THE AUROR
Chapter 3
Feeling slightly refreshed, but still craving a few hours in bed, the Auror marched out to meet Hagrid, desperately trying to forget that earlier embarrassment.
"Hello there, Miss Winters." Hagrid beamed, getting up from the tree stump he had been sitting on. "'Ear yeh've a knack with unicorns?"
"Yes, that's right." Sephine said pleasantly, watching as her hand was lost in that of the half-giant's.
"Good, good. 'Cause that's exactly what I been needing. Yeh see, the fourth years'll be doing 'em soon in Care o' Magical Creatures, an' seeing as they prefer women an' all that, I was wondering if yeh'd be willing t'help me catch a couple, 'n' bring 'em down into the paddocks?"
"I'd love to help, Rubeus. I've always wanted to see them in their natural habitat and this will be perfect for that, I have no doubt."
The huge man's face lit up at her enthusiasm, and he clapped his massive hands together once. "Great! Thanks, Miss Winters. I'll just go in an' get Fang, then we'll head off, righ'?"
"Sure."
The trip into the Forbidden Forest turned out to be most interesting to the Auror (trips into that Forest always seemed to be interesting). Hagrid was very talkative, and spent a lot of time telling her of Harry Potter's previous adventures there, as well as all the Dark Creatures that allegedly prowled the forest. "O' course, there aren't really that many 'armful ones in 'ere. If there were, then Dumbledore would have seen to it that they were taken somewhere else. Can' have his pupils bein' eaten, now can he? Great man, Dumbledore. An' as fer werewolves, well. There's only one werewolf that's ever walked the 'Hogwarts grounds, an' he was the mos' charming little boy I ever met."
"Really?" she wondered if that was all Hagrid had to say about Remus.
"Oh, I shouldn't've told yeh that," he hastily recovered, and whenever she asked anything about it again, that was the same result she always got. But finally in a clearing just ahead, they saw the white glow of at least a dozen unicorns. Hagrid stayed back with Fang as she approached them.
The ethereal creatures regarded her with interest at first, curious as to what was invading their private gathering. Small golden foals trotted nearer than the adults, pushing delicate noses at her, trying to smell out what she was. Some observed her with disdain and mistrust, not liking this creature that so obviously was a person, yet smelled so strongly of phoenix.
Finally, when they were used to the sight of her at least, the Auror transformed.
As one the group of equines moved back, some scattering from the group, but most just becoming more curious. The phoenix hovered for a few minutes, singing a quiet song of beauty, and gaining the attention of every unicorn in the clearing. Finally, they let their interest get the better of them, and they approached the resplendent bird, muzzles quivering and outstretched. Then, the phoenix turned, and flew slowly between the trees, weaving occasionally to keep them enticed. The parade of unicorns followed the firebird, making a highly unusual troupe. Hagrid also followed at a safe distance, wondering what held the unicorns' attention so strictly.
As she neared the paddock gate, the Auror transformed quickly to open it, then just as quickly transformed back. She flew to the other end of the field, then settled on the top rail of the fence, watching all the unicorns hesitate at the edge of the forest. They snorted and pawed the ground, examining the new territory with prudence. The phoenix sung again, slightly louder this time, to gain their fascination once more. As the golden foals caught up with the main group though, and worked their ways to the front, the Auror could see that they would lead the adults in. The foals pranced out of cover onto the fresh green grass, frolicking in the early winter sunlight, and paying no heed to the nervous whinnies of their parents.
Rustling in the forest behind them appeared to startle the herd, and a few jumpy mares sprang forwards, leaping like the foals on the springy ground. Hagrid's noisy approach seemed to be enough, and soon all the unicorns had entered the paddock of their own free will. The Auror transformed once more and picked up the feathers that had fallen onto the grass. Damn. Must be near dead again. She gave a laugh at the absurdity of the thought, and slipped the feathers into her pocket whilst making her way around the fence to where Hagrid was admiring the heavenly animals.
"Yeh've done a grand job 'ere. I really don' know how yeh managed it, really I don'. But if ever I need unicorns catching again, I'll know jus' who to ask for."
The Auror smiled and laughed. "Miss Winters, Unicorn Herder and Auror at your service."
* * *
A week passed before the Auror met Hermione again.
"Any word, yet, Hermione?"
The girl looked disappointed and frustrated. "No. They're being awfully secretive about it. It seems that Malfoy wants a three-on-three, so that he can have Crabbe and Goyle with him. And Ron's having difficulty choosing his third."
The answer seemed obvious to the Auror. "Tell them you'll be their third."
"Oh, I couldn't. I thought of that, but it's really not my kind of thing."
"How do you know? Have you ever tried duelling?"
"Ah...yes. Once." It didn't seem to be a memory that Hermione was particularly fond of.
"Okay. Well, I shall be there very quickly. I doubt if Malfoy and Ron will even get off their first spells, so long as I know where they are."
"How will you find that out?" Hermione asked. "Only Ron and Malfoy know, and Ron won't even tell Harry, so he's plainly taking this terribly seriously."
The Auror smiled. "I have ways and means. So long as I know the day, I can find out the place."
* * *
Every night, the Auror was to be found in the trophy room, looking over the shining memories, and conveniently leaving the shadows outside the door. It was only a couple of days after her meeting with Hermione when she approached the room knowing that someone else was there this time.
She slid around the doorframe, slinking into the shadows. The gathering in the room was in fact the one she had been planning to split up.
"Well, well. Gryffindor and Slytherin still keeping those ties of animosity alive, eh?" She was so amused at the way they all jumped so guiltily that she had to stifle a laugh. "What's going on here?"
"This is a private meeting." Malfoy bluffed, hoping that the stranger wouldn't have studied the Hogwarts rulebook.
Unfortunately for him, this Auror knew the Hogwarts rule book inside out - she had helped to break many of those points listed in it. "Well as far as I am aware, 'private meetings' should be kept strictly to daytime hours, and most certainly shouldn't be conducted in the trophy room. In fact, if it was Mr. Filch that had discovered you here, then I am sure you would each have had to scrub every one of these trophies...."
There were a couple of cries of protest, and Hermione hugged her robes about her, looking very upset and stubborn. "But I am not Mr. Filch. And I don't usually mind wizard duels. Although, as you go up in years, you learn more troublesome curses, and I feel that it is my duty to break this one up before anything can come of it. So, wands please, and you shall get them back at 8:30 sharp tomorrow morning from me. I will be in my office."
When Malfoy and his cronies showed no signs of giving their wands up, the Auror sighed, and waved her own wand at them. "Expelliarmus!" The wands leapt from the pockets of their owners, and she turned to go.
The Auror had gotten halfway down the first flight of steps, when Hermione caught up with her. "I'm really sorry. As soon as I offered, they didn't give me a chance to tell you and dragged me off to plan and everything. How did you find out?"
"Don't worry. It's okay. Luck is often an important factor in my job."
Just then, Malfoy and company came storming down the stairs. As he passed her, Crabbe smacked purposely into the Auror's shoulder. She felt the hand in her pocket almost before it happened, and her hand shot out of her sleeve in an instant. All the students stopped, staring at the scars that were revealed zigzagging along her wrist. "Give me those wands back, little boy." She hissed.
With a trembling hand, Crabbe extended them out to her. She let go of his arm and snatched them from his limp fingers. An intense anger had overcome her, after seeing such devious tactics, and after revealing her scars like that. "Get to your dorms. The lot of you. Go."
* * *
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked up from their cauldron with the guiltiest expressions that Severus Snape had ever seen on their faces. "I don't suppose you would care to share what you were discussing, with the class, Mr. Potter? Hmm? No? Mr. Weasley? Miss Granger? I thought not. Detention. See me after class." The reaction had begun to come naturally to Severus, that whenever one of those three did something unsavoury, his automatic response was 'detention'.
He prowled along the aisles of his dark classroom, regarding Draco Malfoy's potion with joy. That boy would make a good Potions Master.
Malfoy had been in mid-discussion as Professor Snape walked past, and having a sudden burst of inspiration, raised his voice slightly as the teacher peered into his cauldron. "Did you see her scars? They were hideous! I can't believe Dumbledore would hire some kind of masochist psychopath to 'protect' us." Crabbe and Goyle sniggered right on cue, and Draco smirked in joy as he saw the professor's expression change slightly.
"What's that Malfoy?"
"Oh well, sir, I was just questioning our esteemed Headmaster's judgement."
"Yet again."
"Sir, the Auror he has hired quite clearly bears the scars of a suicide attempt, and I'm ever so worried that she may be unstable enough to attack one of us if given the opportunity."
"Really, Malfoy? And what gives you that impression? Just how did you see these scars?"
"She lashed out at one of us in class." Malfoy lied without missing a beat. "As her sleeve went up, we saw the most awful scars ever on her arm!"
"Why haven't you reported this?"
"Well, we're so afraid of her. No one knows what she'll do to us if she finds out we've told. Please protect us, Professor. I don't know who to ask but you."
Snape grunted, and studied Malfoy suspiciously. For once, he didn't want to believe his star pupil. Not getting the reaction he wanted, though, Malfoy pretended to fall to pleading, and showed the bruises on Crabbe's wrist to Snape. "Look, sir! Look what she did! We're so afraid of her. What if she's actually You-Know-Who's servant, just like the last Auror?"
Finally hearing enough, Severus flicked Crabbe's hand away with a swish of his wrist. "Shut up, Malfoy. Leave the Auror out of your scheming and go back to annoying Potter and his friends. Your results will tend to be more productive that way." And with that he raged off, leaving Malfoy and his friends greatly curious.
* * *
The Auror looked up from her book, as there was a sharp knock on the door. "Hello?"
"Miss Winters? Auror? Let me in. This is Professor Severus Snape."
The Auror hesitated. There was something in his voice, the way it seemed to quiver with anticipation. He knew. How did he know? What did he want? Why was he here?
"Miss Winters, let me in, please. I would like to speak with you."
He sounded so sincere that she almost got up then. "No. I'm not ready to talk." Maybe that would discourage him.
"You will be ready now, or you will never have this discussion. I must speak with you. Now!" Half expecting him to add 'or never', she held her breath. When he spoke again his voice was more controlled. "Sephine. I know it's you in there. If you do not open this door I may find myself expressing my feelings slightly louder than at present. Remus Lupin's office is just down the corridor..."
"Oh..." she moaned. "I'm not ready...I'm not ready..." but still her hands moved towards her wand. "Alohomora!"
"That's the one." at least he was smiling. Or doing his idea of a smile, which was a twisted upper lip and a sour dimple at the corner of his mouth. "You know..." He began after closing the door. "...You never actually thanked me."
"Because I resented what you did more than you can understand. And I still do. You should have left me."
"Nonsense." His voice sharpened. "If you had been so desperate to die, and forget everything, then you've had countless opportunities since then. You just couldn't do it."
"I could have done it once - that's usually all that is needed when committing suicide!" she spat back.
His lip curled yet again. "That's a pathetic excuse, Winters and you know it. You'd have come up with a much better one when faced with an angry teacher. So much easier to lie then, wasn't it?" She just glared out from under her hood, imagining him just going away. "And this hood that you wear. What is its purpose? I don't think that pretty face is scarred..." He reached a hand out to push her hood back, but she was faster. His hand withdrew, now feeling his own reddened cheek. "So. Is it just a matter of pride? Can't face facing people?" Although he was still smirking, his black eyes flashed with a deep hatred. "And we always thought you were the strongest. Wrong, wrong, wrong..."
"Severus, why the hell are you here?"
"Just to confirm my suspicions. And get that apology."
The Auror ground her teeth, still glaring at him. "All right. I apologise for suspecting you of being a Death Eater."
He raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised. "Ha! Apology not accepted. I didn't know that one, Winters. Almost everyone suspected me, but I had always thought you could see the good in people. Obviously not. I'm.insulted. And anyway, I was a Death Eater."
"What?"
Snape hesitated, looking about as though the walls had eyes that would see what he was about to do. He pulled his black sleeve up. In the middle of his forearm in sharp contrast to his stark white skin burned angry pink flesh in the shape of the Dark Mark. "You were right. I was with them. But I wasn't with them by the time you suspected me. When I'm just being myself you think I am in legions with The Dark Lord. But when I am in legions with him, you think I'm just being my usual self. I was trying to save you that night, and I would have saved you a lot of trouble if you'd trusted me. That was the only time you've ever needed to trust me Winters, and you didn't. Why not?" His voice was icy and all traces of the attempted smile had vanished.
She couldn't speak. Why couldn't he have left that out of it? Just because he was ready to talk of it, that didn't mean that she was. "I thought you had done it. You're lucky I didn't kill you outright." She finally croaked. It didn't sound very convincing, even to herself.
He gave a snort and leaned back a bit. "You were in a state where you could only be going for two people, and those you did kill. Very effectively, I must say."
She turned her head away. "I've already told you that I'm not ready to talk about that."
"But I am ready. And I want to talk about it now. Can't you just think of someone else for once?" He growled, his hands shaking a little in his effort to keep control of the situation.
"For once? What do you mean, for once?" He had her attention now.
His voice lowered, and again the lip curl returned. "I mean, you're a selfish little girl, you always have been, and you always will be."
For that, he got another slap, this one twice as hard. "How dare you! There are many people whom I care for much more than myself as I thought that night would have demonstrated to you! I don't want to see you near me or my office from now on, and I most definitely do not want to talk to you any more, especially on this subject!"
He smirked as he moved towards the door, one hand still on his cheek. "Well, I'll be sure to pass the message on."
* * *
Severus Snape wasn't quite as satisfied with his answers as he let on. Slamming the door shut, he strode down the corridor, heading straight for Lupin's office, massaging his cheek all the way. "Lupin! Lupin, open up!"
The other man appeared at his door, frowning at Snape's rage. "Yes, Severus? What do you want?"
"I just need to pass on some information I recently gained from that Auror."
"Well, shouldn't you be seeing Dumbledore--"
"No, I should not be seeing Dumbledore! This concerns a certain Miss Sephine Winters and I thought you should like to know that the treacherous young lady is supposedly protecting this castle right now!" Snape's other cheek had flushed with anger, almost as red as the first, but Lupin had gone very pale.
"Thank you, Severus." And he moved to close the door.
"Wait. You're not just going to ignore this information! You're going to talk some sense into her! I need answers!"
"Of course." Lupin whispered, shutting the door with a soft click. Don't we all.
* * *
Chapter 3
Feeling slightly refreshed, but still craving a few hours in bed, the Auror marched out to meet Hagrid, desperately trying to forget that earlier embarrassment.
"Hello there, Miss Winters." Hagrid beamed, getting up from the tree stump he had been sitting on. "'Ear yeh've a knack with unicorns?"
"Yes, that's right." Sephine said pleasantly, watching as her hand was lost in that of the half-giant's.
"Good, good. 'Cause that's exactly what I been needing. Yeh see, the fourth years'll be doing 'em soon in Care o' Magical Creatures, an' seeing as they prefer women an' all that, I was wondering if yeh'd be willing t'help me catch a couple, 'n' bring 'em down into the paddocks?"
"I'd love to help, Rubeus. I've always wanted to see them in their natural habitat and this will be perfect for that, I have no doubt."
The huge man's face lit up at her enthusiasm, and he clapped his massive hands together once. "Great! Thanks, Miss Winters. I'll just go in an' get Fang, then we'll head off, righ'?"
"Sure."
The trip into the Forbidden Forest turned out to be most interesting to the Auror (trips into that Forest always seemed to be interesting). Hagrid was very talkative, and spent a lot of time telling her of Harry Potter's previous adventures there, as well as all the Dark Creatures that allegedly prowled the forest. "O' course, there aren't really that many 'armful ones in 'ere. If there were, then Dumbledore would have seen to it that they were taken somewhere else. Can' have his pupils bein' eaten, now can he? Great man, Dumbledore. An' as fer werewolves, well. There's only one werewolf that's ever walked the 'Hogwarts grounds, an' he was the mos' charming little boy I ever met."
"Really?" she wondered if that was all Hagrid had to say about Remus.
"Oh, I shouldn't've told yeh that," he hastily recovered, and whenever she asked anything about it again, that was the same result she always got. But finally in a clearing just ahead, they saw the white glow of at least a dozen unicorns. Hagrid stayed back with Fang as she approached them.
The ethereal creatures regarded her with interest at first, curious as to what was invading their private gathering. Small golden foals trotted nearer than the adults, pushing delicate noses at her, trying to smell out what she was. Some observed her with disdain and mistrust, not liking this creature that so obviously was a person, yet smelled so strongly of phoenix.
Finally, when they were used to the sight of her at least, the Auror transformed.
As one the group of equines moved back, some scattering from the group, but most just becoming more curious. The phoenix hovered for a few minutes, singing a quiet song of beauty, and gaining the attention of every unicorn in the clearing. Finally, they let their interest get the better of them, and they approached the resplendent bird, muzzles quivering and outstretched. Then, the phoenix turned, and flew slowly between the trees, weaving occasionally to keep them enticed. The parade of unicorns followed the firebird, making a highly unusual troupe. Hagrid also followed at a safe distance, wondering what held the unicorns' attention so strictly.
As she neared the paddock gate, the Auror transformed quickly to open it, then just as quickly transformed back. She flew to the other end of the field, then settled on the top rail of the fence, watching all the unicorns hesitate at the edge of the forest. They snorted and pawed the ground, examining the new territory with prudence. The phoenix sung again, slightly louder this time, to gain their fascination once more. As the golden foals caught up with the main group though, and worked their ways to the front, the Auror could see that they would lead the adults in. The foals pranced out of cover onto the fresh green grass, frolicking in the early winter sunlight, and paying no heed to the nervous whinnies of their parents.
Rustling in the forest behind them appeared to startle the herd, and a few jumpy mares sprang forwards, leaping like the foals on the springy ground. Hagrid's noisy approach seemed to be enough, and soon all the unicorns had entered the paddock of their own free will. The Auror transformed once more and picked up the feathers that had fallen onto the grass. Damn. Must be near dead again. She gave a laugh at the absurdity of the thought, and slipped the feathers into her pocket whilst making her way around the fence to where Hagrid was admiring the heavenly animals.
"Yeh've done a grand job 'ere. I really don' know how yeh managed it, really I don'. But if ever I need unicorns catching again, I'll know jus' who to ask for."
The Auror smiled and laughed. "Miss Winters, Unicorn Herder and Auror at your service."
* * *
A week passed before the Auror met Hermione again.
"Any word, yet, Hermione?"
The girl looked disappointed and frustrated. "No. They're being awfully secretive about it. It seems that Malfoy wants a three-on-three, so that he can have Crabbe and Goyle with him. And Ron's having difficulty choosing his third."
The answer seemed obvious to the Auror. "Tell them you'll be their third."
"Oh, I couldn't. I thought of that, but it's really not my kind of thing."
"How do you know? Have you ever tried duelling?"
"Ah...yes. Once." It didn't seem to be a memory that Hermione was particularly fond of.
"Okay. Well, I shall be there very quickly. I doubt if Malfoy and Ron will even get off their first spells, so long as I know where they are."
"How will you find that out?" Hermione asked. "Only Ron and Malfoy know, and Ron won't even tell Harry, so he's plainly taking this terribly seriously."
The Auror smiled. "I have ways and means. So long as I know the day, I can find out the place."
* * *
Every night, the Auror was to be found in the trophy room, looking over the shining memories, and conveniently leaving the shadows outside the door. It was only a couple of days after her meeting with Hermione when she approached the room knowing that someone else was there this time.
She slid around the doorframe, slinking into the shadows. The gathering in the room was in fact the one she had been planning to split up.
"Well, well. Gryffindor and Slytherin still keeping those ties of animosity alive, eh?" She was so amused at the way they all jumped so guiltily that she had to stifle a laugh. "What's going on here?"
"This is a private meeting." Malfoy bluffed, hoping that the stranger wouldn't have studied the Hogwarts rulebook.
Unfortunately for him, this Auror knew the Hogwarts rule book inside out - she had helped to break many of those points listed in it. "Well as far as I am aware, 'private meetings' should be kept strictly to daytime hours, and most certainly shouldn't be conducted in the trophy room. In fact, if it was Mr. Filch that had discovered you here, then I am sure you would each have had to scrub every one of these trophies...."
There were a couple of cries of protest, and Hermione hugged her robes about her, looking very upset and stubborn. "But I am not Mr. Filch. And I don't usually mind wizard duels. Although, as you go up in years, you learn more troublesome curses, and I feel that it is my duty to break this one up before anything can come of it. So, wands please, and you shall get them back at 8:30 sharp tomorrow morning from me. I will be in my office."
When Malfoy and his cronies showed no signs of giving their wands up, the Auror sighed, and waved her own wand at them. "Expelliarmus!" The wands leapt from the pockets of their owners, and she turned to go.
The Auror had gotten halfway down the first flight of steps, when Hermione caught up with her. "I'm really sorry. As soon as I offered, they didn't give me a chance to tell you and dragged me off to plan and everything. How did you find out?"
"Don't worry. It's okay. Luck is often an important factor in my job."
Just then, Malfoy and company came storming down the stairs. As he passed her, Crabbe smacked purposely into the Auror's shoulder. She felt the hand in her pocket almost before it happened, and her hand shot out of her sleeve in an instant. All the students stopped, staring at the scars that were revealed zigzagging along her wrist. "Give me those wands back, little boy." She hissed.
With a trembling hand, Crabbe extended them out to her. She let go of his arm and snatched them from his limp fingers. An intense anger had overcome her, after seeing such devious tactics, and after revealing her scars like that. "Get to your dorms. The lot of you. Go."
* * *
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked up from their cauldron with the guiltiest expressions that Severus Snape had ever seen on their faces. "I don't suppose you would care to share what you were discussing, with the class, Mr. Potter? Hmm? No? Mr. Weasley? Miss Granger? I thought not. Detention. See me after class." The reaction had begun to come naturally to Severus, that whenever one of those three did something unsavoury, his automatic response was 'detention'.
He prowled along the aisles of his dark classroom, regarding Draco Malfoy's potion with joy. That boy would make a good Potions Master.
Malfoy had been in mid-discussion as Professor Snape walked past, and having a sudden burst of inspiration, raised his voice slightly as the teacher peered into his cauldron. "Did you see her scars? They were hideous! I can't believe Dumbledore would hire some kind of masochist psychopath to 'protect' us." Crabbe and Goyle sniggered right on cue, and Draco smirked in joy as he saw the professor's expression change slightly.
"What's that Malfoy?"
"Oh well, sir, I was just questioning our esteemed Headmaster's judgement."
"Yet again."
"Sir, the Auror he has hired quite clearly bears the scars of a suicide attempt, and I'm ever so worried that she may be unstable enough to attack one of us if given the opportunity."
"Really, Malfoy? And what gives you that impression? Just how did you see these scars?"
"She lashed out at one of us in class." Malfoy lied without missing a beat. "As her sleeve went up, we saw the most awful scars ever on her arm!"
"Why haven't you reported this?"
"Well, we're so afraid of her. No one knows what she'll do to us if she finds out we've told. Please protect us, Professor. I don't know who to ask but you."
Snape grunted, and studied Malfoy suspiciously. For once, he didn't want to believe his star pupil. Not getting the reaction he wanted, though, Malfoy pretended to fall to pleading, and showed the bruises on Crabbe's wrist to Snape. "Look, sir! Look what she did! We're so afraid of her. What if she's actually You-Know-Who's servant, just like the last Auror?"
Finally hearing enough, Severus flicked Crabbe's hand away with a swish of his wrist. "Shut up, Malfoy. Leave the Auror out of your scheming and go back to annoying Potter and his friends. Your results will tend to be more productive that way." And with that he raged off, leaving Malfoy and his friends greatly curious.
* * *
The Auror looked up from her book, as there was a sharp knock on the door. "Hello?"
"Miss Winters? Auror? Let me in. This is Professor Severus Snape."
The Auror hesitated. There was something in his voice, the way it seemed to quiver with anticipation. He knew. How did he know? What did he want? Why was he here?
"Miss Winters, let me in, please. I would like to speak with you."
He sounded so sincere that she almost got up then. "No. I'm not ready to talk." Maybe that would discourage him.
"You will be ready now, or you will never have this discussion. I must speak with you. Now!" Half expecting him to add 'or never', she held her breath. When he spoke again his voice was more controlled. "Sephine. I know it's you in there. If you do not open this door I may find myself expressing my feelings slightly louder than at present. Remus Lupin's office is just down the corridor..."
"Oh..." she moaned. "I'm not ready...I'm not ready..." but still her hands moved towards her wand. "Alohomora!"
"That's the one." at least he was smiling. Or doing his idea of a smile, which was a twisted upper lip and a sour dimple at the corner of his mouth. "You know..." He began after closing the door. "...You never actually thanked me."
"Because I resented what you did more than you can understand. And I still do. You should have left me."
"Nonsense." His voice sharpened. "If you had been so desperate to die, and forget everything, then you've had countless opportunities since then. You just couldn't do it."
"I could have done it once - that's usually all that is needed when committing suicide!" she spat back.
His lip curled yet again. "That's a pathetic excuse, Winters and you know it. You'd have come up with a much better one when faced with an angry teacher. So much easier to lie then, wasn't it?" She just glared out from under her hood, imagining him just going away. "And this hood that you wear. What is its purpose? I don't think that pretty face is scarred..." He reached a hand out to push her hood back, but she was faster. His hand withdrew, now feeling his own reddened cheek. "So. Is it just a matter of pride? Can't face facing people?" Although he was still smirking, his black eyes flashed with a deep hatred. "And we always thought you were the strongest. Wrong, wrong, wrong..."
"Severus, why the hell are you here?"
"Just to confirm my suspicions. And get that apology."
The Auror ground her teeth, still glaring at him. "All right. I apologise for suspecting you of being a Death Eater."
He raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised. "Ha! Apology not accepted. I didn't know that one, Winters. Almost everyone suspected me, but I had always thought you could see the good in people. Obviously not. I'm.insulted. And anyway, I was a Death Eater."
"What?"
Snape hesitated, looking about as though the walls had eyes that would see what he was about to do. He pulled his black sleeve up. In the middle of his forearm in sharp contrast to his stark white skin burned angry pink flesh in the shape of the Dark Mark. "You were right. I was with them. But I wasn't with them by the time you suspected me. When I'm just being myself you think I am in legions with The Dark Lord. But when I am in legions with him, you think I'm just being my usual self. I was trying to save you that night, and I would have saved you a lot of trouble if you'd trusted me. That was the only time you've ever needed to trust me Winters, and you didn't. Why not?" His voice was icy and all traces of the attempted smile had vanished.
She couldn't speak. Why couldn't he have left that out of it? Just because he was ready to talk of it, that didn't mean that she was. "I thought you had done it. You're lucky I didn't kill you outright." She finally croaked. It didn't sound very convincing, even to herself.
He gave a snort and leaned back a bit. "You were in a state where you could only be going for two people, and those you did kill. Very effectively, I must say."
She turned her head away. "I've already told you that I'm not ready to talk about that."
"But I am ready. And I want to talk about it now. Can't you just think of someone else for once?" He growled, his hands shaking a little in his effort to keep control of the situation.
"For once? What do you mean, for once?" He had her attention now.
His voice lowered, and again the lip curl returned. "I mean, you're a selfish little girl, you always have been, and you always will be."
For that, he got another slap, this one twice as hard. "How dare you! There are many people whom I care for much more than myself as I thought that night would have demonstrated to you! I don't want to see you near me or my office from now on, and I most definitely do not want to talk to you any more, especially on this subject!"
He smirked as he moved towards the door, one hand still on his cheek. "Well, I'll be sure to pass the message on."
* * *
Severus Snape wasn't quite as satisfied with his answers as he let on. Slamming the door shut, he strode down the corridor, heading straight for Lupin's office, massaging his cheek all the way. "Lupin! Lupin, open up!"
The other man appeared at his door, frowning at Snape's rage. "Yes, Severus? What do you want?"
"I just need to pass on some information I recently gained from that Auror."
"Well, shouldn't you be seeing Dumbledore--"
"No, I should not be seeing Dumbledore! This concerns a certain Miss Sephine Winters and I thought you should like to know that the treacherous young lady is supposedly protecting this castle right now!" Snape's other cheek had flushed with anger, almost as red as the first, but Lupin had gone very pale.
"Thank you, Severus." And he moved to close the door.
"Wait. You're not just going to ignore this information! You're going to talk some sense into her! I need answers!"
"Of course." Lupin whispered, shutting the door with a soft click. Don't we all.
* * *