Chapter 61.

The following evening, Magnolia found herself sat on her own in Professor Snape's office deep in thought. She had seen Harry at dinner, but they had decided to arrive separately to their Occlumency lesson when Magnolia mentioned she would go to the Library before it to do some more studying. Truthfully that wasn't the only reason she had gone to the Library; she had also needed the time away from her brother before their extra class.

At dinner, Harry had excitedly told Magnolia an interesting fact that Umbridge had dropped into their conversation when she had interrogated him. The twins knew that they couldn't use the Floo network to talk to Sirius because all the fireplaces in Hogwarts were being monitored. All of them, Harry had told her, except Umbridge's.

Magnolia's stomach had done flips of joy when she found out; she could talk to Sirius if she could just get in to Umbridge's office. Her joy had quietly evaporated though at the prospect of actually getting to the fireplace, and the danger it could pose her and her twin.

"You're late, Potter."

Magnolia's head snapped to the door as her brother finally walked in. Harry barely even acknowledged the Professor as he sat next to Magnolia, a peculiar look on his face.

"Miss Potter, as you were on time you will go first. Wand out, please."

Magnolia stood and grasped her wand firmly in her hand, she had spent the time waiting for her brother trying to get into a relaxed state with an empty mind. Magnolia felt the moment that her Professor entered her mind and tried to fight back. She shut the mental doors to her thoughts, locking them away from her Professor's prying eyes and then pushed against his presence until she felt herself expel him from her mind.

With a smile and relieved sigh, Magnolia opened her eyes to see her Head of House looking as close to proud as she thought he could manage. Magnolia was glad too; she had successfully hidden the thoughts that had been rolling around her mind. She only had a moment of respite though, before Professor Snape had non-verbally cast the Legilimens spell again and practically pushed her off her feet into her brother's lap. She could feel Harry's hands on her arms, holding her upright, but she was more focussed on the invading mind in her own.

Suddenly, the face that she least wanted to float into her mind appeared, in full view of Professor Snape's sight in her mind. Tom Riddle's face quickly became Tom Riddle's body, which just as quickly became the memory of her dream. She was seeing the large marble room again, the sofa that she had been sat on.

'We'll discuss your growing powers soon.'

That's what Tom had said in her dream to her, she could hear it just as clearly now. Magnolia could feel her breathing become harder as she tried to push her Professor away from the dream memory. The scene changed, instead to the 12year old Magnolia being held by a young Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets, how she felt calm with him. The memory changed again, to her in the Great Lake watching as Lord Voldemort came to save her from the Merpeople.

Magnolia's memories were coming thick and fast now; memories of Lord Voldemort and his voice echoing over each other until it filled her head completely. She tried to banish Professor Snape from her mind, she couldn't allow him to see any of this. Surely, he would go to Professor Dumbledore. Suddenly, everything became quiet and still in her mind. Beside her, sat Lord Voldemort in the Malfoy Manor Gardens, exactly as it was over Christmas Break.

Magnolia frowned; this wasn't a memory.

Lord Voldemort was watching her with a smile as she tried to work out what was going on. She had never dreamt this, and they hadn't sat outside when they were at the Manor. Magnolia could feel the difference now to moments before. She could feel Professor Snape still in her mind, but he wasn't searching for anything now. It was more like he was simply a bystander, watching as something played out.

"Miss Potter."

Lord Voldemort's voice echoed through her head, pulling her attention back to him.

"What's happening, Tom?" She asked, confused.

"No need to fret my dear, you are in no danger here." Lord Voldemort replied, softly, "This is simply a means to an end. I have heard from young Mr Malfoy about your skirmishes with Dolores Umbridge. You need to stop; it is not prudent for you to put yourself in any danger or attract her attention in the wrong way."

"The wrong way?" Magnolia asked, even more confused now by the Dark Lord's paternal tone.

"Miss Potter, you know I intend for you to come to no harm- this is not just by my own, or my followers' hands. If one of my Death Eaters had acted towards you the way she has, they would have been severely punished."

Magnolia felt a thrill jolt through her body at Lord Voldemort's words, "Are you saying you would punish her, my Lord?"

"Is that what you would desire, Miss Potter?"

"Yes. I think I would desire that very much." Magnolia responded without thinking.

"Very well." Lord Voldemort nodded his head, his smile still on his lips, "We shall discuss it at Easter. Goodbye, Miss Potter, and remain safe."

Magnolia felt cold as her mind lurched, throwing her and Professor Snape back in his office. Magnolia couldn't help the fearful look she sent to Professor Snape as she regained her balance completely. He returned her worried look with an unreadable one. She knew he had seen all of that; she knew he had heard everything that she and Lord Voldemort had said. Magnolia felt her breathing spike as she thought of how Sirius would react after Professor Snape told him.

"Very well done, Miss Potter. You may not have been able to expel me straight away, but you kept a lot hidden and managed to repel my mind eventually."

Magnolia frowned, why was he saying that? She hadn't gotten him out of her mind at all. Surely, he wouldn't be pretending to have seen what he had in front of Harry, Harry would find out soon enough. Professor Snape wouldn't stay silent forever, would he?

"Now, Mr Potter, have you been practicing?"

Magnolia rolled her eyes at the question and her brother's subsequent shrug. She knew he hadn't been practicing at all. She had already chastised him for it. Magnolia settled back in her chair as she watched her brother grip his wand and get into position when the door burst open and Draco ran in the room.

"Profes- oh, sorry for interrupt-"

"It's alright, Draco." Snape replied, "Potter is here for a little remedial potions."

Draco's eyes instantly lit up, causing Magnolia to groan quietly. Draco knew what they were actually doing here of course, but Professor Snape was giving him the ammunition to frustrate her brother even more.

"I see. I suppose Lia is here to help? I sometimes help her myself, so I'm sure she is vastly ahead of Potter." Draco prodded; his face lit up with mischief as he enjoyed the moment.

"What is it you burst into my office for, Draco?"

"It's Professor Umbridge, sir. She needs your help." Draco straightened out, "Montague has been found, sir, he's turned up jammed in a toilet on the Fourth floor."

With that, and a quick warning to the Potter twins that their lesson would continue the following day, Professor Snape stalked from his office. Magnolia grabbed her bag from the floor, pocketing her wand as her twin did the same and began to walk from the office before he could mention Draco's taunt to her.

"What's that?" Harry's voice whispered from behind her.

Turning back to face him, Magnolia saw what had caught his eye. A Pensieve sat behind Professor Snape's desk, the silvery light of his memories almost ignited the entire room with their brightness. Harry edged closer, slowly lowering his bag to the ground as he went.

"Harry! What do you think you're doing?" Magnolia called as her brother seemed to be magnetised to the Pensieve.

"He knew about the dream I had, Mags." Harry replied, "This might show me why."

"Harry, don't be an idiot. You can't go poking around someone's memories!"

"He does the exact same thing to us." Harry replied as if that made it ok as he took another step towards the Pensieve.

"To teach us! To help us!" Magnolia hurried towards her brother, "To make sure it doesn't happen to us, not so we can do the same to him!"

Magnolia was desperate to get her twin away from their Professor's memories. She didn't know why Professor Snape had hidden what he had seen within her mind from her brother, or how long for, but she was sure that if she allowed Harry to step through his memories that kindness wouldn't last for much longer.

As Harry leaned towards the Pensieve, gripping onto the sides of it, Magnolia quickly closed the gap between them and grabbed her brother's arm. Instead of pulling him back away from the memories though, Harry pulled her forwards into them.

Magnolia gasped as the pair fell through the silvery memories until they landed in the Great Hall, surrounded by Hogwarts students sat at individual desks and scribbling furiously on rolls of parchment. Magnolia glanced around, realising they had fallen headfirst into an exam, and tried to understand why Professor Snape had had this particular memory in his Pensieve.

Before she could say anything to her brother, she heard his footsteps hurrying in the opposite direction. Turning quickly with a groan, she followed him, only faltering when she realised who had caused her brother to run through the Great Hall with such urgency. The dark, messy hair was unmistakable. She saw it on her brother almost every day. There was no doubt in her mind that her brother was running towards their father.

Magnolia followed her brother slowly, unsure if she was ready for this. As she walked, she looked around the rest of the students, spotting Remus and Sirius with a smile. She could tell by the way Sirius sat that he was some kind of playboy at school. He had an air of smugness that surrounded him as he lounged back in the chair, whilst a few seats away from him Remus was still scribbling on the exam and ran his fists through his hair every few seconds as if he was trying to force more knowledge out of his mind and on to the parchment.

As she reached her brother, and finally took in her father, she could immediately see all of the similarities and differences between him and his two children. He was almost Harry's double, but Magnolia smiled as she saw her own eyes twinkling under the mess of dark hair, and her grin on his lips. Her attention was pulled to her twin when she felt him tense beside her. Following his gaze, she understood why.

Rage filled her stomach as she saw the rat her brother had spotted. Peter Pettigrew glanced at her father and smiled shyly, sending him a thumbs up as her father responded in kind. Magnolia bristled with fury. Was he already planning on betraying them? Had he already planned to allow the Dark Lord to murder her parents whilst he stood idly by?

Magnolia was so lost in her own murderous thoughts, that she didn't even realise that Professor Flitwick, who had been overseeing the exam, had ended the exam and dismissed the student body in the Hall. She rushed to catch up with Harry as he followed their father and his friends. The thought crossed her mind why Professor's Snape's memory would include her father, Sirius, Remus, and Pettigrew's conversation when she saw him leave the Great Hall and them behind.

As the gang of friends wandered down to the Lake, Magnolia followed along but still kept an eye out for Professor Snape- either the memory version or the real one. She stood by as Harry hungrily took in every word the friends said to each other as they settled under a tree by the Lake. A small smile graced Magnolia's lips as she recognised it as the same tree she and Draco had often sat beneath. She pushed the thought away though, as she turned trying to find Professor Snape. Eventually she spotted him, standing up from where he had been sat not too far away. Apparently though, she wasn't the only one who had noticed him.

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot." Magnolia heard her father say, "Look who it is…"

"Excellent." Sirius replied, a real smile spreading over his face, "Snivellus."

As Professor Snape began to walk towards them, Sirius and her father stood up with a swagger she was unsure if she had ever seen before. Glancing at the other two members of their group, Magnolia noticed that Remus was ignoring them, his head stuck in a book, but Pettigrew was watching the standing pair with apprehension.

"All right Snivellus?" Her father called across the grounds.

Magnolia frowned at her father's tone, and the sight of her Professor's shoulder immediately slumping forwards as if to hide himself.

"Expelliarmus!"

Magnolia gasped as her father threw the spell towards her Potions Professor, and Sirius laughed in response to his wand flying away from him.

"Impedimenta!" Her father continued, causing Professor Snape to be knocked to the ground.

Beside her, Magnolia saw her brother smiling along as he watched their father and Godfather approach their fallen Professor. Around them, other students had stopped what they were doing and instead watched the three schoolboys. Professor Snape was still laying on the ground as the two boys stood over him, wands raised. Magnolia was sure that she saw her father glance around though, as if he was looking for someone in the crowd.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?"

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment." Sirius laughed, "There'll be grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a single word."

Magnolia gaped at the boy who would one day become her Godfather. She knew that the pair didn't like each other, but Sirius was a Gryffindor, and as Gryffindor's always liked to shout- they were the nice guys. He didn't seem like it very much in that moment. Magnolia reached for her brother, gripping his arm and trying to pull him away from the scene so they could leave the memory all together.

"You- wait!" Professor Snape panted from the ground, as the crowd around them sniggered, "You- wait!"

"Wait for what? What are you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Magnolia wanted to turn away from Sirius as he spoke with such cruelty, he was not the man she knew. She turned back to Professor Snape who, still on the ground and wandless, was shouting hexes and swear words towards the two opposing boys like it would do anything. She could hear the hatred in his words though; Magnolia was sure it would be this moment exactly that could push her Head of House to learn wandless magic if he could.

"Wash your mouth out," Her father interjected with a cold tone she had never thought she'd hear from him, "Scourgify!"

Beside her, Harry sniggered as bubbles began streaming from Professor Snape's mouth, pouring down his front on to the grass around him. Magnolia watched in growing panic as her Professor struggled to breath around the relentless bubbles, as the students around them and her father and his best friend laughed loudly.

"Stop it!"

"Leave him ALONE!"

Magnolia's own useless cry to the memory of her father was drowned out by another girl's angry scream. Magnolia spun around at the same time as her brother and father. Immediately, she thought she knew who the girl was, and turning back to face her father, Magnolia knew she was right. James was running his fingers through his hair, a look of pure adoration covering his features as her mother stomped towards the group.

"All right, Evans?" Her father practically purred, as if there wasn't a student struggling to breath because of him behind him.

"Leave him alone." Magnolia's mother was glaring at her father, "What's he done to you?"

"Well," he ran his fingers through his hair again, smirking at the red head in front of him, "It's more that he even exists, if you know what I mean."

Magnolia couldn't stop the glare that graced her own face towards her father, and the others as they laughed along with him. Glancing at her mother, her own glare faltered into half a smile as she saw her exact expression on her mother's face.

"You think you're funny." Lily spat back, "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

Magnolia wasn't sure when her parents became the fantastical romantic pair that she had heard about, and watching this encounter, she couldn't ever imagine it happening. Her mother was glaring at him with a look of almost hatred.

"Oi!" Sirius's bark captured Magnolia's attention, as behind them the spell had worn off and Professor Snape had reached his wand.

Before anyone could do anything, Professor Snape launched a spell at her father and blood bloomed from his side. Magnolia gasped in shock at the sight of her parent being hurt, no matter how he had acted. Seconds later though, Professor Snape was hanging upside down in mid air curtesy of her father. His robes fell over his face as he swung himself around, trying to get out of the spells hold.

"Let him down!"

"Certainly," her father responded to her mother with a smile, flicking his wand at Professor Snape again.

Professor Snape hit the grass with a thump, but quickly righted himself flinging himself back up to a standing position and pointing his wand at Sirius and his friend.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Sirius said smugly, as Professor Snape once again hit the ground.

Magnolia gripped her brothers arm tighter, certain that they really should leave, but Harry seemed enthralled in the action before them. Her mother screamed at the two standing boys, bringing her own wand from where it had been stashed in her robes and directing it at the pair. Eventually, James uttered the counter curse at her demand, and Professor Snape jumped back up.

"There you go," Magnolia could see her father was speaking through gritted teeth, "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"

"I didn't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Time seemed to stop at Professor Snape's words. Magnolia saw her mother freeze. And then, with a thunderous roar, her father's voice cut the moment and restarted time.

"Apologise to Evans!"

Once again, James' wand was aimed at Professor Snape, but this time her mother wasn't trying to stop it.

"I don't want you to make him apologise," she cried, turning on James, "You're as bad as he is!"

"What!?" James cried, "I would never call you a- a- a you know what!"

"Messing your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've got a broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can," The crowd hushed as the red head shouted at James, "I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me sick!"

Magnolia watched her mother storm away from the scene, fading out of the memory as a new person entered it. Harry jumped as the real Professor Snape gripped his arm and stared down at the twins with a fury she had never seen in his eyes before.

"Having fun?"

With those cold words, Magnolia felt herself being removed from the memory with force. She almost toppled over as the three of them re-entered Snape's office. She had never seen her Head of House look like he did then. Magnolia clutched onto her brother as he slowly moved her behind him, their Professor still gripping Harry's arm. Professor Snape was pale white and shaking with rage.

"Amusing man, your father, wasn't he?" Professor Snape growled, baring his teeth at the twins.

"I- I didn't-" Harry tried to reply, before Professor Snape shoved him, causing the twins to fall to the ground.

"Professor-" Magnolia muttered, regret filling her voice; regret for them seeing the memory, regret that he would ever have had to go through it.

"You will not tell anyone what you saw!" he bellowed back before she could say anything else. "Now get out! I don't want to see you in this office ever again!"

Harry pulled Magnolia off the stone floor hurriedly and grabbed their bags, practically launching her out the door and away from their Professor who was so incensed Magnolia thought he would explode. With one sympathetic look back, Magnolia saw her Professor glaring after the twins as he shook with rage. She couldn't imagine how much pain that memory must have caused him, how much embarrassment and anger.

Harry eventually stopped dragging his sister when they reached a stone bench in the courtyard. Magnolia was glad he had had the sense not to start going back to either one of their Houses, she didn't want to explain why she was back early, and she needed time to digest what she had seen.

The pair sat in silence, with just the noise of the wind whipping through the courtyard as company. Magnolia wasn't sure how long they had sat like that, but as her fingers grew numb from the cold, she knew one of them would need to be the first to bridge the shroud of thoughts that were whirling through both of their minds.

"Can you believe he did that?" Magnolia whispered.

"No." Harry whispered back, "I knew Occlumency lessons with Snape wasn't a good idea to begin with, I didn't realise just how bad of an idea they were though."

Magnolia turned to face her brother in confusion. He was sat with his elbows on his knees, his head in has hands and his eyes pinched closed.

"Are you ok? Did you get hurt when he pushed us?"

"What? Harry what are you talking about?"

"Snape." Harry lifted his head to face his sister, "We should go to Professor Dumbledore."

"Are you crazy!?"

"He pushed us to the ground, Mags. You could've been hurt, he's a Professor, he shouldn't have done that. You just said you couldn't believe it yourself!"

"I wasn't talking about Professor Snape, Harry!" Magnolia stood up, getting angrier at her brother blindness, "I was talking about our father!"

"What do you mean?" Harry gazed up at her, his eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"I was talking about what our father did to Professor Snape in that memory!" Magnolia huffed, "Of course he would be angry and want us out of his office after we saw that- without permission!"

"I can't believe you're defending Snape over dad!"

"Harry, you've seen first-hand what our dad did!" Magnolia huffed in exasperation, "We've only ever heard what dad was like through his friends, maybe he wasn't always the great guy they've made him out to be. You saw that memory- he seemed like a bully to people he didn't like."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Or maybe, you're just seeing what you want to see because the apple obviously doesn't fall far from the tree." Magnolia snapped, before turning and leaving her brother alone.

Magnolia stalked back to her Dorm, ignoring her friends as she pushed her way through the Slytherin Common Room. She heard their worried voices as she clambered down the stairs and shut the curtains around her bed so no one could open them. As she lay in her bed, allowing the time to go by but not able to sleep, her fists clenched around her wand. She was angry at her brother. She was angry at her father. She was angry at Sirius. She was angry that every Gryffindor she knew kept up the pretence of being the better people, the kinder house, the good guys- but that wasn't what she had seen.

Taking a deep breath and forcing her fist open to drop her wand when she heard her Dormmates enter the room and gasp, before mumbling between themselves about the fiercely flickering candles and intense coldness of the room, Magnolia tried to calm herself down. If she got any angrier, she'd create the fireballs from the candles she had been known to before Christmas.

Forcibly pushing Professor Snape's memory, and the following conversation with her brother out of her mind, Magnolia instead thought about her own part of the Occlumency lesson and sat up quickly as the conversation with Tom Riddle floated back through her mind. One sentence in particular standing out to her, and filling her body with dread, worry and anticipation in a confusing mixture.

'We shall discuss it at Easter.'