A/N someone asked me how long until this story finishes. There will be loosely 9 chapters give or take to go. Maybe more maybe less (I'll try to make it less.) I do have a plan so don't worry.

Chapter 13. Strange notions

'Miss Grey!' Severus exclaimed 'if I have to hear another one of your silly notions again about who broke into my office...'

'No wait, just listen I think I have it this time!' Ellen pleaded to Snape.

'Ok what do you think this time?' He asked giving up.

'Well this conclusion would have come sooner if you had told me that Moody had searched your office before.'

'Where are you taking this?'

'Ok bare with me here, Moody searched your office to find something on you because he obviously doesn't trust you.'

'He doesn't trust anybody' he said nonchalantly. Though Severus knew perfectly well his was searched more thoroughly, Moody didn't trust him more than anybody else in the castle.

'Well that's what I thought at first but then I asked around and I found that he only looked though two other people offices and only took a brief look! Now the only thing to find out is why!' She lapsed into a thoughtful silence.

Severus could think of many reasons why, but he would never tell Ellen. His only concern was that she might find out those reasons.

'What does that poly-stuff do?' Ellen asked suddenly

'I'm sorry, poly-stuff? What is that?' Snape had no clue of what she was on about, she was mad.

'That night when it all happened you said the thing that was missing was used to make a poly-thing.'

'Oh you mean polyjuice potion.' He really wished at times she would make more sense

'Yes that's the one, what does that do?' Ellen asked. Snape looked at her strangely and sighed.

'Basically it turns a person physically into an exact copy of another person.'

'Oh ok,' Ellen didn't know what she was expecting to hear. She wasn't sure where to go from here. She was silent for a moment then said with uncertainty 'Well then, "mad eye" might not be who he says he is.'

'That's stupid' Snape answered.

The morning 2nd task came and Ellen still found no interest in watching such a thing. As she walked past Snape's office she noticed he was in their looking quite bored. Ellen walked in to see if he wanted company though she knew he wouldn't.

'What? not going to the Triwizardythingie? Where is your school spirit Severus?' She said in a phony appalled voice.

'Shut up, Karkarroff is down there and he wants to talk to me, and when that happens my nightmare will be complete.'

'Well if you ever need a diversion I'm the one to call. Remember how I got you out of that convocation at Christmas?'

'Yes, very subtle. But I don't need you to save me from my convocations.'

'Fine but the offer is always there.'

It was just after lunch and Ellen had been bombarded with books teachers wanted her to take back to the library. The pile had become heavy and high, she was having a hard time seeing over it. Quick footsteps came towards her and past some way down the hall until they stopped, turned and came back towards her. Some of the books were lifted from her grip. It was Severus looking very annoyed.

'If you see Karkaroff,' he said hurriedly ' tell him you don't know where I am. Oh but say I'm not in my office, that's where I will be.' He plonked the books in her arms again, the weight of it nearly made her fall over, and he hurried off. Ellen took a moment to recover her balance and continued her way to the library. She hadn't gone ten steps before Karkaroff came thumping down the corridor.

'Have you seen Professor Snape?' he asked hardly stopping.

'No, I think he is out on the grounds somewhere.' Ellen yelled after him. There he owed her now.

By the end of the week Severus had become very good at avoiding Karkaroff, and for that matter everybody else. No one had seen him for ages and nobody cared. Ellen had wondered where he was but she was busy and didn't think much of it because she knew he was around. One Thursday afternoon on the fifth day that Severus had disappeared from social input Dumbledore approached Ellen.

'Have you seen Severus lately?' he asked casually

'No, but he is around somewhere.'

'I know but he vanishes whenever you want to find him. Could you go find out where he is, just for interests sake, just in case.'

'Ok he shouldn't be that hard to find.'

Ellen started in the most obvious place first his office. She was surprised when he wasn't in there. Next she tried his room, it was dark and if he were in there she wouldn't have seen him. She called his name and when there was no answer she went in and looked. If he was in there he was doing a bloody good job of hiding. She went to his classroom then to any other place she could think of but there was no sign of him anywhere. She couldn't believe she couldn't find him she had seen him around so where could he be? Before she didn't care but now it was her mission out of shear curiosity to find where he was hiding.

She told Dumbledore that she couldn't find him, for the moment.

' That is interesting he can't have gone far.' He mused 'Well if he wants to be left alone we can't force him to be social, not that he ever is. I'd still like to know where he is.'

'I'll look again if you want, just so we know.'

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his glasses. 'Yes do look again. Just so we know.'

Ellen had a plan of attack this time. Snape had to still be teaching or he would have disappeared completely so she waited near his classroom on Friday afternoon waiting to see where Snape went. He came out moments later looking curiously around. Ellen had positioned herself so she could see him but he wouldn't be able to see her. He turned and walked father down into the dungeons. Ellen followed at a safe distance so he didn't know she was following him. He stopped at an old door and went inside. Ellen smiled to herself, so much for disappearing. She was just about to go in and surprise him when her bracelet turned a color somebody needed her.

Ellen rushed back down to the dungeons after sending an owl for Flitwick. When she got to the door she flung it open with full intent of surprising Snape.

'Hello Ellen.' Snape said in a deadpan voice before she had a chance to surprise him.

'How did you know it was me?' Ellen asked disappointed.

'I heard you then and following me before.' Severus nodded towards her shoes. Ellen was wearing shoes with a heel and they made a noise when she walked Ellen wore them all the time and didn't notice that anymore.

'So this is where you've been hiding out then.' Ellen said looking around the deserted classroom.

' I'm not hiding' he said defensively 'I'm just…avoiding.'

'Well your doing a good job, no one seems to have noticed you've been gone, even I didn't take any notice until Dumbledore informed me.'

'Nice to know.' He said sardonically

'Anyway why here? Why not in your room or something?'

'Because in my room it is too close to you.' He said it so casually that Ellen didn't know whether he was joking or not so she chose not to comment.

'So are you planning to hide here over the weekend or are you coming out to face your demons?' She went back to the main subject.

Demons? What did she mean by demons? Snape was worried, did she know?

'I think I'll stay here.' He said worried that she knew.

'You are such a chicken.' Ellen scoffed 'you are avoiding one person's conversation! One person that is it and you need to hide out in an abandoned classroom.'

'I am not hiding!' He said furiously

'Well what are you doing then?' Ellen asked. Severus didn't answer so Ellen answered for him. 'Your being a chicken that's what.'

'I am not a "chicken".' He was fuming now. If she only knew, or did she know and was patronizing him.

'Yes you are, you're a chicken and frankly I'm disappoin- Oww!' Severus was tired of her putting him down so he pulled out his wand and set a spell on her where it jabbed her hard in the side.

'You know nothing about me or what I've been through!' he said his voice quiet and vindictive. Ellen was rubbing her side where, when she lifted up her shirt, an angry red mark showed.

'That has nothing to do with what you've been through, all whatshisface wants to do is talk to you.'

'Well I don't want to hear what he wants to say, beside I already know what he will say.'

'And what will he say?'

'None of your business, and don't even think about pestering me about it.'

The convocation seemed to stop there. Ellen wasn't going to ask him about it so she steered the convocation in another direction.

'So, what do you do here all day?' She asked staring around the cold, empty, dank classroom.

'Why do you want to know?' he asked suspiciously

'I was just wondering, this place doesn't look to… constructive.' She wandered around through the rows of old desks every couple of desks there was a cauldron with potions in them. Up on the front desk there were bottled mixtures. 'So you come don here to mix potions… exciting.'

'Shut up.'

'So are you going to hide down here over the weekend?' She said fiddling with a bottle.

'Yes, and you can either stay here and keep me company or you can bugger off.' He found her annoying and bossy but he did enjoy her company for some reason and found it hard to stay mad at her.

Ellen wondered why he wanted her to stay, she thought she had really made him mad but it seemed that she hadn't.

'Ok, lets see how boring we can make our lives get over the next 78 hours shall we.' Ellen said sitting on a table in front of him.

'Don't worry the plan is we get so drunk we won't even remember why we are here.'

A/N lets hope the chapter's start coming faster than they have been.

Don't forget to RR