Hi guys!

First of all, let me thank you so much for all the support. 22 followers after first chapter? I can't believe it! Thank you so much!

This chapter is a little bit shorter and calmer, but I really hope you'll like it. I hope to upload another chapter till the end of the week.

Please, let me know, what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Once in Severus's quarters, Caroline's mind was once again protected by strong shields, although it took her much longer than usual to build them. She had to put all her efforts to actually build it, because of the emotions that were trying to take control over her.

She forbade herself to think about it. She couldn't. It took her months to build the shields around that part of her mind, that would actually forbid all the emotions to come in and out. To isolate that part.

If Severus was bothered by her nervousness or her bad mood, he didn't show it.

In the very evening, when Caroline was once again utterly calm, she soon became bored. In the last eleven years, she got used to working most of her time and she wasn't prepared to just sit around in Severus's rooms. The potion master spent most of his time with correcting and marking students' essays and Caroline had nothing to do and no one to talk.

She took one of his already marked essays, which received the mark Acceptable and scanned it with her eyes. Potions at least, were a subject she knew something about.

"Put it down, Caroline," said Severus with cold bored voice, without even looking up. She ignored him and continued reading. After she was done, she looked once again at Severus, who just finished marking of another essay.

She tried to read something in his thoughts, but his Occlumency shields were up, and she knew they were almost unbreakable, so she withdrew herself just after few seconds.

"That's bullshit," she said to him and waved the parchment in the air. As she said that, Severus just took another essay and started reading.

"This is worth of at least Exceed expectations, if not an Outstanding!" Caroline continued, but the Potions master didn't seem to be bother by it.

"If I remember it correctly, I am the teacher here. And at that point, I must ask you not to doubt my teaching methods," he replied coldly as if trying to scare her, but Caroline knew better than that. She took the parchment and put it right in front of him, directly on the homework, he was currently marking.

"This," she said, "is a nearly perfectly written essay. You know Slughorn would have probably even given it an Outstanding!"

Severus opened his mouth, prepare to say a sarcastic comment, but the frozen face of his companion stopped him. He turned his face to see, what she was looking at, and once he realised what happened, his heart started beating a little bit faster.

"Fuck," he muttered and slowly stood up, still watching the witch, who just stood here, with her eyes fixed on one of the parchments on the top, looking like she was petrified.

Then suddenly, she took the parchment with a trembling hand.

"Caroline," he said, this time with something, that sounded like a concern in his usual cold voice. He tried to take the parchment from her, but being distracted, his occlumency shields were a bit weakened and so Caroline, who sensed the change of his mental barrier, immediately knew what he was up to, just turned around and slowly started reading it, while holding it with trembling hands.

Few minutes pasted in a horrifying silence. Finally, Caroline looked up and Severus could see tears falling down her cheeeks.

"How is he?" she whispered.

Severus didn't answer. He wasn't sure if telling her would make her feel better or worse. His shields were fully back and so he knew she couldn't reach his thoughts, but after a moment of arguing with himself, he decided to answer.

"He's fine," he answered quietly.

"I know he's bloody fine! Dumbledore already told me that!" she now answered quickly with louder but trembling voice.

"Calm down," he said again, still keeping his usual tone.

"Calm down? How the hell am I supposed-" she didn't finished what started to be a hysterical outburst, because with one flick of his wand, Severus practically made her sit on a couch.

"Are you quite finished?" he said with a cold voice after a moment of silence.

"Yes," she answered quietly through clenched teeth, knowing he wouldn't tell her anything, in case she was about to be hysterical.

Severus, who was not at all comfortable in this situation, was thinking, how it was even possible to handle this conservation. Then, he just took a deep breath and sat beside his friend.

"Dumbledore was right. He's fine. More than fine actually," he started in voice, that was just slightly more than a bare whisper.

"But… How is he? I mean… What kind of person is he?" Caroline managed to whisper, her eyes still full of tears.

"He is…," he didn't know to say it. "He looks perfectly like something between you and Rabastan. But no one really makes that connection. It's not really like he was a walking here like a younger copy of Rabastan with light hair," he continued.

Caroline just smiled at that. She knew how her son looked. Her brother showed her pictures of him from time to time, when he thought "she could handle it". And she must admit that while her son indeed inherited certain physical traits from her and her husband, with the way he looked, he held a certain resemblance with his adoptive parents as well.

"But where his personality is concerned, he is just like the younger version of Rabastan. Rabastan with Gryffindor traits, if that's possible. Unfortunately, with all his negative traits as well. He is just as arrogant and overconfident." Her companion gave her a look, as if to make sure if she was alright, and then continued. "He inherited Rabastan's talent with wand, rather than yours. He is not completely useless."

He smirked as he said the last sentence. But Caroline didn't seem to be offended by that and just smiled at that.

It was too nice for her to finally hear some more details about her son, once she calmed down. Her brother was always extremely careful around this topic, and always refused to show her any pictures of him, or even say anything about him in front of her, unless he made sure, that she had full control of her mind and her emotions first.

It took another few deep breaths, but soon, her mental walls were built once again and she had her emotions under control.

"So…," she started with a hope of changing the topic, "tell me something about that Umbridge woman." With that said, Severus's face changed a little bit and he gave her something, that could be described as a look of disgust.

"And what precisely, would you like to know?"

"I don't know," replied Caroline, with a shrug of her shoulders, "everything, I guess. I'm bored."

Severesu gave her a look but didn't say anything.

"Oh, come on, Severus! I don't get to read the Daily Prophet often, but even I know, that there are changes in Hogwarts."

"The ministry is poking its nose into Hogwarts' business," started the potion master with a cold voice, "again." And then, he finally told her the whole story.

Caroline listened to him carefully to everything he said. She already knew something from Dumbledore, but Severus put it in his own way. He told her how big pain in his ass the woman has been from the beginning of the school year.

"Sounds horrible," was all Caroline said once Severus finished, with a slight ironic touch. He just gave her a look. A look she knew too well. A look that told her to shut up.

xXx

Three days passed since Caroline left her home and her job and moved to Severus's quarters. And it slowly started to get to her mind. She was allowed to wander through the castle in the night and only on the days that Dolores Umbridge didn't patrol the corridors. Severus was, naturally, able to tell Caroline the Head Inquisitor's planned patrols, but she had to be careful anyway. Severus mentioned to her that she actually patrolled the corridors much more often, with the hope of catching some of the "undesirable" students after curfew and in trouble.

Caroline couldn't wait till it would be ten o'clock and she could leave the quarters she was closed in for the whole day. She was just about to leave the room, when her roommate entered the quarters.

He saw her at the door and raised an eyebrow. "Going out?"

She knew it wasn't really a question and despite the fact that he just came, she asked him if he cared to join her. He didn't look happy about her proposal but he agreed anyway with an annoyed frown, accompanied with a "if you can't manage it on your own".

They walked in silence and Caroline enjoyed the feeling of walking freely through the castle. The duo started in the dungeons and continued to other floors, while the witch tried to ask some question about his everyday life. She didn't seem to be surprised or bothered by his lack of enthusiasm for the conversation.

They were in the second floor when suddenly, Caroline stopped abruptly. Once Severus saw her expression, he didn't need to ask what happened. The witch glanced absently in front of her, until finally, she breathed out in relieve.

"It's Minerva, she's patrolling," and with that she gave her companion a slight smile. It was a luck for them that it was someone whose mind she recognised. Her companion just nodded at her with an acknowledgment.

Not one minute passed, when they met the transfiguration teacher walking towards them. When she realized who they are, she looked relieved as well.

"Oh, Severus, Caroline, it's you."

"Hello, Minerva," greeted the younger witch her former teacher.

The older of the two gave her a look. "It's my turn to patrol the corridors today. With everything that is going on, one can never be too sure…" she said with a concern in her eyes. Caroline knew, what she was talking about. Severus told her that the mass breakup from Azkaban worried everyone – both students and professors.

Although the healer held the transfiguration professor in great regard, it didn't stop her from invading her mind just a little bit. It was something that became natural for her during the last years. With her thoughts, Caroline knew that the older witch was particularly relieved that she didn't meet the Defence against the dark arts teacher.

Caroline practically saw the questions Minerva had in her mind, but didn't say anything before the teacher asked. Dumbledore assured her that it would be for the best if her abilities stayed hidden. As far as she knew, the headmaster told the staff that she is staying here just because she's hiding from her husband.

Severus stood here quietly for the whole time and was watching the two. But the silence didn't last long – Minerva finally dared to ask one of the questions Caroline saw in her mind. "How are you doing, my dear?"

Caroline gave her a slight smile. "I'm doing as fine as I can, in sight of the circumstances."

"If you ever want a company for a dinner somewhere else than Severus's quarters, just let me know," offered Minerva to her former student and then turned her attention to the only male in the corridor, "I'm sure Severus will be more than happy to pass your message to me."

Caroline could see him clenched the teeth. "Or she can simply ask one of the house elves. I'm rather busy," he said with a cold voice and Caroline could hear the message behind it. I'm not a messenger. But neither of the two women seemed to be offended by his cold response, Minerva even gave him a slightest smile. "Of course."

They parted soon after that – Minerva continued her patrol and Severus with Caroline continued wandering through the castle. They walked in silence and this time, it was Severus who broke it.

"Has he made any attempts to contact you yet?" he asked quietly. Caroline knew exactly who he meant by he.

"No. At least what I know," she answered truthfully and added what her brother and Dumbledore had said to her. "But Rufus and Albus think it's just a matter of time before he tries to. That's why Rufus made me leave my house so quickly," she continued and Severus could notice the bitterness in her voice. He knew that despite some of the bad memories, she loved the house she once shared with Rabastan.

They walked in silence again, this time for a longer time, and once again, the potion master was the one who broke it. "Poppy asked me for some potions. If you wish, I can give you the list, and you can brew them in my personal lab. It could keep you busy at least for a week."

Caroline gave him a smile that could easily be described as her brightest one in a few days. Anything would be better that the nothing she had now to do.

"With pleasure."