Chapter 62.
Magnolia pushed the leaflets that were scattered across the table in the Slytherin Common Room on to the floor, replacing them with her own parchment and textbooks. She didn't need to look at the leaflets that had appeared throughout their Common Room about Career Advice, she already knew what she wanted to do once she left Hogwarts. She had always known what she wanted to be, even before finding out she was a witch, and so she had been one of the first in her House to sign herself up to the Career Advice meeting with her Head of House so she could get it out of the way.
Sighing, Magnolia focused on her work and waited for her friends to return. The girls had followed with the boys to the Quidditch pitch to watch the practice, but Magnolia insisted on staying behind to actually get some work done. Truthfully, she was nervous about the meeting with Professor Snape that was coming the following day and just wanted to have something else to completely occupy her mind.
She hadn't told anyone what had happened during that last Occlumency lesson, even when Draco had been enraged at their Professor for dropping her lessons. The only upside to the entire situation was that Harry was being given a harder time by Hermione for the classes finishing before he had grasped the concept fully.
After an hour of writing, Magnolia sat back from the table, leaning her back on the sofa behind her and stretched her hand out as cramp threatened. She was sure that she had done well, but she would get Theo to check it over when he got back from practice. Pushing her work further away from her, Magnolia decided to get out of the Common Room and get some food, hopefully her brother would be having lunch at the same time.
They hadn't spoken much about the memory; both knew the other had a completely different opinion about it, but Magnolia needed to talk to Harry about it now. She couldn't get the sight of her father and Sirius bullying Professor Snape out of her mind. She wanted to talk to Harry because really, she wanted to talk to Sirius. As she wandered down the corridor, she caught sight of Hermione and Ron and jogged over to them.
"Do you guys know if Harry is in the Great Hall?" she asked as she approached them.
"Oh, no, we just left him and Ginny in the Library." Hermione replied, with a small smile.
"Oh, Harry and Ginny, huh?" Magnolia wiggled her eyebrows, "Ron, you best get practicing the big brother speech."
At that, Magnolia waved to the pair and walked towards the Library, leaving Hermione giggling and Ron incredibly confused behind her. She would let Hermione delve deeper into that conversation with Ron.
As she sauntered into the Library, Magnolia sent a smile towards Madame Pince who eyed her with suspicion. Magnolia was still trying to get the Librarian to forgive her for an evening a few weeks ago when she gotten so angry at her own lack of understanding in her History of Magic essay that she had thrown the book she had been reading across the Library. Eager to get away from Madame Pince, Magnolia hurried towards the table her brother most often frequented, hoping he would still be there.
"Mags! Is it safe for you to be here?" Harry's voice whispered as she caught sight of him.
Beside Harry, Ginny giggled having seen the onslaught Magnolia had received from Madame Pince that day. Magnolia faltered a moment, unsure if she could have the conversation she had been hoping for with her brother in front of Ginny. She wasn't sure how much he had told his friends; she hoped he hadn't told them much at all, after all it wasn't their memory to share.
"Harry, can we… can we talk about… you know?" Magnolia questioned vaguely.
"I know what you're going to say," Harry sighed, "I want to talk to Sirius too. And I think Ginny might have a way for us to do that."
Magnolia glanced at Ginny, wondering what her plan was, to see her friend had a mischievous glint in her eye that rivalled the Weasley twins'.
"The thing about growing up with Fred and George," Ginny began as if she had heard Magnolia's thoughts, "is that you sort of start thinking anything is possible, if you have enough nerve."
Later that day, after finding Fred and George and coming up with a plan for the following evening, Magnolia said goodbye to her brother and joined her House for dinner. Sitting down next to Pansy and Daphne, she noticed that Draco was acting quite out of sorts. Even Theo seemed sullen. Magnolia guessed it had something to do with the Quidditch practice they had just had, until they were walking back to their Common Room and the boys dragged them all into their Dorm.
"What's going on?" Magnolia asked as Draco paced in front of the desk beside his bed.
Abruptly, he grabbed a piece of parchment off the desk, practically crumpling it in his fist and held it up to Magnolia. His eyes were closed off to most, but she could see the desperation that hid in them. Immediately, the memory of what had happened in her last Occlumency sprung into her mind.
"I received a letter from my mother." Draco began, before he was interrupted by Magnolia.
"Inviting me to Malfoy Manor for Easter?" Magnolia asked, already knowing the answer.
It was no secret that Draco went home for a few days every Easter, his family had some big tradition that he had to attend every year. Some years, other members of the Slytherin House would also disappear with him, Magnolia supposed this year she would be one of them.
"I wouldn't call it an invitation." Draco growled.
"A summoning then?" Magnolia replied, placing her hands around his neck, and softly playing with bottom his hair in a bid to relax him slightly.
"How are you so calm about this?"
Magnolia shrugged, "I had a feeling this would happen."
"Well, it isn't just you, Lia. It's all of us." Draco told her, causing her to freeze in his arms, "The two of us, Theo, Blaise, Pansy, Daphne and Tracey. He's summoned us all."
"But- what does he want with you guys? Why would he- you can't go." Magnolia told her friends in a panic as she turned to face them.
"We have to Mags, what do you think will happen if we don't?" Theo replied, "We're just hoping he wants to keep you happy enough that he'll lay off us."
The group took to the beds after that, each laying or sitting on one of the boys four poster beds as they discussed what would happen on the Easter Sunday. Pansy explained to Magnolia that the Malfoy's held an Easter Ball for the Pureblood families, and that black tie was not optional, meaning the girls would need to find new dresses. As the evening lapsed into silence, worry weaving its way around the group, Magnolia couldn't make sense of the conflicting emotions that were running through her.
Worry and pure terror at the prospect of her friends coming face to face with Lord Voldemort, especially Blaise and Tracey who had so far managed to stay away from him. What Voldemort could do to Tracey made Magnolia's blood freeze in veins. But underneath that terror, was a thrill of excitement at knowing she would once again get to see Draco in his formal attire, that she could get dressed up herself, and most worryingly of all, that she would get to see Tom Riddle once again.
The following morning, Magnolia awoke wrapped in Draco's arms and breathed a sigh of relief. Her dreams had been filled with disjointed voices and flashes of light, and Magnolia knew that she had thrown herself around with dreams like that before. She was glad that Draco was able to get the well needed sleep with her there. Glancing around the room, Magnolia noticed that Theo and Blaise were both missing, with the other girls taking up their beds.
Resting her head back down on Draco's chest, Magnolia focused only on his breathing. The slow and steady rise and fall of his chest. The feeling of his strong arms around her body. She knew she would have to make the most of moments like this; Professor Snape had seen Tom in her dreams, and she was certain that it wouldn't be long before Professor Dumbledore and Sirius knew too. Honestly, she was surprised that Sirius hadn't already pulled her out of school and into hiding.
She couldn't understand why Professor Snape hadn't said anything, or if he had why nothing had been done about it yet. Her fingers gripped the soft fabric of Draco's shirt as she thought about what could happen in her meeting with him later that morning. At least after that, she could meet Harry and speak to Sirius knowing fully what he was also aware of.
Breaking her out of her thoughts, the loud slamming of the dorm door opening made her jump into a sitting position and woke everyone else in the room with groans. Magnolia rolled her eyes at the sight of Theo and Blaise strolling in as they laughed.
"If you weren't carrying food, and what I sincerely hope is a very strong, very sugary cup of tea, I would hex you for that." Draco's sleepy voice filled Magnolia's senses.
"Oh, damn. We didn't think about getting our tea obsessed friend a morning cup." Theo replied sarcastically, handing a hot mug to Magnolia.
A few hours later, Magnolia was stood outside Professor Snape's office. His enraged tone from the last time she had been here echoed around her mind, making her hesitate as her hand hovered over the door handle. Taking a deep breath, Magnolia pushed the uncertainty aside and stood taller. She had to have this meeting, she had to find out what Professor Snape was going to do about what he saw in her mind, and then she could find solace with her Godfather.
Professor Snape didn't look up as Magnolia walked through the door, closing it behind her before she moved to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. She waited for him to say anything, or even look at her for what felt like a lifetime before she couldn't take the crushing silence anymore.
"Profess-"
"What career is it you seek, Miss Potter?" his cold voice cut through her word.
"A Healer, sir." Magnolia replied just as curt.
"You are aware you will need to obtain at least an 'Exceeds Expectations' at N.E.W.T level in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts?"
"Yes, sir."
"You are also aware, I assume, that you must receive an 'Outstanding' on your O.W.L's to progress into my Potions N.E.W.T classes?" Professor Snape asked, finally looking at Magnolia, "For your chosen career, I suggest working toward an 'Outstanding' in all your required classes however, it will make you stand out when looking for a job after Hogwarts."
"Yes, sir."
"Am I correct in assuming that you are working towards this?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you may leave."
Magnolia's eyes widened; her breath caught in her throat; that couldn't possibly be all. She had to know what Professor Snape had done with the information he knew. Professor Snape had gone back to looking down at the parchment he had been scribbling on when she arrived, presumably someone's essay, but she had to regain his attention.
"Professor… about the other day…"
As her Head of House's eyes locked once more with hers, Magnolia froze, almost unable to finish what she was saying. The thought of talking to Sirius without knowing if Professor Snape had said anything though was too much.
"Professor, I need to talk to you about what you saw in my mind during our last Occlumency lesson."
"I saw nothing I was not already aware of, Miss Potter." Professor Snape replied with a tone she had never heard from him before.
"But Professor… you saw- don't you have any questions?"
Professor Snape stood at Magnolia's hesitant query and moved around his desk until he leant against it in front of her. The soft tone of his voice was now evident in his dark eyes as he watched her.
"Miss Potter, you have been receiving tutoring from me in Occlumency for quite some time now. Although you were further along then your brother when we first began, make no mistake that I saw a lot inside your mind. You have not hidden everything from the intrusion into your deepest thoughts, your darkest memories, the other intruders into your dreams."
Magnolia nodded and whispered, "Have you told Professor Dumbledore?"
"I have not." Professor Snape replied, "I have told no one, and I don't intend to."
Magnolia gasped at his admission. He wouldn't tell Dumbledore; he wouldn't tell Sirius. Relief rushed her body as she realised that Sirius wouldn't know about the meetings with Lord Voldemort, that he wouldn't know about how deeply imbedded Tom had become in Magnolia's life. Her heart galloped at the thought of it.
"Why?" Magnolia blurted out, "Why wouldn't you tell them?"
"It is not for me to disclose. Now you may leave."
Magnolia nodded and stood, moving to the door in a stupor. She paused as she stood in front of it, turning slightly back to her Head of House who was still leaning against his desk, watching her with that peculiar softness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry about your memory, Professor."
Professor Snape's eyes cast downwards for just a moment, before focusing back on Magnolia, "You have so many of your mother's qualities, Miss Potter. That is why I have no concern with what I saw in your mind."