Rachel checked the map one more time. The problem was she couldn't find Professor Umbridge anywhere. She wasn't in her office, she wasn't in her private quarters, she wasn't in the hallways. She just wasn't anywhere. Mr. Filch was down in his own office, along with Mrs. Norris - they probably wouldn't leave until close to curfew.
"We need to ask Sirius and Remus if there's any way for people to hide from this map," she said. "Do you see her anywhere?"
Millie shook her head. "Well, we already know of one way, it doesn't show anyone in the Room of Requirement. If she's found somewhere that isn't on the map, she could be there. Or she could be away from Hogwarts right now. I think we need to send people back, we can't keep them here all night and if we don't send them now we're going to start running into curfew problems." Millie covered her left hand with her right, frowning.
"I suppose we don't have any other choice," Rachel agreed. She went back inside the Room of Requirement and went to where Hermione and Theo were standing. "We can't find Professor Umbridge, but we've got to start sending people back."
"Inquisitorial Squad members?" Theo asked.
"All accounted for as far as we know, either in the library or in their common rooms," Millie said.
"Okay everyone, we're sending people out in one minute intervals. Younger students, try to go with an upper year if you can, in groups no bigger than five," Hermione called.
"I think that went well," Luna said as she came over to them. "For the most part, people seemed to get more accurate as they practiced."
"Good. Accuracy and then speed, according to the book I read," Hermione said as she nodded.
"Goodnight," Colin called to them as he left with Dennis, Lee Jordan, and the twins.
Rachel waved instead of calling back and then she checked the map again. Still no sign of Professor Umbridge. She wondered if Severus and Professor Dumbledore knew that Professor Umbridge was out of the castle, but she couldn't think of a way to tell them that didn't reveal the map.
"I'll take the lower year Slytherins," Tracey said as she came up to them. "Are we ready?"
Hermione checked her watch. "Should be fine, they should be far enough now."
"Thanks," Rachel said. She thought they'd be safer with an Inquisitorial Squad member anyway.
Slowly the room emptied out and Rachel found herself wishing that the DA met more than once a week. It was definitely too dangerous to do it more often than they already were, but increasingly the DA meetings had become the least stressful part of her week except for flying.
"Do you three want to go first?" Neville asked.
"No, you've got further to go if you're taking Luna back to Ravenclaw," Millie said.
"We'll walk down with them," Cedric said, approaching with Martin and Heidi. "We've still got thirty minutes before curfew, and our common room is fairly close to the dungeons, we should be fine."
"That works for everyone then?" Hermione said, looking around.
"We'll be fine. Make a note when you get back to your common rooms like usual," Theo said.
They had taken to leaving small notes in their two way books each evening they had the DA so that they all knew they'd made it back safely. Rachel thought they needed a better system but their jewelry project was still in limbo. Sirius had said that he and Remus would experiment and let them know what they came up with, but it had only been a week since she'd asked them if they'd known of a way.
"We'll see you after breakfast for the Quidditch match tomorrow," Ginny said. "Good luck, Cedric. You too, Heidi."
"Thanks," Cedric said, though Heidi moaned and covered her face.
Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Luna left and Rachel took a peek at her map again. Mr. Filch was still in his office, Inquisitorial Squad members had all stayed put, no sign of Professor Umbridge. She folded it without clearing it, wanting it on hand in case they needed to run.
"Not looking forward to the game?" Theo asked Heidi.
"We'll be fine," Cedric said, before Heidi could reply.
"Sure, for you. Cho won't break up with you if we win," Heidi said.
"You should break up with Matthew anyway," Martin said. "We've been telling you this for weeks now."
"I don't want to break up with him, he'll get over it. And we will win. We'd better win," Heidi said, poking Cedric with her elbow.
"I'll do my best. Seeker competition is tough in this school," Cedric said, nodding to Rachel.
Rachel decided to stay well out of this conversation. She knew practically nothing about dating and from everything she had heard, it sounded kind of ridiculous.
"As long as you're not stupid about it," Heidi said. "I think we're safe to head out."
"One second," Rachel said, turning her back and then checking the map again. As far as she could tell, everything was still the same. She folded the map back up. "We should be good to go."
"I have to admit, I'm curious about how exactly you know when it's safe for us to go, but obviously it's a secret," Cedric said as they left.
"Unfortunately it is a secret," she said. She trusted Cedric, but the map was more private than that.
"As long as it works, you'll get no argument from me," Martin said. "I think we've all been doing well to keep it a secret this long. And having Inquisitorial Squad members on our side has to help."
"Tough spot for them to be in though," Heidi said sympathetically.
"We'll make it work," Theo said. "We're doing our best to keep everyone safe."
"You're doing good," Cedric said. "It's a big operation to pull right under Professor Umbridge's nose. And I think it's important. We've noticed that people are improving, and you've taught the lower years a lot of spells that they'd be missing. Are you planning to keep the DA after Professor Umbridge is gone?"
Rachel hadn't thought that far ahead yet. "We'll have to see what the new Defense instructor is like, but I think it would be good if we did. It's a lot more practical than most Defense classes we've had."
"I think you should. There hasn't been a Defense club the entire time we've been here and it's clearly useful," Martin said.
"I think we should too," Millie said, looking at Rachel. "I don't see why we couldn't?"
"Let's see what the new school year brings. I'd rather see what the new Defense professor is like before we even try to make a decision like that," Theo said, turning to look back at both of them.
"That's reasonable. Though, I can't see how they can possibly be worse than Professor Umbridge. She's a terrible teacher and, well…" Heidi trailed off with a look at Rachel and Millie. "She just shouldn't be a professor."
"What do you think the curse is going to do to her?" Martin asked.
Theo's expression changed to something that was somewhere between grim and bloodthirsty. "I have a number of ideas that I wouldn't object to."
Millie hunched her shoulders. "I don't think I'd particularly object to some things either."
Rachel had the mental image of Professor Umbridge being tossed out the front doors of the castle and the House Elves tossing her bags after her. She wouldn't mind seeing that. She also wouldn't mind a front page headline in the Daily Prophet saying that Professor Umbridge was a horrible person.
"Whatever it does, I hope it does it soon. We have four and a half more months of her," Heidi said as they reached the bottom of the staircase in the entrance hall.
She was about to turn to say goodnight to Cedric and the others when she noticed one of the front doors to the castle slowly opening. It had to be Professor Umbridge returning. "Run!"
"This way, hurry," Cedric said, grabbing Rachel by her arm and pulling her in the direction of the door to the left. "Martin, bring up the rear, make sure we have everyone!"
"Quick," Heidi said, right behind them.
"I've got them," Martin said, his voice hushed as he pulled the door shut behind them. "Let's get into the common room, she might have seen the door move."
"Everyone okay?" Theo asked.
"Okay," Millie asked, sounding shaken.
"Rachel?" Theo prompted.
"I'm okay," she said, though she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She knew they weren't doing anything wrong, they had another fifteen minutes until curfew, but she was also sure Professor Umbridge would come up with something.
"Let's go, it's not far," Cedric said. He had released Rachel's arm and was leading them down the hall. They reached the small alcove with the pile of barrels after a short brisk walk.
Cedric tapped out a rhythm on the barrels and the barrels lifted up to reveal a doorway.
"That's a great password system," Theo said.
"Takes a little while for the first years to get the hang of it, but it works pretty well," Cedric said. "Roland says the Ravenclaws have to answer a riddle every time they want in their common room. Come on in, we can wait until she's gone upstairs."
Rachel followed Cedric into the Hufflepuff common room and looked around. There were lots of low tables surrounded by comfy looking sofas with knitted blankets over the backs and armchairs with cushions, two fireplaces, one at each end of the common room, and several bookcases filled with books. A large portrait of Helga Hufflepuff was above one of the fireplaces and she was smiling as she watched the students. Rachel could see some of the lower years gathered in groups, playing games or chatting, and some of the upper years were still doing homework. It was very cozy and a fair bit less formal than the Slytherin common room.
Annabel, the seventh year Hufflepuff girls prefect, hurried over to them. "Is everything alright, Cedric?"
"We're sheltering them until Professor Umbridge is further away," Cedric said, meeting her eyes and nodding.
"Of course, of course they're welcome here. Stay as long as you need," Annabel told them. "When I heard what she'd done to Emily, and to you, I was so mad." She shook her head violently.
"They'll be safe here. I'll walk them down to the Slytherin common room once it's safe to do so," Cedric said.
"Good," she said to Cedric. "We talked with Professor Sprout about everything, and while she says that Professor Dumbledore told Professor Umbridge that she can't hurt students, we all think that she's not to be trusted at all. We appreciate you warning the prefects so we could warn our House. It couldn't have been easy."
Rachel shrugged, feeling a little uncomfortable. "We just wanted to make sure everyone knew to avoid her, or to be on their best behavior when they couldn't."
Millie nodded. "It was necessary. We don't want that to happen to anyone else."
Annabel smiled. "Either way, thank you. I'll leave you in Cedric's capable hands."
Rachel glanced at Cedric as Annabel left and Cedric just smiled.
"Annabel is a little direct, but her heart is in the right place," he said. "She was heartbroken for about a day when Jennifer got the Head Girl spot instead of her, but now they're best friends."
"How do you like being Head Boy?" Theo asked.
"It's not too different from my prefect duties, but I try to make myself available to students from other Houses as well," Cedric said modestly.
"What he means is it's a lot of work," Martin said.
"It can be," Cedric agreed.
"Everything alright?" Susan asked as she and Hannah approached.
"Nearly ran into Professor Umbridge in the entrance hall," Heidi said. "It was a close call. You had no problems getting back?"
"No, it was quiet," Hannah said. "Rachel and Millie can bunk with us if they need to stay here tonight, and I'm sure the boys will take you in, Theo."
"We've got to get back to our common room, our prefects will report us missing if we don't show up," Millie said.
"Thank you though," Rachel added.
"Let us know if we can do anything," Susan said before leaving with Hannah.
"Rachel, I think it's time to check and see where we're at," Theo said.
"Sure, just a moment," she said, turning her back on everyone and opening the map again. Professor Umbridge had gone up to her private quarters. Mr. Filch had left his office and was with Mrs. Norris on the fifth floor. All the Inquisitorial Squad members were now in their common rooms. "We should be good to go if we hurry."
"Let's go then. I'll see you back here in about twenty minutes, send Annabel after me if I don't show up in thirty," Cedric instructed Heidi and Martin.
"Will do," Heidi said.
They made their way back out of the Hufflepuff common room.
"Your common room is very cozy," Rachel said to Cedric as they started back toward the entrance hall.
"Professor Sprout really tries to make it a home away from home for everyone. I know the whole 'your House is your family' is a little cliche, but all us prefects really try to make it that way. A lot of the first years are a little scared at first and need guidance and reassurance, and we give that to them as much as possible," Cedric explained. "It's said that the Slytherin prefects run a pretty tight ship too."
"They do, we have mandatory study groups with prefects and upper year students for the first and second years and not much happens in Slytherin House without Professor Snape hearing about it," Theo said.
"That's good. Hermione was telling me that the prefects are a little less involved in Gryffindor, but I know she and Neville are working to change that," Cedric said.
"They're trying. For how strict she is, it seems like Professor McGonagall is pretty hands off with her House," Millie said, pausing in the entrance hall to look up the staircase.
Rachel put her hand on Millie's shoulder. "Want to check the map for yourself?" she asked quietly.
Millie shook her head. "Let's just go."
Cedric watched this, but didn't comment. "Professor McGonagall is pretty overloaded. She's a full time teacher of a core subject, a Head of House, and has Deputy Headmistress duties. Sometimes I think it would be better if we had staff members who were just Heads of Houses."
"It would probably help their workload," Rachel said. It seemed like Severus' work was never done. She couldn't imagine if he had another set of duties on top of that.
They let Cedric walk them all the way back to Curbin's portrait.
"Thanks for bringing us here," Rachel said, looking up at him.
"No problem. Stay safe," he said. "I'll go so you don't have to worry about me hearing your password."
"Goodnight, Cedric," Theo called.
"Goodnight!"
When Cedric had rounded the corner they went the ten feet down to the actual entrance to their common room.
"Alea iacta est," Millie said, revealing the entrance to the common room. "Why are Professor Snape's passwords always in latin?"
"No idea, never asked," Rachel said, checking her watch. They were seven minutes past curfew, which wasn't too bad all things considered.
Tracey hurried over to them. "We were getting worried when you didn't show up. What happened?" she asked quietly.
"Near miss with Professor Umbridge, we had to hide," Theo explained.
"I'm glad you made it. If anyone asks, I just told you off for being late and said that I'd report you if it happens again," Tracey said, touching her Inquisitorial Squad pin.
"Thanks," Rachel said.
"I think I'm done for the night," Theo said once Tracey had returned to the other prefects.
"Me too. Goodnight," she said.
"Goodnight," Millie echoed. "It's a good thing Cedric is so nice."
"It is," Rachel agreed as they made their way toward their dorm. She'd lost track of the number of times he'd helped her over the years. But she would always remember the first time when he saved her life. "Sometimes I wish people didn't have to leave Hogwarts."
Millie laughed and shook her head. "I think you'd have to be pretty mean to condemn someone to an eternity of school."
Rachel smiled. "That's true. And we'll finish at Hogwarts soon enough ourselves." Her smile faded. She had been trying not to think too closely about what would happen after that, but every night her thoughts inevitably wound up on the idea that they wanted her to kill the Dark Lord and how it was impossible.
"Don't tell Hermione that, she'll want to start studying for our NEWTs now," Millie said.
"Let's not think about NEWTs until we have to." She couldn't handle thinking about one more thing right now.
Rachel was thoroughly bundled up in preparation for watching the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw match. She was wearing her boots, though there wasn't a lot of snow left, her thick winter cloak, her Slytherin scarf, and had her knit gloves and hat. It was still early February and even though the sun was shining it would be cold outside.
"Want in on the betting pool?" Draco asked as he sat down across from them.
"You're running a betting pool on the Quidditch match?" Millie asked.
"Just a small, informal, in House thing, no need to get your knickers in a twist," Draco said.
"Do not mention knickers at the dining table," Pansy said, giving Draco a dark look.
"Fine. Fine. Odds are pretty good on Cho getting the Snitch, but I also have bets open on the Chaser scores. Theo, you in?" Draco asked.
"No, thanks. I don't care enough about Quidditch to bet on it," Theo said.
"Rachel?" Draco prompted.
She shook her head. "You're nuts if you think Professor Snape won't find out about this."
"He won't, most of the other prefects have already placed bets, they're not going to tell him. And you aren't either." He didn't quite make it a question.
"I won't, but he has eyes and ears everywhere." Rachel knew for sure that Curbin reported what he saw to Severus.
"Let's just eat in peace, please," Pansy said. "Draco, we were going to talk about what we wanted to do for Hogsmeade weekend. It's next week."
"What did you want to do?" Draco asked.
Rachel looked to the side in time to see Millie shaking her head and Theo rolling his eyes.
"We should go to Madam Puttifoot's. It will be decorated for Valentine's Day," Pansy said, smiling at Draco.
Draco looked noticeably less enthused, but he nodded. "If you like."
"And we can take a private walk, it will still be a bit chilly, but we can go warm up with butterbeer afterward," Pansy continued. "Just you and me."
"Okay," Draco agreed.
"Looks like the Gryffindors are waiting for us," Theo said.
Rachel turned and saw that Hermione, Neville, and Ginny were waiting near the doors and Luna was walking toward them.
"You're going to go watch in the Gryffindor stands? Shouldn't you be with us to talk strategy as we watch the Ravenclaws play?" Draco asked as Rachel got up.
"We can discuss it tomorrow at practice. Just watch the Chasers and their Keeper. I've already asked Scarlett and Stephen to watch the Beaters," Rachel said, getting a nod from Pansy. She clearly had wanted to sit with Draco.
Theo waited until they were away from the table. "I don't know how I feel sorrier for, Draco or Pansy."
"I'm just glad it's not me," Millie said, shaking her head.
"I don't care as long as they keep it out of the Quidditch team and the dorm room," Rachel said. She was not going to make Draco and Pansy's relationship her problem. She had absolutely no clue how to help them and she strongly suspected they wouldn't want her help anyway.
"You should tell Draco to get Pansy flowers or jewelry for Valentine's Day," Millie told Theo.
"And why should I do that?" Theo asked as they came to a stop next to the study group.
"Because Pansy will expect it and if it doesn't happen all of us are going to wind up listening to them bicker until Easter," Millie said.
"A lot of girls do appreciate that sort of thing, especially for Valentine's," Ginny agreed.
"It is rather traditional. My dad always buys my mom a small bouquet and chocolates for Valentine's day," Hermione said.
"I just don't understand why I'm the one who has to tell Draco this. Shouldn't he already know?" Theo asked.
Neville shrugged. "If I was dating a girl, I'd probably want someone to tell me what is generally expected of me. I mean, some stuff is pretty obvious, but a lot of it isn't."
"It depends a lot on the person in question. You have to get to know them to know what they want and to see if that's what you want too," Luna said with a thoughtful smile.
"Why can't Rachel tell him that then, she's his friend and she knows Pansy better than I do," Theo said, turning to Rachel.
Rachel shook her head. "I am not discussing dating with Draco. Or with anyone. I'm sure he can figure it out. Let's go get good seats while it's not too crowded."
"Sometimes I think he likes you better than he likes Pansy," Millie said as they left the Great Hall. "You never see him asking Pansy to brew potions with him."
"Draco likes to brew potions with me because I'll talk about Quidditch with him. I asked," Rachel said, wanting to put a stop to this ridiculousness. "He doesn't like me like that at all."
Theo's shoulders relaxed slightly. "That's good. I kind of figured as much."
"If we're done discussing Draco's love life," Hermione began, looking amused, "do we want to go visit Hagrid after the game assuming it doesn't last for more than two hours?"
"Sounds good to me," Neville said.
"I'd like that," Rachel agreed, pulling on her hat and gloves now that they were outside.
"And after that we've got a Transfiguration essay, Arithmancy equations, and Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy OWL studying," Hermione listed. "I think we should be done by seven thirty or eight tonight, so we can take a little break."
Millie sighed. "Four and a half months and then we can really take a break."
"Then we have to pick our NEWT classes," Hermione said.
"I don't think I want to think about that just yet," Neville said.
"Don't worry too much about it. We've got time and our sixth years always swamp Professor Snape at the start of the year for schedule changes, so you have room to change your mind after you get your OWL scores," Theo said, patting Neville's shoulder.
"I almost wish I could take my OWLs with all of you. I feel like I'm basically ready," Ginny said, turning around so she was walking backwards and could see them. "Professor McGonagall told me I was a year ahead in the Transfiguration curriculum, and I feel like I'm at the same level in my other classes."
"Professor Flitwick told me the same about Charms and said I should try to take a break from time to time," Luna said.
"That's so good though. Think of how prepared you'll be when it really comes time to take your OWLs. I do wish we would have started preparing last year," Hermione said.
"Nope, and we're not doing NEWT reviews until seventh year either," Theo said firmly. "I've talked to a lot of the upper years, NEWT classes aren't anything to mess around with. We'll have plenty of homework."
They reached the Gryffindor section of the Quidditch stands and Rachel eyed the opening warily. She'd been okay when she'd gone up for the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw game in December - her chest and throat had felt tight, but otherwise she'd managed. And there weren't too many people around yet.
"Let's try to get seats at the top," Ginny said, disappearing up the staircase.
Rachel took a breath and followed. She kept her gaze focused up ahead, trying to ignore the walls on either side of her. She was fine, she wasn't really contained. She could move backwards or forwards just fine. At the turn of the third and last set of stairs she gasped and brought her hands to her forehead. Her scar was burning and she felt like she'd just been whacked across the forehead.
"Rachel? You okay?" Millie asked from behind her.
"Just a sudden headache," she said, forcing herself to stand straight.
"Do you want to go back?" Millie asked.
"No, we're nearly there." Rachel forced herself up the last flight of stairs and out into the stands. The bright daylight made her wince. She spotted Ginny at the top of the stands and followed her up there.
"You look like you're in pain," Ginny said as soon as she reached her at the top.
"Sudden headache," Rachel said, taking a seat. Both Severus and Professor Dumbledore had asked her to keep track of what her scar was doing, but it had never burned like this before except for after a vision. Maybe if she'd been asleep right now she would be having a vision?
Theo sat down next to her. "You're holding your scar. Is that what hurts?" he asked quietly.
"That too, but mostly a headache now," she said. The burning wasn't as painful as it had been when it started.
"Should one of us get Professor Snape?" he asked.
"No. If it gets worse, I'll go to him. I'll go see him after the game anyway." She pulled her hand away from her scar. The cold air actually felt kind of good against it.
"Alright, but if you pass out or something, I'm sending my Patronus straight to him," Theo said.
"If I pass out, please do," Rachel agreed. She certainly hoped it didn't get to that point.
She half listened while her friends idly chatted and watched as the stands slowly filled with students. Somehow it almost seemed like there were more of them out here than when all the students were gathered in the Great Hall.
"Hey Rachel!"
Rachel winced and looked in Ron's direction. "Yeah?"
"Cho or Cedric for the Snitch?" he called.
She weighed the two in her mind. Cho was faster, but both of them were good Seekers. "Hard to say, but my guess is Cedric this time."
"We'll see," he called back.
"What do you think it's like, playing against your boyfriend?" Ginny mused.
"Probably not that different from any of us Seeking against each other. We're all friends," Rachel said.
"Well, there's friends and then there's boyfriends," Ginny said. "I don't know that I'd want to kiss someone who just beat me to the Snitch."
Rachel made a face. She didn't want to kiss anyone at all. "Well, they've been dating for over a year, I'm sure they've figured something out."
"I guess. I don't see myself dating a Quidditch player, but I'd want them to have at least some interest in Quidditch," Ginny replied after a moment.
Their conversation was interrupted by the teams entering the pitch and Rachel winced at the cheering. This was going to be an unpleasant game with the throbbing in her head. Hopefully Cedric and Cho made it quick.
Ravenclaw's Chasers were in good form, but Hufflepuff was standing their ground pretty well. The Beaters were slightly messier on both teams. Hufflepuff's new Keeper needed some work, but they weren't terrible. Cedric and Cho were both circling like vultures. They were both talented fliers so a lot of this would be down to luck.
"There they go," Ginny said about an hour into the game, hopping to her feet.
Rachel stood as well, feeling a little dizzy. Cedric had the lead but Cho was gaining on him fast. She couldn't see the Snitch from here, but she could read their body language. Cedric was trying to block Cho from getting closer and was doing a decent job, but he needed to be careful not to send her off course at these speeds. She shielded the sun from her eyes with her hand and smiled when she saw Cedric swoop forward. That was the game, with Hufflepuff winning by 90 points.
She sat back down and she was fairly certain the ringing in her ears was from her headache rather than from the cheering in the stands. Her scar was still burning. Whatever the Dark Lord was doing, it was taking a while. "Can we wait until the stands clear out before we go down?" she asked anyone who was listening.
"Sure," Theo said, sitting down next to her. "How's your head?"
"I'm going to go see Professor Snape for a Pain Relieving potion once we're out of here," she said. And to tell him about her scar. Maybe they could figure out what was happening with the Dark Lord.
Severus let himself into Headquarters early on Sunday morning. Thankfully this was one of the planned Order meetings rather than one necessitated by emergency. He strongly suspected the next emergency they faced was either going to be the death of the Minister or the loss of their block in the Wizengamot and he looked forward to neither. While he had a strong distaste for Fudge, the death of the Minister was going to disturb their already fragile government and would spell outright war, regardless of who killed him. He wondered if Fudge was intelligent enough to recognize the hair's breadth that his life currently dangled on or if he was truly utterly oblivious.
The kitchen was already crowded when he arrived and he took up his customary place against the back wall. No one else from Hogwarts was there, which wasn't a surprise. Severus was sure Albus kept Minerva and Poppy up to date, but it was wise for them not to leave the school. As it was he felt uncomfortable leaving Rachel in the school at the same time as Umbridge without him being present, but he knew at the current time she was tucked away with her friends somewhere hidden in the school and he would be back well before she emerged for lunch.
"Severus," Arthur said, approaching with his hands full. "Tea and scones, with regards from Molly."
"Thank you," Severus said, accepting the cup and saucer.
"How fares Hogwarts these days?" Arthur asked as he stood next to Severus, cradling his own cup of tea.
"We are managing," he said, recognizing that Arthur was looking for something in particular, but unsure of what it was.
"Ginny wrote to me, a little while ago, and I have to say I was concerned about what she said. I haven't wanted to speak to Albus since he has so much on his plate at the moment, and I didn't want to put it into a letter to Minerva." Arthur paused, his gaze moving over the room as if checking to see who might be listening to his words. "Ginny wrote to me for advice, though she asked me not to share it with Molly as she believed it would upset her."
"Oh?" Severus asked.
"Ginny said that this Umbridge woman was forcing students to write lines for hours with a blood quill. She said that it hadn't happened to her, but to two of her friends. Usually, with my lot, I try to take what they say with a grain of salt, but either she doesn't understand what she's saying or she's telling me that students are essentially being tortured by their Defense professor," Arthur said quietly. "I don't suppose you can shed any light on this?"
"I'm afraid it's true. I learned of this myself three weeks ago and it turns out that she has done this to nine students, including four in my House. I raised the issue with Albus immediately and he has informed Umbridge that it won't be tolerated," Severus said, pitching his voice low so that they were less likely to be overheard.
Arthur looked pained before he resettled his expression to something more neutral. "Do you know if any of my children have been subject to this? I know Fred and George are likely candidates for riling any professor."
"No. Only three of the students involved were Gryffindors and none were your children," Severus said, wishing he could say the same about himself. Rachel had seemed to move past the experience without much difficulty, but she was also not one to say when something was bothering her.
Arthur nodded. "Is there a reason this information hasn't been made public?"
"By this point all the students know and some have undoubtedly told their parents. I'm certain whoever the Daily Prophet's source at Hogwarts is has told them about it, but they are disinclined to print anything that shows the Ministry in a negative light at the moment." He was deeply curious about who the source at Hogwarts was. He was relatively certain it wasn't one of his Slytherins, but whoever it was had hid their connections very well. For once, they could at least rule out the Defense professor as a suspect.
"Are you aware of what avenues Albus has explored to get rid of this woman?" Arthur pressed.
"Albus, myself, and Minerva have explored all available options short of life threatening. It seems we will simply have to wait for the curse to do its work." He had seen the curse work in various ways over the years. It was rare that it involved death - only four times in the last thirty years - but without fail it removed one Defense professor after another.
"May I ask you to write me if one of my children does fall afoul of her?"
"If I am made aware, I certainly will," Severus agreed. He could do that much at least.
"Thank you," Arthur said quietly.
The room grew quiet and Severus turned to watch as Albus entered the room.
"A few routine items," Albus began as he took his place next to the fireplace. "The aurors are reporting two more disappearances within the Ministry. One is a pure-blood man from the MLE patrol. One is a muggleborn woman from the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. At this time we have no theories or connections to the other missing people, which now total eleven."
"Bradley Hughes, from the MLE patrol, was known to be a supporter of Albus. He was engaged to muggleborn," Shacklebolt added. "He's been missing five days now. The aurors are assuming abduction at this point. Whether or not these people are still alive, well, given the time frame of these abductions, it's not likely unless the Death Eaters have some purpose for them."
Hestia stepped forward. "Are the abductions just Ministry employees, or are there other abductions that aren't being reported?"
Shacklebolt shook his head. "We haven't seen any unexplained murders or abductions that we can't trace to another source. Just these eleven, all from the Ministry."
"Are there any departments they are focusing specifically on? Or departments that might indicate what they want from these people?" Arthur asked.
"Three total from MLE departments now, but none of them worked together. But the others are seemingly random, which is suspicious in and of itself," Tonks supplied.
"Have any Unspeakables been reported missing?" Severus asked, though he thought Albus would have told him if there had been.
"No, no one from the Department of Mysteries," Albus said. "We welcome any theories as to why these specific people or if there is a pattern any of you can discern. Moving on. We've successfully provided protection to Wizengamot members Jenkins, Bryant, and Davies. With Bill's help we've upgraded the wards on all of their homes and have prepared emergency evacuation and assistance plans for them. With these reassurances, they are willing to continue voting with us."
"Meaning that we're blocking measures by two votes at the moment. While we have a fragile peace right now, we should expect attacks and more pressure on the people voting with us soon," Black added.
"Sirius is right," Sturgis said. "While we have open lines of communication with all of them, we need to continue to check in on them regularly. We can't afford to be surprised in a Wizengamot session."
Albus nodded once. "I believe Kingsley has an update on the situation with the aurors."
Shacklebolt stepped up so everyone could see him clearly. "The Azkaban breakout has swayed some of the aurors. We have some hold outs, maybe a third of us, who still believe it's a group of Death Eaters working together, but I can say with confidence that Head Auror Scrimgeour recognizes the situation for what it is. He won't join us, but he's taking a hard line in searching for the escapees. He recently brought a proposal to Fudge asking that the homes of any accused Death Eater be searched, but it was denied. It won't be brought before the Wizengamot either."
Severus inclined his head. That was to be expected, but having the Head Auror aware and on their side was an unexpected boon. If they had control over the aurors and the MLE patrol, they had a reasonable force on their side.
"Emmaline, what about the MLE patrol?" Hestia asked.
"If people believe You-Know-Who has returned, they're keeping it quiet, but it's not spoken of with the same derision it used to be either. Department Head Cole runs a tight ship, but she won't say one way or another. We have a board up with the disappearances, and it's being assumed that they're connected, but no one is saying Death Eaters yet," Emmaline explained.
"For now, continue as you have been. Don't reveal your hand," Albus instructed. "Any other business that we should discuss today?"
Severus took a step forward. "Was anything reported as happening yesterday, either in the morning or before noon?" He watched as people looked around and shook their heads. Apparently nothing that had yet been reported.
"Continue to keep your eyes out, you know how to make a report if need be. Until next time," Albus said, meeting Severus' eyes.
Severus nodded, knowing that Albus was asking him to stay.
"I'm afraid I have things to see to, but I'll let you know if I hear anything that concerns Rachel," Arthur said.
"Thank you, I appreciate that," Severus said. He always was grateful for a head's up when the Daily Prophet was about to do something stupid concerning his child.
People chatted idly as the room slowly emptied. Severus froze as he saw Black and Lupin approaching.
Black thrust a small brown paper package in his direction. "Can you give this to Rachel? I'm told the owl post is being searched."
That was news to Severus, but he was unsurprised. "That depends on what it is."
"She asked us to look into a problem for her and we did. It's to help her and her friends ask for help if they need it. Sirius and I kept one each, and there's one for you as well since you can get to her faster than we can," Lupin said.
"The jewelry she requested," Severus realized out loud. He took the package, despite being wary of accepting things from Black. He very much doubted they would prank Rachel when she was asking for help.
"Activation instructions are inside the package along with the runes we selected for ourselves. I'm sure you can figure it out, but if you can't, have Rachel ask," Black said, sounding annoyed. "How is she?"
"Rachel is well, as I'm sure she would tell you herself if you asked," Severus said stiffly.
"I am sure that is what she would say to me, which is why I'm asking you," Black replied.
So it wasn't just him that she told that she was 'fine' when she was clearly not. Interesting. "Rachel is under an immense amount of stress, as you are certainly aware. She is doing as well as anyone would be under such circumstances," he said, reaching the end of his patience.
"We are merely concerned," Lupin said. "We do understand that she's under a lot of pressure. If there's anything we can do, if there's anything she needs, we want to help."
Severus nodded ever so slightly. "I'm sure she appreciates that and if she needs something she will ask." He hoped as much at least. He didn't even mind so much her asking Black and Lupin as long as she asked someone who was an adult. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
They stepped away and Severus moved past them with a stiff neck and back to reach Albus. Twenty years later and he still hated turning his back on them.
Albus cast a privacy ward around them. "You inquired about yesterday morning. Is there something I should know?"
"Rachel felt burning in her scar from just before the Quidditch match started until about thirty minutes after it ended, accompanied by a bad headache," Severus explained.
"Did her scar look inflamed as it does after her visions?"
"It did. She suspected that if she had been asleep during that time, she would have had a vision. I think that's a reasonable assumption."
Albus nodded. "That seems reasonable to me as well. How is her occlumency progressing?"
"Slowly. Right now we are working on creating and changing the environment within Rachel's mental architecture, with the goal of closing the hole in her shield. We are unable to move her manifestation. Every attempt ends with us being removed from her mind. I still do not understand how her own manifestation can attack her." He had reviewed several texts on occlumency and legilimency and nothing he could find suggested that such a thing was possible.
"I do not understand it myself. And Rachel has tried this without your presence?"
"Yes, both with me there and without, with the same result."
Albus looked thoughtful. "I do not believe I have a close enough relationship with Rachel that she would allow me to enter her mind. And perhaps it would be unwise regardless. How is she doing with what you discussed with her?"
"She still does not believe she can kill the Dark Lord. She is humoring me, but I can tell that she still believes this to be a death sentence for her." It had become yet another topic that Rachel was unwilling to discuss much with him.
"Would you like me to speak with her about it?" Albus asked.
"Not at this time. Perhaps over the summer she will be more willing to see things holistically. I intend to spend a large portion of this summer in training with her, I would like her to gain some confidence in her skills."
"It's possible for other members of the Order to train with her as well. She might take well to young Tonks, and the others will have things to teach her as well," Albus suggested.
"Not Moody," Severus said firmly. "She is quite frightened of him and I will not subject her to that while she is supposed to be gaining confidence. Perhaps Tonks or Emmaline. Possibly Sturgis."
"As you wish," Albus said. "I will be away from Hogwarts for the remainder of the day, but both you and Minerva can reach me in an emergency."
"Of course." He hoped there would be no such emergency. They desperately needed a quiet month at Hogwarts. At this point he'd take a quiet week. "I will speak with you another time."
"Another time," Albus agreed.
The privacy ward dropped and Severus left before anyone else could intercept him. He was needed back at Hogwarts.
"Let me check something first," Cassius said once they reached the vacant classroom that the prefects used for their meetings.
Rachel stood and waited as Cassius moved around the classroom twitching his wand. She wasn't entirely sure how she was the one who had been chosen to be the connection to their spies within the Inquisitorial Squad, but she didn't mind. She just hoped that she could be counted on to make good decisions. This whole spying thing was a little beyond her skill range.
"Close and lock the door, we should be fine in here," Cassius finally said.
Tristram pulled the door closed and aimed his wand at it. "We won't be disturbed. Diane is in detention and Pansy is with the second years running the Charms study group."
"Speaking of which, does anyone know what Diane did to wind up with month of detention but not have her prefect badge taken?" Draco asked.
Rachel quickly looked away as she took a seat on one of the couches. She wasn't about to say what she'd seen in the common room that night.
"Considering Jacob is in detention too, she probably got caught in a closet with him," Tristram said dismissively as he sat down next to Cassius.
"Speaking of other prefects," Tracey said. "I'd never say this in front of Pansy, but Rachel, I'm surprised that you weren't made prefect this year. Did Professor Snape say why he didn't choose you?"
All of the gathered prefects looked at Rachel, evidently interested in the answer as well.
"He wanted someone who is in the common room more often than I am," Rachel said, going for her default answer.
"Shouldn't matter, you're his daughter and you're the top of the Slytherin girls in your year. It should have gone to you. Professor Snape should know that," Cassius said.
"I much prefer the captain position to the prefect one," she said, still not wanting to tell them that he had offered her the position.
"No reason you couldn't do both. Cedric does, and he's taking seven NEWT classes," Draco pointed out.
"Then Cedric has much better time management skills than I do." Put that way, Rachel wasn't sure how Cedric had been managing these past three years. He'd need a time turner to get all of that done in a week.
"Cedric is not what I was expecting. I thought he'd be really stuck up or would want to show off, but he's been really nice to me in the DA," Tracey said with a glance at Rachel.
"Don't bother, he only has eyes for Cho," Cassius said. "So, what do you want to know about the Inquisitorial Squad?"
Rachel did have a number of questions and she quickly sorted through in her mind to figure out what was the most important. "Do all of you feel safe? Does it seem like Professor Umbridge suspects you of anything? Do you feel like other members of the Squad have been asked to watch you?"
"I think we're pretty safe," Tristram said after looking at the others. "There's sort of an unspoken understanding that we're all watching each other, but as far as I can tell no one suspects us. Most of us have other, more legitimate, reasons for being there, either through our parents' politics or their jobs."
"She did ask me about my mom," Tracey said. "I assured her that we both support Minister Fudge. Hestia and Flora are definitely watching me though, I don't think they expected me to join, but they haven't spoken to me about it."
"I think we're alright. If anything, the two Ravenclaws are under more suspicion than we are, mostly because they're outsiders compared to the rest of the Slytherins in the Squad. I did some checking, both of them have parents in the Ministry, and at least one of them has said openly that they support Fudge and don't believe the Dark Lord is back," Cassius said.
"Umbridge herself seems pretty pleased with the Squad. She talks it up like it's a stepping stone to greater things, as if we all didn't have families to do that for us. One thing that you should know is that we were all instructed to keep an eye on you," Draco added.
Rachel reminded herself that she already knew that was going to happen, but it still was a bit scary to hear it firsthand. "Was she specific about what she's looking for or what she wants you to do?"
"The usual. Where you spend your time, who you spend it with, and if you're talking about the Dark Lord," Draco said casually.
"She's concerned that you're stirring up a rebellion inside the school, with Professor Dumbledore as your guide. Obviously we're going to have to continue to be very cautious about the DA, because it seems like that's exactly the type of thing she'd take for evidence of a rebellion," Tracey explained.
"We think you need to try to avoid being seen with other DA members as much as possible, with the obvious exception of the Slytherins you already spend time with. Umbridge indicated she's pleased with Slytherin House as a whole, though she also asked us individually about Professor Snape," Cassius said.
Rachel nodded. Outside of her study group and the DA she didn't spend much time with the other Houses, even in class. "Should this apply to the other leaders of the DA as well, does she suspect them?"
"Right now she only seems concerned with you," Tristram said, not unsympathetically.
That was probably for the best. "Have there been any signs that there are secret Inquisitorial Squad members? Ones that aren't wearing pins?"
"No. I don't think Umbridge is smart enough for that," Draco said.
"Apparently she was a Slytherin when she attended Hogwarts. I asked my father and he said she was never prefect or anything. She finished at Hogwarts in 68 and then went into the Ministry's Improper Use of Magic office. Somehow, probably through bribery as she has an uncle who is a Selwyn, she wound up as the Minister's Undersecretary in 89," Cassius listed.
She frowned as she thought over this. Severus wouldn't have known her in school, he wouldn't have attended until 71. "There's a Death Eater who is a Selwyn, but I don't know who," she said, remembering where she'd last heard the name.
"I don't think any Selwyns were accused of being a Death Eater in the last war," Cassius said, looking around.
Tracey shook her head. "No, I've never heard that either. Surely not Annette Selwyn, my grandmother has tea with her."
"No, it was a man," Rachel said.
"There's also a Selwyn on the Wizengamot," Tristram said.
"I think we're getting away from the point," Draco said. "It's good to know that she bought her way into her position, and that she's related to some powerful people."
Tristram nodded. "Death Eaters and the Wizengamot are a bit out of our league. One thing we need you to do is tell the DA to not be surprised if we take points from them for random reasons. Obviously we aren't going to take points from Slytherin House, but the rest are fair game. We're supposed to establish our presence in the school and punish misdeeds wherever we see them."
"They can protest, and should protest, but ask them to keep it limited. The last thing any of us want is for someone to wind up in detention with Professor Umbridge because they raised too much of a fuss," Tracey added.
"Alright, we'll tell everyone at the next meeting. Is there anything happening that you think we should know about, or something that we need to do something about?" she asked.
"I assume our default lie for where you are is in the library or in your dorm room, where the other Squad members can't see you?" Draco asked.
"I think that works well. I usually go with Millie to the library after class." Not that she stayed in the library, but they didn't need to know that. "I would suggest telling her that I'm a little paranoid so that you can't follow too closely. That way you can say that you saw me go into the library and into the stacks, but couldn't stay to watch."
"I expect Draco will be the one getting that question since he shares classes with you," Cassius said. "We've also worked out a good way for us to discreetly contact you. Draco will tell you that he needs to discuss the strategy against the Ravenclaw Chasers. Then you show up here after dinner that night and we'll meet."
"As long as we're not actually on the Quidditch pitch when I say that," Draco clarified.
"That will work," Rachel agreed.
"I think that this is sustainable for now. Obviously we're going to have to reevaluate the situation with each new educational decree. But as things stand, I think we can do this," Tracey said as she nodded.
"Any idea about new decrees?" Rachel asked, since it would be nice to get a heads up before they actually happened.
"She hasn't said anything to us, but from what I've heard from other students, she's getting ready to fire Trelawney," Cassius said.
"Which gives her the opportunity to bring in someone else from the Ministry. If that happens, then I think we need to reevaluate what we're doing. One of them we can deal with. Two of them might be more difficult," Tristram pointed out.
"Good to know. I guess we'll figure that out when we get there," Rachel said. She wondered if Severus knew that. She also wondered how she could tell Severus without revealing how she knew.
Cassius checked his watch. "We need to be back in the common room before Diane's detention ends. Let's try to meet irregularly at least once every two weeks. Draco will give you the signal. And you can give it to him, if there's something you need us to know."
Rachel checked her own watch. She was meeting Severus for dinner in less than thirty minutes. "Sounds good. Thank you. Please take care of yourselves and be cautious."
"We will, don't worry about us," Tristram said, getting up to leave.
She bent down to dig in her bag. She needed to go back to her dorm and change out books. Her essays were done, but they were doing Arithmancy OWL studying in small groups tonight so that they could all be seen in their common rooms. Of course, that was after dinner and occlumency practice.
"So, Selwyn is a Death Eater?" Draco asked.
Rachel looked up and found that they were alone. "Yes. In the graveyard, the Dark Lord used first names for some people and last names for others. For this man, he just called him Selwyn."
"I didn't know that, about Selwyn I mean. I wonder which one it is. They're a powerful family with a lot of influence, both in the Ministry and in some of the guilds." Draco looked slightly puzzled.
"Do you know if Professor Umbridge is a Death Eater or not?" she asked, figuring she might as well find out while she had the opportunity.
"My father says that she's an important Ministry ally, but that she doesn't know anything about the Death Eaters," Draco said, his expression now carefully neutral.
"She just agrees with them," Rachel said, not sure how much difference there was between a Death Eater and someone who agreed with them and spread their propaganda.
"Politically, yes. I expect you'll find that she stood with the Ministry during the war though. Besides, she's easy to manipulate."
"I wish she was easy to manipulate for us." That would make this whole thing much easier.
"Aren't we?" Draco asked. "We're running a rebellion right under her nose. Hell, we've got spies." He seemed a little bit excited about that.
Rachel felt herself smile. "That's true. And she'll be gone by the end of the year."
"Will you keep running the DA next year, even if we have a decent professor?" he asked.
"I think so. We will have to see what's happening before we make the decision, but I think it's good for people."
"Good. Gives me a chance to hex people, and people even applaud while I'm doing it," Draco said, though the amusement in his eyes told her he was mostly kidding.
"You're one of the better students there, but both of us have a lot of work to do to get to where the seventh years are," she said as she slung her bag over her shoulder and got to her feet. "Are you doing alright overall?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked.
"No reason, it's just nice to check in on people and see if there's anything you can do to help." She thought Draco probably didn't have a lot of people who did that for him.
"You can tell me why Diane really got detention? Surely Professor Snape tells you these things." Draco waggled his eyebrows at her.
Rachel felt herself blush hard. "He doesn't."
"But you know. I saw you when I asked before, and you know," he said. "Come on, it's not like I'm not already keeping secrets for you. I won't tell anyone."
Draco was keeping secrets for her, but she didn't think he realized just how many secrets she was keeping. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else. Not Pansy, not your dormmates, not the other prefects, no one. Professor Snape will know I told, then I'll get in trouble."
"No one. I just want to know. Do you know how rare it is for Professor Snape to give a prefect detention? And for a month? It's unheard of."
Rachel sighed and wished the burning in her face would go away. "I found Diane and Jacob on the couches in the common room one night."
"And?" he prompted eagerly.
"And they were asleep and partially undressed. I wasn't going to tell Professor Snape, but he was going to go in the common room anyway, so I figured I should before he saw it for himself." If anything her face was burning even harder now.
"Eww. We sit on those couches. They should use a closet like everyone else in this school," Draco said, making a face.
She cringed, that was way more than she wanted to know and she definitely did not want to try to figure out exactly how it was people were having sex in closets. "Okay, I'm done with this conversation now," she said, moving to leave.
"I'll walk back with you. I don't want detention for letting you wander off alone," Draco said, joining her.
"Please tell me he hasn't asked the prefects to walk with me in the hallways." She was definitely saying something to him if he had. That was over the line.
"No, but I'm supposed to be walking you too and from Quidditch practice, which I don't always do, but he doesn't need to know that, right?" he asked.
"No, he doesn't. I'm perfectly capable of getting myself to and from Quidditch practice and to and from pretty much anywhere in the school. Sometimes he acts like I'm going to be attacked while I'm in the halls."
"Well, I hate to say it, but it's not like it hasn't happened before," Draco pointed out.
"When I was a first year and couldn't cast any spells. If it happened now I'd stun them and summon help with my Patronus. I'm not helpless anymore." She wasn't. She had proved that much, hadn't she?
"Given that you can keep up with me, I'd say you're not helpless at all," Draco said as they reached the entrance to the common room. "Go in first, I'll follow in a minute or two so it doesn't seem like we were together."
"Alea iacta est," she said, bracing herself for the noise of the common room. She felt very done for the day and she still had a number of things to do.
Thirty minutes later she found Severus in his armchair looking pensive.
"How was detention?" she asked, wondering if Diane had said something that had upset Severus or if he was worried about other things.
"Pardon?" he asked, looking at her.
"You had Diane in for detention, right?" She sat down on the couch.
"I did. It was uneventful," he said dismissively. "How was your day?"
"Fine. I did homework and got some studying in. Quidditch practice. The usual," she said, hoping that she sounded casual.
Severus nodded and stood. "Black and Lupin send their regards along with this package. It seems to be the jewelry you requested."
Rachel accepted the brown paper package and frowned down at it. "I didn't actually intend for them to send us the jewelry, just to tell us if they had an idea how to make it work."
"They indicated they kept two pieces for themselves, and that there is one in there for me as well as I will be in a closer position to assist you," he said. "Instructions should also be within, but Black indicated you can contact him if you need further information. Not through owl post, as apparently it is being watched by the Umbridge and the Ministry."
"Yeah, a few people have said they've gotten letters which were already opened and one person had a rather ruffled personal owl, we're pretty sure it's Professor Umbridge," she said absently as she opened the package. There was a small selection of pendants on chains, bracelets, and rings inside, along with a piece of folded parchment. She unfolded the parchment and began to read. "Blood. We never would have come up with that on our own."
"Black and Lupin are asking you to use blood magic?" Severus asked, his disapproval obvious.
"Just a drop when we're selecting our rune. Then we can hold our thumb against the surface and whisper the passphrase and it will send the alert and the other jewelry will warm up and display the rune of the person who activated it. We can also activate it with another drop of blood once it's set up, that way we can do it if we can't speak. We'll have to select runes and then make a list for all of us to memorize. Here, I'll let you pick first, assuming that you want one?" she asked, uncertain if Severus wanted to be included.
"I do. We've already had a demonstration of a situation where it was difficult for you to ask for help and I'd rather we not repeat it. I'll take one of the silver pendants," he said after looking over what was available. "May I see the instructions as well?"
Rachel untangled the chain from the others and handed it to him along with the folded piece of parchment.
He perused the parchment and nodded. "The theory seems sound, though this would be classified legally as dark arts, just so you're aware."
"It's a little silly that just about everything involving blood is considered dark arts."
"In some ways, yes. Wizarding blood is a powerful magical substance. For a number of reasons, you never want to allow another person to have your blood. Most blood curses are begun with a sample of the intended victim's blood," Severus explained as he passed the parchment back to her. "Until they're distributed, keep the instructions and the jewelry hidden, you do not want to be caught with it. Once they're set up, find some place safe to keep the instructions, I would suggest in our quarters."
"Alright," Rachel said. She opened up her bag and used her wand to get into the secret slit in the back of her bag. The Marauder's Map and her invisibility cloak were both there and she put the jewelry and instructions inside before resealing it. "I'll get you the list of runes once we've chosen them, and you can tell us what rune you picked as well."
"What do you want for dinner tonight?"
She thought for a moment as she tried to assess her stomach. It felt okay, she thought. "Whatever they're having in the Great Hall is fine."
"If something sounds more appetizing, we can ask if they have it," he said, still watching her.
"I think it will be okay. The food isn't the problem and my stomach feels alright at the moment."
Severus nodded. "I'll floo call the kitchens then."
Rachel left her bag on the couch and went to the dining table. A few moments later Severus joined her and then their food appeared. Shepherd's pie, which wasn't her favorite, but she'd eat most of it, a bread roll, a glass of pumpkin juice for her and red wine for Severus. "I've heard rumors that Professor Umbridge is going to fire Professor Trelawney," she offered, hoping he wouldn't ask where she'd heard it from.
"That does seem to be the consensus. Umbridge seems to have developed somewhat of a grudge against her. Apparently she's been attending her classes and critiquing her," he said.
"Why isn't she doing that to you? You'd think that if she's trying to get to me, she'd go through you."
Severus set down his glass. "From what Albus has gathered, Umbridge is primarily focused on him and on you. She's decided that my role in events is almost incidental. It's not logical or reasonable, but at least it works in our favor."
"Then why bother with Professor Trelawney at all?" she asked, more puzzled now than she had been before.
"It's a power play. I have no doubt she has someone in mind for the Divination position. Eventually she will get around to attempting to fire me, but given the rate at which things are going, we will have at least a few months before that happens. She only has four and a half months left to enact whatever plan she has," he said.
That was both a lot of time and not very much time at all. "It could be a problem if she hired someone for the Divination position though, there's no curse on that."
"And there would be nothing to stop Albus from firing them once Umbridge is gone either. As you are not taking Divination, I'm not terribly concerned about your ability to stay well away from them," Severus said. "Is shepherd's pie to your liking?"
"I'll eat it," she said, picking up her knife and fork. "Are there baby House Elves?"
"Yes, certainly. They typically stay with the mother until they are mature. There are usually one or two House Elves children at Hogwarts at any given time."
"They don't make the children work, do they?" she asked tentatively.
"No, children are primarily instructed on all the various magic and tasks they need to learn. They do not begin serving a household, or the castle in this case, until they're mature."
She nodded. That was alright at least.
"Your mind seems to be wandering tonight. Are you getting enough sleep?" Severus asked.
"Yes. I haven't had the Department of Mysteries vision since it changed. I'm sleeping most of most nights. You know, I don't think other students write home about how they're sleeping each week," she said.
"I suspect if they have the type of sleep disturbances that you do that their parents at least ask. Also, other parents aren't here to see the circles underneath their children's eyes," he pointed out.
Rachel touched under her glasses. It was true that she hadn't slept most of last night. "I don't look that bad, do I?"
"No, it's not noticeable unless you're looking for it. Your appearance is about the same as it usually is. I do not say that to make you feel self conscious, I merely wished to note that your lack of sleep is evident."
"I do usually sleep, it's actually better than it was a few years ago." It was usually the nights after occlumency practice that were giving her trouble now.
"I'm glad it has at least improved. I trust that you'll speak with me or Torey on the subject if you notice a change," he said, meeting her eyes briefly.
Rachel nodded. She was nowhere near the point where she needed Torey's help with sleep stuff. "OWL stuff will be done in four and a half months. I'll probably sleep better when that's done. I'll probably sleep all summer."
"You can sleep in during the summer, but we will have things to do as well. We, and potentially a few members of the Order, will work on some Defense instruction."
"And brewing potions?" she asked.
"Yes, of course," he agreed.
"That sounds good." She knew they had a ways to go, but she was looking forward to summer already.