Last time...

"Now that you're a bit more grounded," Severus decided, gesturing to Montague. "Did you have something to say? I can't imagine there being another reason for your stay."

Montague didn't even hesitate. "You're our Seeker."

Potter, for all the world, was too shocked to speak for a moment. "…You…You just saw me have some kind of…of…mental episode, and…you…you're…you're okay with that? Why not someone else?"

"The team won't accept anyone else, not as our main Seeker, not after they saw how you flew today." Montague insisted. "You're our Seeker, but we won't be dependent on only one teammate per spot now, and that includes Seekers. The only reason why Gryffindor wasn't scrambling to replace you and the others on the team last year was because the tournament was going on at the time. Had that not been true, they'd have been in deep trouble. We saw that we were in danger of the same with our own team, and chose to act. I imagine the other House Teams are doing the same. There are reserves, in case you ever need to take a step back."

She stares at the boy for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "Alright, but if you think I'm compromised, you bench me. Understand?"

Chapter 72

Having dealt with one unexpected difficult situation, she turned to the next.

"No, I don't want to talk about it." She stated, raising her hand when it looked like he was going to interrupt. "Yes, I am aware that we will discuss it, but not now. Not here."

"You are not worried about the boy?" Snape wondered, regarding her now. "He will most likely think you'd lost yourself in a vision, or was scarred by what you witnessed. There are stories of Seers doing just that."

"I don't have a problem with that. It's not like he'd be that far off." Hera shrugged, surprising him. "Now, if you will excuse me, Professor, I should go assure my friends. I have no doubt they will have heard of how practice went as soon as the others reached the castle."

She had turned to leave, and was a little ways away when she hears. "I am glad that you have those you can turn to, Potter. Cherish the gift, and try not to burn the bridge as I did."

She turned back, regarding him once more. "You should really stop beating yourself up about that, you know."

"Old habits." Snape admitted. "I'll let mine go when you do the same with your own."

"Don't ask questions?" She inquired, for clarifications. His slight nod was all she needed, and a slow grin spread across her face. "…One war at a time, eh, Professor?"

It was a tense dinner Ron found himself in, having waited for Hera's tryout to end. Rumours had started flying as soon as the other hopefuls had come back. Hera had had an episode of some kind, and he wondered if it was because she'd revealed who she'd been. His right arm had been slightly itchy where the shield-brethren tattoo was, and he rubbed at it now in the hopes of alleviating the itch. That it resulted in a calming feeling from the others was a surprise, but he'd not complain.

"You have a tattoo?" Ginny asked, seeing it for the first time when his sleeve slipped up a bit. "Mum's going to flip when she finds out, you know."

"You gonna tell her?" Ron asked sourly, his face twisting into disgruntled annoyance.

"Oh, no. I wanna see the look on her face when she finds out for herself." Ginny teased, frowning when she didn't see Ron's usual grousing. "What?"

"It's from Hera. She's got one too. We all did. Mione, Draco, Luna, and me." Ron explained quietly. "They're shield-brethren tattoos, Gin."

"Luna?!" Ginny exclaimed with a hiss.

"Hera explained she just knows stuff." Ron shrugged, picking at his food. "Besides, Luna's fun."

"But Luna?" Ginny protested, but shook her head. "You're telling me you guys get matching tattoos? Without me? Why wasn't I invited?"

"Ginny." Ron chided, his head tilted down towards his food as he looked up and over at her. "Do you even know what a shield-brethren is?"

Ginny didn't have to huff for him to know that she didn't understand it, she was just annoyed she hadn't been included.

"It's a bond stronger than blood, because it's forged through trial; a bond you choose." He explained, having read up on it in the library that morning. He'd understood on an instinctual level what they were doing at the time, but seeing the words had confirmed it for him. It had sounded like them all; even Luna. "Do you really want that with her? With any of us?"

Ginny blushed, letting him know he'd hit onto something she hadn't wanted him to work out.

"Look, I get that you have a crush on her even though your sort of with Michael. I don't care about that sort of thing. You like whatever, and that's fine, but Hera's never gonna see you like that." Ron warned her, seeing her take a deep breath to object, he cast a silencing spell Hera'd taught him; surprising his sister into just staring at him. "She's cute, I'll give you that, but romance just isn't on her brain like it is the rest of us hormone crazed berks, yeah?"

Ginny huffed as she crossed her arms; silently, but still.

"I get the feeling that she's one of those wait and see who she likes sorts, you know? Like she won't even think about body parts, and what goes where, until her heart zeros in on a person that peaks her interest; because it's the person that will be interesting to her, not what body parts they have." Ron shrugged. "For all I know, she may end up deciding that she likes birds after all, and then you might have a shot, but I doubt it."

Hera slid into the seat next to Ginny, taking off the silencing spell she'd been under, and noticed that Ginny was glaring awful hard at him.

"Am I missing something?"

"Usually, but Ginny's just miffed that we all got matching tattoos and she didn't get one." Ron replied easily. Hera looked at him funny, reminding him that she could sense lies, even side stepping ones like what he'd just done (a fact that was even funnier now that he knew why), but he wasn't going to share Ginny's crush against her wishes, and Hera respected his privacy enough to just shrug it off. "Anyway, how'd it go? I heard something happened."

"You're looking at the new Seeker, though thankfully there are backups should something go wrong." Hera replied, ginning openly. "He has a reserve team in case of injuries or something. That's brilliant."

"And the something that happened?" Ron asked, concerned. It was usually Hermione asking about this sort of thing, so this surprised Hera.

"With everything that was talked about last night, it sort of put it at the forefront of my brain." Hera admitted with a grimace. "I have to talk to Snape about it later."

"Think we can get in a game before the Pink Menace is up and going again?" Ron wondered, trying to set aside his worry for when he could ask more detailed questions when his sister wasn't with them. He loved her, but sometimes she could be a bit nosy; and if she thought someone was hiding anything, she was like a dog with a bone.
"Maybe. If the captains work fast enough, we might have the season in full swing before she tries something." Hera schemed with him. "If she tries anything with the season in full swing like that, all of Hogwarts will collectively lose their shite."

"Speaking of. Any idea where we're all meeting up for class later?" Ginny asked.

Ron had thought about the Chamber of Secrets, but he didn't think Hera would want that.

"Not yet. I was thinking about separating everyone by year, and going about it that way." Hera admitted. "I mean, it's not like Umbridge can be in multiple places at one time; can she?"

"Neither can you." Ginny pointed out. Ron snorted at the slightly guilty look Hera was sporting now. "You can't…can you? Hera?"

"Well, got to go! Lot's to do, you see." Hera gamely stated, and bolted out of there and over to the Slytherin's table.

"Hera!"

…

"Um…Hera Lady Potter Miss?" Hera's head shot up from the focus on her food at the odd address, only to see a young First Year Slytherin boy standing across the table from her. "My friends and I were wondering…I mean…Is it just Third Year and up that you're teaching?"

She noticed that he was holding his left wrist rather tightly, and frowned in thought. There was foul magic about it, but not like the Dark Mark. It was faint. She'd have to study it more to see what it truly was, and she doubted this nervous little First Year would let her do that. Not quite a now problem, in the sense that she could do anything about it yet, but definitely something to keep an eye on.

"I wasn't sure the younger years would be interested. If they are?" She floated the suggestion out there, and the boy quickly nodded. "If they are, Hermione has a parchment for you to sign. It's spelled against Umbridge, and anyone who tells on us to her will be in for a nasty surprise. You should think about that before agree-"

"We'll sign it." The boy interrupted, making her frown. "She's…We'll sign it."

She held the boy's gaze for a moment, before slowly nodding. "We'll go to Hermione, and you can sign the parchment. Can you think of anyone else that would also want to take the class?"

He gestured around the Great Hall, and Hera found a surprising amount of First and Second Years from all four Houses eyeing her like hungry little Piranha.

"Oh dear."

Watching the First and Second Years eyeing his apprentice, Severus knew that she would be gathering them somewhere out of sight to discuss things further. The moment that she left with her friends – and it still surprised him that the youngest Weasley boy had stubbornly held on – every First and Second Year followed after her like a swarm of rabid little ducklings. They weren't even subtle about it. Albus frowned at the sight, looking uncertain, wanting more than ever to make sure Hera remained on a lighter path. Severus had all but laughed in his face at those words when he'd heard them upon coming back to Hogwarts.

Potter was many things, but Light wasn't one of them; not in the way Albus wanted. Her core was too Dark to be considered Light, and too Light to be considered Dark. It fluctuated too much to be considered Grey, far too chaotic to be considered balanced. For one who did not wish for more power, she seemed to be gathering quite a lot of it, if only because those she encountered wished to offer it up to her like tribute. Perhaps Albus worried about that as well.

"Don't." Severus ordered, keeping his voice low; knowing Albus would hear him regardless. The man had been about to stand. "She is not raising an army against you, but if you keep going after her, she's going to make good on her threat all the more quickly. There is only so much I can do to protect you from your own stupidity."

"You heard her last year-"

"I did, and I suggest you make your peace with her on your own time, Albus." Severus stated, looking over at the man. "Right now, she's busy doing what you will not; Trying to Protect them."

He'd noted the darker magic floating about the wrists of many of the students, the new ability something he suspected he had Potter to thank for, and it seemed that Potter now had reason to suspect something needed to be done about it.

…

The talk with her friends, once the First and Second Years left, had gone about as well as it could have. Hermione felt guilty about having been an indirect cause of reliving her last life's trauma, while Ron, Draco, and surprisingly Luna, were pragmatic. They were all the more eager to begin the training she'd threatened them with; even Luna, who hadn't actually been there for the threat. They'd figure something out, she knew. In the meantime, she had Snape's reaction to get through.

He still hadn't come back from whatever staff meeting he'd been called into at the last moment. They'd been about to talk, when Professor McGonagall called him away. She'd said it wasn't likely he'd return in a timely hour, but that hadn't stopped Hera from pacing the length of the office. So, perhaps she could be forgiven for how high strung she was by the time that he returned. The second she heard the door, she whirled around and pulled him into the room. In his shock, it was nothing for her to manoeuvre him to the seat behind his desk, and then to begin running diagnostics over him as if she were Madam Pomfrey.

"Damn it, Potter, I'm not Longbottom either!"

That caught her off guard, and she froze.

"I didn't actually think you were Neville, Professor." She hesitantly pointed out, after seeing his rather flummoxed expression.

"Then what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" He demanded angrily, clearly confused by her behaviour.

"Er…" She fumbled. Okay, she could see why this looked bad. He wasn't one of her friends, and she'd pretty much just manhandled him as Madam Pomfrey was known to do to her more unruly patients. "Checking you for injuries?"

His confusion didn't look to be going away, but at least the anger did.

"It's just…You got called away, and I got a bad feeling about it, and then I figured something must have happened, so I-"

"As you can see, there is no physical injury on my person." Snape cut through her rambling. "There is, however, something we need to discuss. Sit down."

"I get it. Okay?" She huffed, in annoyance. "I didn't-"

"I said. Sit. Down. Potter." Snape ordered. She did so, but was still annoyed with way too much pent up nervous energy in her system.

…

"Now, with what happened earlier today." Severus began, looking over at the nervous girl. "Have you considered talking to someone?"

She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"I'm not talking about your friends, though I would suggest that as well. I am talking about a mind healer." He elaborated. Potter frowned in confusion. "A therapist, Potter. I'm talking about a therapist."

She snorted, showing her displeasure at the idea.

"Potter, you had a meltdown about a battle New York has never seen the like of before as if it were a flashback that has already happened to you. I know this, because you. Showed. It. To. Me. Called me brother. Begged me to believe you." He continued, and she paled. "You need to talk to someone, Potter."

"Who?" She demanded, cross. "Who could I even begin to talk about trauma that isn't even my own?"

"What do you mean?" He inquired, lightly. She hadn't told him, and he hadn't asked; an unspoken agreement between the two up until now.

"Cut the shite. I think we can both stop pretending you don't know who I'd been. Hermione has apparently had it worked out for months. If she knows, bets are you do too." She stated, bluntly calling him out. He gave a curt nod of agreement and respect. "Those aren't visions of the future I'm seeing, at least not that one. They're his memories."

"I would still recommend talking to someone." Severus insisted, ignoring her unimpressed flat expression at his sidestepping her obvious ploy to distract him with worries of the future. He'd get to that later. "They may not be your memories, but you are having to deal with them all the same. What happened out on the pitch is evidence enough of that."

The girl took a deep breath, letting it out through her nose, trying to rein in her frustration at having to confront this.

"It would behoove you to also deal with events in your own childhood as well." He added, and the glare was back in her eyes. "At least, consider it."

"Why can't I just talk to you?" She countered, defensive. He froze, having not considered this. "You're my Head of House, and Master for my apprenticeship. I should be able to come to you with problems anyway, right? You said I could ask you things. Well, here's me asking a thing."

"I would suggest you consider other options before deciding on me. I am hardly a licensed therapist, and have ample evidence that I should not have been trusted with children." Severus remarked dryly. "That being said, what are your plans for Umbridge?"

The subject change stunned her for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. "Why?"

"Madam Pomfrey has managed to revive her." He warned, not surprised when she swore in a language he didn't recognize. "That was why the staff meeting was called. It will take her a week to be cleared from the medical wing, according to Madam Pomfrey, but I can already tell you that woman is going to want revenge for the embarrassment caused to her."

Potter looked at him with a stern expression, as she scolded him. "You should have lead with that."

"Would you have acknowledged your issues if I had?" Severus reposed. Potter rolled her eyes, but didn't deny it either.

"I wish I didn't need to be in class anymore, especially hers." Potter grumbled, indignant. "Do you know the level of shenanigans I can get into when I have the proper time to plan?"

…

"You don't."

Something about that sounded suspicious.

"…What?"

"Potter, are you really telling me you didn't suspect something was up when you were still taking tests long after exams were over?" Snape asked in disbelief.

"You do remember I was running on fumes during all that, right?" Hera pointed out. "I was pretty much on auto-pilot. You could have asked me for the secrets of the universe, and I would have blurted out a diatribe of knowledge that would have made scholars the world over spring a nose bleed."

Snape looked both annoyed and amused, an odd look for him.

"…You really mean it?" Hera asked, still uncertain. "I don't have to go to class anymore?"

"I never said that." Snape pointed out, instantly deflating her hastily gathered plans. "Your professors have discreetly been ramping up your courses at a rate that far exceeds those of your peers, something they stopped hiding from me when it became known that I was taking you on as an apprentice. I do believe I made mention of this before the tasks truly began, something I should have reminded you of, it seems. It was a rather stressful year. At this point, Potter, you're taking the wizarding equivalent of muggle university classes."

"So…I don't have to go to her class anymore?" Hera hazarded a guess. "You know…since I'm sort of planning on teaching it myself anyway?…"

"Oh?"

Hera couldn't have hidden the snort if she'd wanted. "That was the worst attempt at an innocent 'Oh?' I've ever heard in my life, either of them. You should work on that. How on Earth were you ever believable as a double spy?"

"The people I spied on thought they were the smartest ones in the room, knew that I was a spy, knew that the other side knew I was a spy, and still figured they could use that to their advantage anyway." Snape quipped dryly. "Now, what do you plan to do?"

"You remember that multiple me thing I did?" Hera asked, to which he nodded. "That. There are tons of unused classrooms all over the place. She can't do that, so she can't catch everyone breaking the rules at once, and I can keep tabs on all the me's so I can warn the others should she find one of us."

"Or you can just schedule different years to visit the Room of Requirement at alternating times, still do the multiple thing, with less risk of getting caught." Snape suggested, and Hera paused.

"I'm sorry? Room of Requirement?"

Explanation of shield-brethren inspired by Ásgarðrian Galdr by Valerie_Vancollie over on AO3