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Chapter 9

Sonora had made her slow way from the dungeons to the Great Hall for breakfast alone, and upon entering the room, had the uncomfortable comprehension that she was the focus of the entire student body. The room hushed a little before chatter broke out again, louder than before. For a weak moment, she wished she had given in to the urge to knock on Severus' door and ask him to accompany her upstairs. At least then she would have someone by her side as she traversed past the eager student eyes.

But, then again, the thought of seeing Severus again after she had cried over him last night had made her cower a bit in fear. Some brave Gryffindor she was, she thought derisively as she slowly limped her way down the Hall.

Determinedly taking a breath, she made her way to her seat at the head table. Hagrid had spotted her from the other side of the room, and had come gallumping over, an anxious expression on his face.

"Perfessor!" he exclaimed, skidding to a halt before her. "Are yeh alright?"

Sonora gave him a crooked smile. "I see my adventures yesterday are all over the castle," she said wryly.

"Here, lemme give yeh a hand," he said nervously as she began to reach for her chair.

Sonora opened her mouth to thank him, but was forestalled by a familiar voice behind her. "That won't be necessary, Hagrid, I will see to Professor Stone." Sonora shut her mouth with a snap and willed back the flush that threatened to sweep her face. Oh dear, she thought in dismay.

Hagrid looked over Sonora's head with an expression of approval. "Perfessor Snape," he said. And he stuck out his hand. "Jus' wanted to say, sir, what I've heard 'bout yesterday, we're all proud to say we know ye."

Sonora felt stillness behind her, and turned her head to see Severus staring at Hagrid's hand in what she suspected was bewilderment. Discretely she sent an elbow back, nudging him in the ribs. Severus frowned down at her, and she inclined her head.

Severus cleared his throat. "Ah, thank you. I think," he said a little dubiously, putting his hand in Hagrid's, and then wincing as the giant of a man squeezed it.

"Right then. If you're seein' to Perfessor Stone, then, I'll be off to check on Fluffy," Hagrid said cheerfully. He awkwardly and very gently patted Sonora's shoulder. "You lemme know if there's anythin' I can do for yeh, Perfessor."

"Thank you, Hagrid," Sonora said to his massive back as he headed for the door. She shook her head with a smile. He was a dear, he truly was.

And then Sonora was inundated. All the professors seemed to feel the need to approach her and comment on yesterday's incident, and offer their assistance or support should she need it. Even Professor McGonagall kindly asked after her health and suggested she get a house elf assigned to her.

Sonora was running out of patience, was fairly hungry, and her leg was beginning to tremble from standing so long. "Really, that's not necessary," she began.

She was interrupted by Severus once more. "Can't you see the woman needs to sit and eat?" he snapped at Professors McGonagall and Sprout. "She has been standing far too long after being so recently healed. You may offer your assistance in her office, if you must."

Sonora resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she eased down into the chair Severus had jerked out for her. "You tell 'em," she muttered under her breath as she reached for the platter of bacon.

"What was that?" Severus asked as he seated himself next to her with a flourish.

"Ah, nothing," Sonora mumbled. Her lips began to quirk, despite herself. "Is it just me, or is the entire room staring at us?"

Severus' head shot up and he swept the Great Hall with a regal glare of the blackest variety. Sonora watched in ill-concealed amusement as most students dropped their gazes or looked away. "Not at all, Professor," Severus said with satisfaction as he turned back to her. "No one is paying the least attention."

Sonora's attention had been grabbed, however, by the solitary figure of a boy at the end of the Slytherin table. "This will not be an easy year for him," she said quietly to Severus.

Severus snorted as he began to fill both their plates. "It will be worse than you realize," he said in a low voice. "His father is Lucius Malfoy." When Sonora did not react to the name, he added, "Voldemort's right hand man."

"Oh dear," Sonora said aloud.

"Precisely," Severus said softly. "His father is not one to forgive weakness, particularly when displayed in public. And Draco has made many enemies here at Hogwarts, who would love to see him expelled." Severus scowled, turning his gaze to the Gryffindor table. "Potter and his cronies being first and foremost."

Sonora studied the tight knot of students clustered at the Gryffindor table. There were four red heads, a black one, and one with riotous brown curls. "I'm not certain about that, Severus," Sonora said slowly, watching as the students seemed to be talking excitedly. "While I don't pretend to know the students as well as you, it seems to me that Mr. Potter may surprise us."

Severus snorted as he began to eat. "I would be very surprised, indeed, should Potter and Weasley not try to take advantage of Draco's situation."

Sonora contemplated the Gryffindors for a moment before her eyes went back to the lone Slytherin. "We shall see," she murmured as she lifted her own fork.

~~~~~~~

Sonora kept a strict watch on her classes that day, refusing to allow any questions about what had happened the night before. Irresponsible gossip, she told several classes, was helpful to none and harmful to many.

At the same time, it was apparent that the story had gotten out, and that quite a few students now thought she was some sort of tragic heroine. The first batch of flowers from the younger students had surprised her, but as the day went on and more began to be delivered by the house elves, Sonora started to get annoyed.

The situation was not helped when Severus came striding into the room in the middle of her class of sixth-years. He stopped short when he saw the state of her desk, which now looked like some kind of garden and glared. "Just what is going on here, Professor?" he demanded.

Sonora had had a trying day, and so was not as pleasant as she could have been as she turned to face him. Behind her, she could almost see the students' ears stretching to catch every word. "The students have been sending me flowers," she snapped, not smiling. She was tired, dammit, and not in the mood for his glares.

And of course, Severus glared at her, and then around the room. "Bah!" he spat out, and then to her surprise, stalked across the classroom to his office. The door slammed with a resounding bang as Sonora blinked in disbelief. She'd expected more than 'bah', she'd expected a lecture or argument.

She eyed the closed door a little uncertainly before turning back to her task of checking cauldrons. Perhaps she'd get up the courage to ask Severus about it later.

~~~~~~~

Until he had walked into the dungeon and seen the riotious mound of flowers covering Sonora's desk, Severus had been congratulating himself on maintaining a proper amount of distance. He had been there to make her sit and eat, but had not been too forward or anything that could not be construed as simply friendly.

Of course, his blood had been rushing in his veins, sitting next to her and being able to smell the light fragrance she seemed to wear. But he had given no sign, and had managed to converse quite naturally, he thought, when she asked him about Draco.

And then he'd seen all those flowers and something had twisted inside him. HE had wanted to give her flowers, he had realized in a sickening rush. He wanted to see her eyes light with pleasure and good humor as they must have done when the students brought them to her, and know that it was he alone that had put that look in her eyes.

Severus cursed silently, knowing he was a fool and not knowing what to do about it. And then there was a quick burning in his arm and he stilled. He would have to go.

~~~~~~~

Between dealing with her classes' curiosity all day, Severus' peculiar behavior earlier and now her concerns over what to begin Draco Malfoy with after dinner that evening, the knock on her office door an hour before dinner was unexpected.

"Enter," Sonora called, setting down her pen. "Why, Miss Granger," she said in no small surprise. "What can I do for you?"

The girl looked like she was trying to find words for a particularly knotty problem and seemed to hesitate a minute or two before finally saying. "Do you have a few minutes, Professor Stone?"

Sonora gave her a curious look. "Certainly." She gestured to a chair, hoping this was not about last night. She was not about to feed a rumor mill.

Miss Granger sat, and clasped her hands tightly in her lap. "I… do you mind if I just say what I'm thinking?" she blurted out. "I know I should try to be respectful and all, but I have this problem and I really can't…"

Sonora smiled a little. "Miss Granger. Being respectful of other people does not mean you cannot have feelings, can't dislike or have difficulty with someone, and certainly doesn't mean you cannot speak of troubles to another person." She gave an encouraging smile. "Now what seems to be the problem?"

Miss Granger let out a breath. "It's Malfoy," she said. Sonora felt her smile fade. Well, damn. "Oh, no, he hasn't done anything," the girl said hurriedly. "I… well, see, someone found out that he's on probation and what the rules are. And there are some… people who would like to see him gone."

"I see," Sonora said slowly. "Would some of those people be Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley?"

"Among others," Miss Granger admitted. "Draco's made a lot of people hate him here. Although, I'm not sure about Harry. He's been awfully quiet today."

Miss Granger took a deep breath. "See, the thing is, I was reading about the Golden Rule, like you were telling us, and… is it true that it can work in reverse? That being mean on purpose can bring it back to you again?"

Sonora gave her a serious nod. "Oh yes," she said. "I believe there is a Muggle saying, that is also derived from the spell… 'reap what you sow'?"

"I thought so," the girl said, looking frustrated. "But all Ron can think about is how he can finally pay Malfoy back for all the things he's said the last four years. And his brothers are just as bad. And the rest of the Gryffindors… I'm not sure there a single person who isn't plotting something."

Sonora's heart fell. Draco Malfoy was in for a struggle. "What do you feel about all this, Miss Granger?" she asked.

The girl sighed. "I wouldn't want to be expelled," she said. "I can't think of anything worse than being forced to leave Hogwarts. Even though Draco did a really horrible thing…" she averted her eyes.

Sonora sighed. "Yes, I suppose Mr. Potter gave you a full account," she said.

Miss Granger nodded gravely. "Harry doesn't keep secrets from Ron and I. Well, mostly. But he didn't tell everyone else, and we didn't, either. Someone else told the rest of the students."

"I believe you, Miss Granger," Sonora said gently. "And you're correct, what Draco did was an act of violence, directed at a professor. Under normal circumstances, there would be no question as to his expulsion." She sighed again. "But Draco has never had to face the result of his actions before," she said, remembering what Dumbledore had told her. "And so he was given one last chance, one that won't be easy for him."

"I just… I don't think it's fair for everyone to be planning to do all these things when Draco can't fight back," Miss Granger said, sounding frustrated.

"It isn't fair," Sonora said quietly. "It isn't fair at all. Life frequently isn't." She cocked her head, considering for a moment. "Would you like my advice, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, please," the girl said, lifting her head and looking at her.

"'Do unto others', Miss Granger," Sonora said quietly. "Put yourself in Mr. Malfoy's shoes before you act, and encourage your friends to do the same. Draco has a number of problems of his own to overcome in order to stay in school. You may find not adding to them will reap unexpected results. And," she said with a faint smile. "Where one goes, others will follow."

The girl was quiet for a moment, then seemed to take a breath. "Thank you, Professor," she said. "I appreciate you talking to me."

Sonora smiled. "Any time," she said. Plant a seed, she thought again as she watched Miss Granger leave. Plant a seed and see what grows.

~~~~~~~

Severus fell to the ground with a grunt of pain. The dirt caked the stone floor and some got in his mouth, the taste bitter and foul. The Dark Lord towered over him. "You have failed me, Severus," Voldemort said in an icy voice. "Failed me again. What use is a spy who does not bring information?"

Severus had enough wits to know not to speak in his own defense. It would only anger him further.

Voldemort stood another few moments looking at him before raising his wand. "Perhaps it is time I gave you a reminder," his master said. His robes flowed about him, his eyes gleamed red in the torchlight. The other Death Eaters stood silently by in a circle, watching, he knew. They would all gloat and revel in his pain, as he often did theirs. They hated him nearly as much as he hated them.

"Perhaps this will inspire you to find what I seek." Severus barely had time to draw a breath and brace himself before the words came. "Crucio!"