand movement is entirely different," Hermione said, going to take her usual seat. The rest of them took their places around the table as well. "Now, I assume something has happened, so will whoever knows something tell us?"

No one spoke for a moment and Rachel realized that she should be the one to do it. "Last night. The Dark Lord attacked Azkaban. He retrieved some of his Death Eaters and, we think, some Dementors too."

"Some Death Eaters?" Neville asked, his eyes meeting hers.

Rachel nodded. "Including the Lestranges."

There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone took in the information.

"Ministry response?" Hermione asked, her voice faltering.

"I don't know, I haven't read the article yet and Professor Snape just left for an Order meeting. I assume he'll tell me more tonight," Rachel said, not looking away from Neville.

"I need to write a letter to my Gran. I know our wards are good, but I want someone to check them anyway," Neville said.

Rachel nodded. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Neville took an unsteady breath. "Do you think it will be like last time, when they thought Sirius was a Death Eater? They'll have people looking for them?"

"Yes, definitely," Theo said. "Their pictures are already on the front page, I'm sure they're mobilizing the aurors. The Ministry, no matter what they think about the Dark Lord, will want them back in Azkaban as soon as possible. And, we're going to protect you too, just like we protect Rachel."

There were nods around the table.

"Whatever we can help with, we will," Millie agreed.

Neville nodded, but he still looked like he'd had a bad shock.

"At the very least, I think it's unlikely they're heading to Hogwarts. That wouldn't make sense. You said there was an article?" Hermione asked.

Rachel unclenched her hand from the newspaper and handed it down to Hermione.

"Is there anything you want to do, Neville?" Luna asked.

"Just keep things normal, I think. Study. Prepare. I want to prepare," Neville said, nodding.

"We can do that," Ginny said.

Rachel could understand that entirely. Sometimes normal was all you had.


"Close your eyes and start with visualizing your doors," Severus instructed.

Rachel barely avoided sighing as she closed her eyes. It had not been a great day.

"You've seen your doors, you've felt them beneath your hands, you've manipulated them. Go to them."

At least this part was familiar by now. The doors were too big to be real, but she could feel them. She could feel the grain of the wood beneath her fingertips. She could run her hands along them until she found the break where one door ended and the second began. She pushed it open, a bright light appearing between the wooden planks. "Are you in?"

"Yes. You can close the doors if you wish," Severus said.

It should have been hard to close the door, there was no handle, but all she had to do was stop pushing against it and the door closed as if being pressed from the other side.

"Good. You're doing well. You were able to go to the doors and manipulate your shield almost immediately."

Rachel frowned. It had taken three weeks to get to that point. It was almost embarrassing how bad she was at this. She had learned to conjure birds last year in the same amount of time. Why was this so much harder, especially when she was supposed to be a natural occlumens?

"In your mind I want you to find the bottom of the door and crouch down on the stones. Feel the cool of the stones against your hands. Feel the shape of them and the grouting between them."

"What do they look like?" she asked, looking down. She was kind of just hovering by the door, she couldn't see anything beneath her.

"Very similar to the stones here at Hogwarts. They're grey, mostly in the same shade, none are more than about twelve inches in any direction, and they're irregularly shaped. Try keeping one hand on the door to ground yourself to it."

Rachel closed her eyes in her mind, which was a little odd, because her eyes were already closed. She felt the wood grain of the door with her left hand and slowly crouched down and reached out with her right hand. Stone, cool to the touch. The surface was slightly grainy but worn mostly smooth from generations of people treading on it. "I feel the stones."

"Good. Don't open your eyes yet. While you're feeling the stone floor, I want you to visualize it stretching out further than you can reach. On the stone floor are wooden pews in two rows. At the front of the room there is an ornamented wooden pulpit. Behind it are stained glass windows with no discernible pattern."

The strange thing was, she could picture it. She felt like she'd been there before. She opened her eyes and found herself crouching down next to two large wooden doors, in the other direction, the cathedral was just as Severus described and Severus himself was standing next to the nearest pews. "Are we in my mind?"

"Yes, we are. Well done," he said.

"How do I get back out?" she asked. She was a little unsettled by how real this felt. One minute she was in Severus' quarters, sitting on the couch, and now she was in a cathedral that was just the faintest bit familiar.

"All you have to do is picture us sitting in our quarters and open your eyes, but don't do it just yet," he cautioned.

Rachel got to her feet and began looking around. "The stained glass window is wrong."

"I can't make sense of it either. Do you know what it's supposed to represent?"

"No, but I know where we are. This is the cathedral in Surrey. But the stained glass window certainly doesn't look like whatever that is," she said, the memory coming back to her.

Severus looked at her, seeming deep in thought. "I didn't realize you were religious," he said finally.

"I'm not. My relatives only went to church on Christmas Eve and they never took me. When I first started primary school, once a month they'd take us on little trips to places around the town - the grocers, the fire station, a little farm - and we'd learn what people did there. One of the places they brought us was this cathedral. I got lost on the tour and someone found me and brought me back to the school group," she explained.

"How old were you when you started primary school?"

"Four, I think." It seemed like a very long time ago. "Why is this what my mind looks like?"

"Well, you couldn't have developed your mental architecture at four years old, that's simply too young, but it seems that the trip made an impression somewhere in your mind. Usually mental architecture is something that one builds, and depending on the reason you are building your architecture, it serves different purposes. For those defending their minds, it is often filled with traps and misdirections. For those who aren't concerned about defense beyond their shields, it's often a place for memory storage."

Rachel looked around again. "My memories are stored somewhere around here? What do they look like?"

"I'm not sure how you store your memories as I haven't seen them. There are some locked doors in the hallway beyond that door. I presume your memories are kept inside," he said.

"Can I open the locked doors, do I need a key?"

"They should open to your touch. This is your mind. You have control here. If you want the door to open, it will open."

"Can we try?" she asked, curious to see what her memories would look like, though she'd definitely be careful in what she was looking for. There were plenty of memories that she didn't want to disturb.

"Yes. Are you ready to leave this room?" he asked.

"Do I have to visualize the hallway to go through to it?"

"No, now that you're in your mind, it's just like a physical space," he said.

That was a relief. "Yeah, let's go. Why am I in my school uniform? I was wearing trousers and a jumper," she asked as they began to walk down the aisle between the pews.

"For the same reason I'm in my brewing robes. This is how I visualize myself, it's what my mind considers as part of myself. I imagine as you grow older, your image of yourself will change, though that might not happen until you finish at Hogwarts," Severus explained.

"Even if I was in someone else's mind, this is how I would appear?"

"Yes, exactly."

She supposed that made a certain amount of sense. Being a Hogwarts student was a huge part of her life right now. The door opened easily and they stepped out into a plain hallway. She could see that there were several doors set into the stone walls. "Does it matter which door I choose?"

"Given that there are a number of doors, I think it's likely that you have some sort of organization system, likely by topic or chronologically. I don't believe there's any way to know what's inside each one without checking for yourself."

"Is this anything like what your mind looks like?" she asked as they approached the first door.

"No, my architecture is much more aggressive. I designed it with the sole purpose of being inaccessible and keeping people out," he said, sounding a little terse.

Rachel let the subject drop as she considered the door. If this was childhood memories she was leaving as quickly as possible. "Are the memories just going to be flying around in there?"

"Given the organization of your mind, I doubt it. Most likely your mind will have developed some way to store them and perhaps even sort them."

There was only one way to find out. Rachel took the door handle and found that it was locked. "It won't open."

"This is your mind, it can hold no secrets from you. If you want the door to open, think about wanting the door open. Mean it," he instructed.

Rachel tightened her grip on the handle. She wanted to know what was inside. And if it was stuff she didn't want to see, she could leave. But she wanted to know. The handle released and she pushed the door open. It was a relatively small room with bookshelves lining the walls. There was a small window with a bright white light coming through, a wooden desk with a quill and a pile of blank parchment, and a chair in front of the desk. There were bookshelves lining the walls. "I assume my memories are in the books?"

"That's a reasonable assumption. It's a common way of storing memories. Some of my own are stored similarly."

She smiled. "I bet a muggleborn who is taught occlumency could store their memories in a computer. That would confuse almost anyone who was raised in the magical world."

"It certainly would."

A little hesitantly, she stepped up to one of the bookshelves. There were no titles on the books. They were all different types, hardcover and softbound, in different colors, and different thicknesses. She picked a relatively thick hardcover book at random and then yanked her hand back.

"What happened?" Severus asked, sounding slightly alarmed.

"I felt something. A warmth, maybe?" She didn't quite know how to characterize what she'd felt.

"Was it painful?"

"No. Just. I didn't expect it." She put her hand back against the same book and felt the same warmth again, followed by a memory of her and Millie sitting on one of the common room sofas giggling together over something. "Millie."

"You're able to tell what is in the book by touching it?" he asked.

Another memory came, her and Millie leaning over a Defense textbook, figuring out a spell together. Another, Millie hurrying over to her after the second task, carrying her cloak.

Rachel pulled her hand away. "Yeah, just little glimpses. I think this is Millie's book. My memories of Millie are here." She picked up the book and flipped it open. The pages were blank, but the paper was almost textured. She placed her hand on the page. Her and Millie sitting on Millie's bed chatting while Midnight climbed between them.

"Fascinating," Severus said, peering down at the pages.

"If you touch it, will you experience the memories?" she asked, wanting to know.

"I think so, but I'd rather not test it. Your memories are yours and they are private."

Rachel smiled. She was glad of that, even if her memories of Millie were pretty harmless. She put the book back. "Do your books not work like that?"

"No, mine are written accounts of memories, and I can recall the memory from reading them," he explained.

"Are all of your memories like that? You can remember anything?" That seemed pretty unbelievable.

"No, unfortunately occlumency does not give you an eidetic memory. Most of the memories from my early years are sparse at best, I cannot recall books I've read unless I've specifically committed a passage to memory, I can't remember what happened on a random given day. Most memories that you can recall will be experiential or information you have accumulated. If you cannot remember it normally, you won't be able to recall it here either."

She nodded, that made a lot of sense. She paused for a moment and thought of the other rooms down the hallway. "Can I get rid of some books of things I don't want to remember?"

"No," he said firmly. "Do not attempt to do so. Mind Magic isn't just a fancy term for meditation and mental organization. You can do some serious damage to your mind by attempting to erase or change your memories." He paused, his expression softening. "And it would not help. If I could obliviate you of your time with your relatives, I would, but it would not help. You would still have the same feelings, the same nightmares, the same anxieties, but you would not be able to remember why. If helping you was that simple, I would have done it a long time ago."

She fidgeted, wishing she hadn't brought up the subject. "I wish it was that simple."

"Me too. I really do, for both of us, and for many other people besides." He paused again, looking at her. "There is something I must tell you before we proceed."

Rachel felt a small flood of dread. The way he said it meant it was something she wasn't going to want to hear. "What?"

"I've told you before that you have what's called a manifestation, or a guardian, that is guarding the hole in your shields?"

She nodded warily.

"Your manifestation of you is a copy of yourself, except for she appears to be about seven or eight years of age. It is clear from her appearance that she was recently injured. There is a replica of the cupboard from inside your relatives' house, that's where the hole in your shield is. We must convince your manifestation to keep that door closed," he said, watching her closely.

Rachel turned away, moving to the window. There was nothing to see outside the window, it was just a white light pouring in. She didn't want to deal with this. She didn't even want to see it. "Is there any other way?"

"The door must be shut and locked, or somehow built over so that the hole in your shields is closed." His tone was somewhere between firm and gentle, like he couldn't figure out how to approach her.

She folded her arms and bit down on her lip as she thought. "She's not going to stay in the cupboard. My relatives spent ten years trying to keep me in there and it never worked. The locks would come open, or the hinges would break. Once, when I was really upset, I blew the door clean off. Sometimes I didn't care if they were going to punish me, I just had to get out of there so I could breathe."

"Then perhaps we need to relocate your manifestation," he suggested after a long silence.

"Can we do that?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"It is your mind. You can do what you want with it. If you don't want her manifesting there, you can move her somewhere else."

"I think that's better than trying to close the cupboard door while she's in there." Rachel was pretty sure she couldn't bring herself to do that.

"We can go there when you're ready," he said.

Rachel frowned. If they were waiting until she was ready, they weren't going at all. She didn't want to be in here all night. In fact, she wanted out of her own mind as soon as possible. "You can lead me there?"

"Yes. When you're ready," he said again.

"Let's go now. I want to be done," she said, hating the pent up feeling in her chest. She needed to get this over with before anxiety had a chance to take over.

"Alright, if you're certain."

He led the way out of the room and she pulled the door shut behind her. She paused, her hand on the door handle and she thought carefully at it to stay locked and not let anyone inside but her. Her memories were private, even the good ones.

Severus led her down the hallway, through another door, down a flight of stone steps, and then through a branching hallway.

Rachel tried not to let her feet drag as she made out the shape of her cupboard door toward the end of the hall. She was not going in there. Never again was she going to let herself be shut inside a cupboard.

Severus arrived first and pulled the door open a little further.

She came to a stop a few feet away as she stared at the girl inside the cupboard. It was her cupboard, and her cot. The girl was small, only wearing a ragged t-shirt, and she had tear streaks down her face. There were bruises on her arms and legs, and she could see the beginning of one on her shoulder where her shirt met her skin. "Eight years old. This was the summer I stopped talking." She could tell. She remembered well enough to tell.

Severus nodded. "This may have been the age that your mental defenses formed and you made a copy of yourself to function as your guardian."

Rachel pondered that for a moment before dismissing it. Right now she didn't particularly care how her occlumency had come about. She couldn't stop staring. She had been a defenseless child. Seven years later had made a lifetime of difference. She hadn't been able to understand it at the time, she'd known nothing else. But now, she could see.

She took a few steps forward and knelt down next to the cot. She swallowed hard as she realized she could feel tears running down her face. "I looked like this and no one helped me." It was obvious now. How much pain she'd been in, and at the same time, how numb she'd been. She tried to imagine being one of her teachers, or one of her neighbors, and just deciding that this wasn't her problem. She had always believed that what happened at her relatives' house was normal for kids like her, for kids who weren't living with their parents. She couldn't have told her teachers what was wrong. Even during her first year at Hogwarts, even if Severus had asked her, she couldn't have told him.

Severus had knelt down next to her and after a moment he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know this is difficult. Take whatever time you need."

Wiping at her face, Rachel looked at him and then looked back at the cupboard. "The black space, back there, that's the hole in my shield?"

"Yes, I believe so," he said.

"And shutting the door will fix it?" she asked. That seemed almost too simple.

"I believe it will, if we can keep the door locked and closed," he said.

Rachel looked back at the girl, at the manifestation. There was no way in hell she was shutting her inside. "Can you understand me?" she asked.

The manifestation continued to silently cry but gave no sign that she understood.

Rachel turned back to Severus. "Can she understand us? Do manifestations work that way?"

"Manifestations may be able to understand simple commands, but in general their only purpose is to defend the mind. They will attack whoever enters by force. You can control her, just like you did with unlocking the door. Give her space enough to move and then direct her to come out. You may have to touch her," he explained.

Rachel got to her feet and took a step back. "Leave the cupboard. You can come out. Come over here."

The manifestation looked at her but gave no other sign that she knew what was happening.

She stepped forward again, intending to do it just like she had with the door handle, but as soon as she touched the manifestation's arm the girl started screaming. Rachel gasped as she was abruptly back in Severus' quarters, still sitting on the couch.

Severus opened his eyes. "Are you alright? Do you feel anything odd right now? The start of a headache perhaps?"

Rachel paused to assess herself. She felt shaken and uncomfortable, but she thought her head felt okay. "No, I'm alright. What happened?"

"Your manifestation reacted as though we were intruders and ejected us from your mind. She did the same to me last time, but she should not have done it to you," Severus said, sounding both irritated and confused.

"Do we need to try again?" she asked, feeling like she already knew the answer.

"Yes, but not tonight. I need to speak with Albus about this. I have never heard of someone's own manifestation attacking them. It shouldn't be possible." He shook his head.

"Do you have to tell him everything?" She knew that Professor Dumbledore knew enough about her childhood to have helped with Severus adopting her, but Severus had told her that he didn't know most of it.

"I do not have to tell him what your manifestation looks like, only what we attempted to do," he said.

She nodded. That was probably about as good as she was going to get. "I didn't mean to upset her, I was just going to try the same thing I did with the door handle."

"I know, and it should have worked. Are you certain you feel alright?" he pressed.

"Yes. Mostly just glad to be out of there. Do you think I'll have nightmares again, because we disturbed the manifestation?" The ones last time had been bad and she didn't particularly want to deal with that again.

"It's a possibility, I do not know."

Maybe she just wouldn't sleep tonight. She had plenty of reviewing and reading that she could do and it wouldn't kill her to skip one night of sleep. Better than the nightmares. There was also the possibility of taking a Dreamless Sleep potion, but she hadn't quite worked her way up to trying that again either.

"Is there anything you wish to speak about?" he prompted.

"Not really. I just want to take a break for a little while. I'm going to go meet my friends if there's nothing else." At least now she could relay what Severus had told her about the Death Eater breakout. It wasn't much that they didn't already know, but it was something.

"Please let me know if you need anything." He was watching her intently, like he wanted something from her.

She didn't know what it was. "I will. I'm just going to take a break before classes tomorrow." She stood. "I'll see you later."

"You will," he agreed.

She left before he could offer to walk her to the common room. She didn't need an escort for a five minute walk down the corridor. She took a minute outside his office door and just breathed. If she could put all that away from her thoughts for a while, that would be enough. She just had to get the image of her younger self out of her head.