Three
Suspicion
"Caelan?"
A swift prod in her side and the young woman was wide-awake.
"What?" she asked in an irritated voice.
"What's gotten into you? I've never seen you so out of it before," Stanton Raigo said. Caelan rubbed her eyes and the blurry objects and occupants of the classroom came into focus. She caught a glimpse of Professor Snape eyeing her suspiciously, and she secretly thanked Stanton for waking her before her teacher caught her dozing.
"I haven't been able to get much sleep lately, that's all. I'm fine," she asserted as she picked up a ladle and began to stir their potion. Caelan attempted to concentrate on the back of Harry Potter's head in order to keep awake, but the rhythmic motion of her stirring and the soothing scent of freesia petals soon lured her back to sleep. Stanton was busy scribbling down observations and hardly noticed his partner had nodded off once more. Only when a tall dark figure swooped behind him and loomed over Caelan did he take heed to the situation.
"Miss Decatur," Snape whispered menacingly into his student's ear. Her eyelids fluttered, but did not open. The Potions Master stood up and folded his arms. The small smile he wore soon disappeared and was replaced with a scowl as his other pupils turned their attention to the situation at hand.
"MISS DECATUR!" Severus had to bite his bottom lip to keep from laughing at the girl's reaction. Her body came clear off her stool at the sound of his voice addressing her. Stanton put a hand on her shoulder to stop her quivering. Caelan folded her trembling hands in her lap and lowered her head, dreading the shadow standing behind her.
"If this class was made for napping," Snape hissed into her ear, "there would be pillows lining the tables instead of cauldrons."
"I'm s-sorry sir," Caelan stuttered. Her voice was so quiet she wasn't sure he had heard her.
"But since there are no pillows to speak of, I suggest you learn to get enough rest before you come to my class."
"Yes sir. S-sorry sir." Professor Snape gave a satisfied nod and returned to his desk.
While he worked, he never took his eye off the girl for too long. He had seen her look before—great bags under the eyes, hunched figure, a stare as if off in one's own world.
It was the way he used to look after Death Eater meetings when he was younger.
The mental strain they put on him always showed the next morning with these same physical signs. Caelan was jumpy, groggy, and looked dreadfully suspicious.
When the bell rang at the end of class, the girl needed Stanton to escort her to the door; she was stumbling back and forth the whole way out of his classroom. Snape drew his eyebrows together as he watched the pair exit the classroom, with Raigo interrogating her the whole way.
"Caelan? Caelan, what's gotten into you? What's wrong?"
"Nothing! For Christ's sake, I'm just tired, Stanton." Severus snorted at his desk; he didn't blame the girl for snapping at the boy. Still…he was now very worried about the extracurricular activities of Caelan Decatur.
***
"Severus! Did you hear?" Reign bounded down the corridor toward the Great Hall waving a copy of The Daily Prophet in her hand. Severus gave her a disapproving glare as the students noticed her outburst.
"Obviously not," he whispered as she fell into step beside him, lowering her head.
"Look," she commanded, pointing at the front-page headline.
'INNOCENT YOUNG WITCH MOST RECENT VICTIM IN STREAM OF MURDERS
Nivah Stratford was found dead this morning by a muggle who was hunting in the woods near his home in Belfast, Ireland. After being notified, Ministry officials relocated her to a local wizarding hospital.
Her autopsy report concluded that her death was indeed caused by the deadly Avada Kedavra curse, used most famously by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. While the Ministry of Magic cannot prove or disprove that The Dark Lord was responsible for the young girl's death, this is but one of several casualties that have occurred in the past several months in which the cause of death has been constant.
Ministry officials are urging members of the wizarding world not to wander at night and to remain in large groups while out of their houses. "This is most unfortunate," comments Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. "We are doing everything we can to find the perpetrator(s) and put a stop to these horrific slayings."
"She was so young," says December Stratford, Nivah's mother. "No one deserves this. She was so beautiful...so smart...so young." Nivah Stratford was just eleven years old when she passed away. Remaining family members include her mother, her father—Clarence Stratford—and two sisters. Funeral services will be held...'
"Good God," Severus gasped as he finished the article. "Several months? What the hell has the Ministry been doing this entire time?" He slammed the paper onto the table as smoke curled out of his ears and nostrils.
"It's sickening. I can't believe they just pluck innocent people out of nowhere..." Reign shook her head, too disgusted to even eat. Severus picked up the article again.
"Reign, do you know Caelan Decatur?"
"Gryffindor, seventh year. Sure…I've heard of her. Why do you ask?"
"Well," he began, "this morning in my class, she had this look about her..."
"Yeah?"
"She reminded me of the way I used to look..."
"When?"
"When I was younger." He sipped his coffee. "After Death Eater meetings."
"What?" Reign nearly laughed. "Severus, honestly, why on Earth..."
"I'm just telling you like I saw it, Reign," he said sternly. "I'm worried about her. And you know I don't worry about my students often, especially when it concerns what they do with their time outside of my classroom."
"True...perhaps we should keep an eye on her?"
"You read my mind." He winked.
"If only," Reign teased.
***
NOTE: Sorry this is so short everyone, but as you know, I'm WAY TO FREAKING BUSY! Haha. Plus, I wanted to lighten this chapter up a little, because the previous (and the next) chapters were pretty heavy. I'm hurrying as fast as I can! Hope you're liking it. Please let me know!