September flew by in a whirl of classes, Quidditch practice, and homework. Rachel had never felt more busy in her life, though she was gradually getting used to having three more classes. It helped that they no longer had the mandatory Slytherin study sessions and could spend the evenings working as a study group.

They celebrated Hermione's birthday in mid-September which felt like a nice milestone since they first started celebrating birthdays together a year ago. They decorated their study room again and Rachel made good use of her camera.

Ginny made the Gryffindor Quidditch team as their new Seeker. The Gryffindors were missing that evening as Fred and George threw a celebration for their sister in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny had said it was very embarrassing, but she was smiling when she said it.

It took until early October for Rachel to convince Hagrid to stop teaching classes on flobberworms. He had been quite upset that Rachel had gotten hurt and felt it was his fault. Rachel had reassured him multiple times that she was fine and that she didn't even have a scar.

Finally the study group spent a Sunday morning going through The Monster Book of Monsters with him and helped him pick out some creatures he could show the class that weren't too dangerous, but were still interesting. Rachel hoped that once Hagrid felt confident again he wouldn't need them to help pick the creatures. They had a lesson on Mokes the first Thursday in October and then a lesson on Knarls two weeks later.

Rachel's nightmares had finally started to subside by mid October as well and she was grateful for that. She still woke up several times a night, but most of those times she was able to get back to sleep, and most of the time she was no longer waking up soaked with sweat. She didn't like that it had taken so long to get over the effects of the Dementor, but she was glad it had finally happened.

Although Hogwarts was a magical experience it was easy to settle into a routine and the month passed mostly uneventfully, and that was a relief too.

It was on a Wednesday near the end of October that Rachel sat down for lunch with Theo and Millie. They'd just come from Charms class, where Professor Flitwick had assigned them a two foot essay on Cheering Charms.

"I think we can count on Cheering Charms being on our end of year exam," Theo said as he loaded some potato salad onto his plate. "Professor Flitwick never assigns essays that long unless he plans to test us on the subject."

Rachel sighed to herself as she thought of her schedule. She had Quidditch practice after Potions today, and then she still had Arithmancy equations to do before class tomorrow. "I think I'm going to have to put it off until this weekend," she said.

"We've got Hogsmeade this weekend," Millie said.

Rachel had managed to completely forget about Hogsmeade. She wondered if Severus would still be okay with taking her.

"And then the Halloween feast on Sunday," Theo said. "Though, we don't have to go to that. We can stay in the study room if we want."

She wasn't sure what to answer. She didn't particularly want to go to the Halloween feast, but she didn't want to keep her friends from going either. "I don't know yet."

"What's wrong with the Halloween feast?" Draco asked, catching Pansy and Daphne's attention.

"I don't much feel like celebrating the day my parents died," Rachel said, stabbing her fork into a piece of potato and leaving it there.

"Oh, that's right," Daphne said. "I didn't think of it that way."

Draco nodded. "Fair. I'd probably feel the same way. Rachel, partner with me in Potions today, we're doing Shrinking Solutions."

Rachel had planned to partner with Hermione, though she usually paired with Draco on the occasions he suggested it. "I'll ask Hermione and Theo if they're okay pairing together today," she offered.

"They'll be fine," Draco said.

"You can't always get what you demand, Draco," Theo said. "The world doesn't work that way."

"If you've got money and friends in the right places, sure it does," Draco said with an unpleasant smile.

"Do not get in an argument while we're eating, save it for your dorm room," Pansy said, looking from Draco to Theo.

Everyone went back to their food and Rachel ate the piece of potato she'd speared.

"Hogsmeade though, we're going, right?" Millie asked.

"I'll check with Professor Snape and make sure he's available. Otherwise you all can go without me and I'll stay with Ginny and Luna," Rachel said. "Or if you mind Professor Snape coming with us."

"We don't mind," Theo said immediately. "We want you to go with us if you're able to, and if that means having Professor Snape along, that's fine."

"Agreed," Millie said. "I'm sure the others feel the same way."

Rachel hoped so. She knew going to Hogsmeade was really the only chance students got to explore and shop without adult supervision and having Professor Snape there would somewhat dampen that freedom, but she did want to go.

After they finished lunch they returned to their dorms to get their cauldrons and potions kits and went to Professor Snape's classroom. He was already inside.

Rachel set her things down and went to see him. "Professor Snape. The first Hogsmeade weekend is on Saturday. Do you mind going with us?"

"I don't mind at all. You don't have an appointment this Saturday so it should be fine," Severus said.

Rachel smiled. "Thanks. Did you set it up that way on purpose?"

"I did, since I knew the Hogsmeade weekend schedule in advance," Severus said. "Unless you feel you need an appointment this Saturday, in which case I can reschedule your appointment and we can meet your friends in Hogsmeade after."

Rachel quickly shook her head. "No, I'm fine missing a week."

"If that changes, let me know," he said.

"I will," Rachel said. "I'm going to go get set up."

Severus nodded to her and went back to looking at the vials that he was examining.

Rachel saw the Gryffindors enter the classroom and went to see Hermione. "Do you mind pairing with Theo today?"

"I don't mind, but are you sure you want to pair with Draco?" Hermione asked, glancing at where Draco was sitting across the room.

"It's fine every once in a while," Rachel said. Most of the time she didn't mind Draco all that much, though he could be an absolute prat when he wanted to be.

"If you're sure," Hermione said.

"I am." Rachel gathered her things and went to sit with Draco.

"So your friends have decided you can speak to me?" Draco asked.

"It's not like that," Rachel said, pulling out her textbook and opening it to the instructions for the Shrinking Solution.

"It is, you had to check with them before you were allowed to partner with me," Draco said. "I wouldn't let anyone have that much control over my life."

"I told Hermione that I'd partner with her today, of course I had to check if she was okay working with someone else," Rachel said.

Draco shook his head. "Whatever."

"Today we will be brewing the Shrinking Solution. Send one of your pair to the supply closet to get two Shrivelfigs and four leeches. Bring a large vial with you to contain the leeches," Severus instructed.

"I'll set up the cauldron," Draco said.

Rachel got up and joined the small group of people waiting at the supply closet and noticed that Neville was right in front of her. "How're you, Neville?"

"Fine, though I'm not a fan of leeches," Neville said with a shudder.

"Me neither," Rachel admitted. It wasn't just that leeches were gross, it was that they had to put the leeches into their cauldrons while they were still alive. Sometimes the use of animals in magic made her feel a bit disturbed, though she'd been assured that transfiguration did not hurt the animals.

When she reached the front of the line she used the tongs to carefully select four leeches and put them into the vial, and then she picked two Shrivelfigs from the jar.

"Here we go," Rachel said, putting the ingredients down on the workstation.

"I'll juice the Shrivelfigs and you can cut the daisy roots," Draco said, setting a pile of daisy roots down in front of Rachel.

"As long as you're the one who adds the leeches," Rachel said, getting out her silver potions knife and starting to cut the roots into equal segments.

"So, I'm thinking today we should work on perfecting our reverse pass," Draco said, drawing ruby liquid from the Shrivelfig he was working on.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Quidditch practice, we have Quidditch practice after class," Draco said.

"Right," Rachel said. "Shouldn't we work on what Marcus tells us to work on?"

"Marcus knows it's a good maneuver," Draco said. "I think after a few times, you and I should be able to pull it off just fine."

"I'm not going to be the one you're going to be doing the maneuver with during the games though," Rachel pointed out.

"This is Marcus' last year, you could be a Chaser next year if you wanted to be," Draco said.

"I like being a Seeker, I'm not going to change positions unless I absolutely have to," Rachel said, refocusing her attention on cutting her roots.

"But we'd be unstoppable as Chasers together," Draco said, adding the rest of the Shrivelfig juice to the cauldron and turning up the heat.

"Potions class is not the appropriate place for discussions on Quidditch," Severus said, coming to a stop in front of them.

Rachel blushed furiously. "Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir," Draco echoed. He waited until Severus walked away. "At least think about it."

"I'm not changing position," Rachel said firmly. "The roots are just about ready. Do you want to shake the wormwood?"

"Fine," Draco said, picking up the bottle of wormwood. "But you're missing out."

Rachel shook her head to herself and added the pile of chopped roots to the bubbling cauldron. Some days Draco was just too much.


Rachel was surprised to find Severus standing in the Defense classroom on Friday morning.

"What's this about?" Neville asked quietly as the study group took their usual seats.

"I'll go find out," Rachel said, setting her bag down and going up to the front of the classroom. "Is everything alright, sir?"

"Professor Lupin is feeling too ill to teach today. As my free period from teaching falls on Friday morning I have agreed to cover his class for him," Severus said.

"That was nice of you," Rachel said. "Did he tell you where we left off? I have our notes of what we've already covered."

"That's not necessary, I have a lesson plan," Severus said.

"Okay," Rachel agreed. She went back to her seat. "Professor Lupin is ill. Professor Snape is covering our class. He says he has a lesson plan."

"This will be interesting," Hermione said. "I've never imagined Professor Snape teaching anything but Potions."

"Somehow he doesn't look too happy about it," Theo said.

Rachel looked back at Severus. Theo was right, the downward turn at the left corner of his mouth did mean he wasn't happy about something. Maybe Professor Dumbledore had insisted that he teach the class and he didn't want to.

"Well I imagine he has other stuff he wanted to do," Millie said.

"Probably," Rachel agreed.

The last handful of Gryffindors entered the classroom and took their seats. Severus turned to face the class. "Today we will be covering werewolves. Open your books to page 394."

"We're not supposed to be covering werewolves until the spring," Hermione whispered.

Rachel shrugged and opened her book to the chapter on werewolves. She hoped Professor Lupin hadn't been planning a practical lesson for this.

"Now, who can tell me how to distinguish between a werewolf and a true wolf?" Severus asked.

Everyone in the study group raised their hands. Millie had done a write up on werewolves last year when Lockhart had been reenacting his book Wanderings with Werewolves.

"Mr. Nott," Severus called.

"Werewolves have a shorter snout than regular wolves, they also have a tufted tail. The shape and color of their eyes are both more human-like, and they will hunt humans," Theo said.

"Five points to Slytherin. Everyone else, write that down," Severus said.

Rachel quickly made notes, though she did know the things that Theo had listed.

"Now you know how to distinguish a werewolf when it is in wolf form, but what about in human form?" Severus asked.

The study group all raised their hands again.

"Miss Snow," Severus said, nodding to her.

"The most obvious way to detect a werewolf is around the full moon, though you should never be near a werewolf at the full moon because they will likely kill you. However, a pattern of odd behavior around full moons is a potential indicator. Their skin will be burned by touching pure silver. They may also have visible scars from the attack that turned them into a werewolf," Rachel said, doing her best to recall everything they'd studied about werewolves last year.

"Good. Another five points to Slytherin. Continue taking notes," Severus said.

They continued the lecture, but Rachel was having an odd realization. Two odd realizations, actually. In Astronomy on Tuesday they'd been reminded of the phases of the moon - the full moon was last night. And Professor Lupin had looked ill right at the start of term, which would have also been right after the full moon. And Professor Lupin's boggart - the glowing orb they'd seen when he'd stepped in front of Rachel - that could be a full moon.

Severus had said that Professor Lupin was dangerous, but he couldn't say why. But in a way, he was saying why right now.

In a way, that was better than what Rachel had been worried about. If Professor Lupin was a werewolf, he was only dangerous during the full moon and they obviously had a plan to keep him away from students. It was much better than Professor Lupin being a Death Eater or worse.


"Do you all have everything you need?" Severus asked them.

Rachel patted her pocket to check for her money pouch and her wand and then nodded. She had her cloak to guard against the late autumn chill and she was ready to go to Hogsmeade.

"Yes, sir," Hermione said quickly, the others nodding in agreement.

"Off we go then," Severus said, gesturing them toward the line at the front doors.

"Hi Mr. Filch," Rachel said when they reached the front of the line. "How are you and Mrs. Norris?"

"Miss Rachel," Mr. Filch said with a brief smile. "Same old, same old. Mrs. Norris is well though."

Rachel bent down and pet Mrs. Norris' head while Mr. Filch checked them off his list.

"As you have Professor Snape with you, you can go," Mr. Filch said.

"Thanks, see you later," Rachel said.

It was a nice morning with clouds scattered across the sky and a slight wind blowing her hair, which she'd worn loose today. They had made their way up the path, the study group chattering idly, when Rachel spotted the Dementors at the gates.

"We have to go past them?" Rachel asked, wondering why Severus hadn't told her about this before. She'd assumed they'd been moved so that students could pass.

"Yes, but I will protect you," Severus said.

Rachel frowned in concern but continued walking. She could see students ahead hurrying past the Dementors, but none of them seemed to be having any trouble. Maybe Dementors had a very localized effect and they weren't close enough that she'd have the same problem as she'd had on the train?

She felt a familiar chill as they walked up to near the gates and came to a stop. If she tried to walk past them she was just going to wind up in the hospital wing again.

Severus raised his wand and a silvery doe appeared in front of him. "Stay close to my Patronus, that will lessen the effects of the Dementors."

"It's beautiful," Millie said.

Rachel moved so that she was standing right next to the doe and felt the chill recede.

"Ready?" Severus asked.

"Yes," Rachel said, still a little uncertain, but if Severus thought this would work she was willing to try it.

They made their way up to the gates in a huddle around Severus' Patronus and then moved past the Dementors. Rachel felt more chilled as she got closer, but there were no other effects.

"Is the Patronus charm taught at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"In the NEWT Charms courses, yes, though it's a difficult spell. Many people do not spend enough time working on the spell to cast a corporeal Patronus," Severus explained.

"Corporeal as opposed to what, sir?" Theo asked

"A non-corporeal Patronus is like a fine mist, and though it can alleviate some of the effects of Dementors it cannot drive them away," Severus said, sending his Patronus away with a wave of his wand now that they were away from the Dementors.

"Can't you also use a corporeal Patronus to send messages?" Rachel asked. She'd seen Severus and Albus send Patronus messages to each other.

"Yes, that is an invention of Professor Dumbledore," Severus said. "At least, to my knowledge its use isn't recorded anywhere else, though it may have been done so in the past or kept secret in groups."

"That seems really useful," Neville said. "Look, Hogsmeade."

Rachel looked up the path and saw that they were quite close to Hogsmeade now. It was a rather quaint little village, with small shops and cottages all gathered together.

"I read that the village was settled around the same time Hogwarts was founded, and it's one of the few entirely magical settlements in Britain," Hermione said.

"Let's walk along the main road and see if there's any shops we want to go in," Theo suggested, and then turned to Severus. "Assuming that's okay with you, sir?"

"That's fine. As long as the activities are safe I have no objection," Severus said.

"Let's go in Honeydukes," Millie said.

"And I want to go by the quill shop," Hermione said.

"We should get butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks," Neville added.

"And we should go look at the Shrieking Shack. It's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in all of Britain," Hermione said.

Rachel puzzled over that. "Does that mean it has a lot of ghosts? Like more ghosts than Hogwarts?" she asked.

Hermione hesitated. "I don't know, actually."

"Haunting is generally referred to a ghost, often a poltergeist, who follows a person or stays in a single area and attempts to cause destruction or difficulties for the person they are haunting. There is a subcommittee at the Ministry who has jurisdictions over hauntings and can be called upon to relocate problematic ghosts," Severus explained. "I can see that the Defense curriculum at Hogwarts is still desperately lacking."

"So to say it's the most severely haunted building in Britain, would mean that there are a lot of poltergeists there causing destruction?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, however, I believe in this case it is merely misattribution. The villagers in Hogsmeade heard screams and sounds of things being destroyed in the Shrieking Shack and assumed it was the work of poltergeists. It's just as likely it was some wild youths destroying property in an abandoned house," Severus said.

"Why was it abandoned?" Neville asked.

"I don't know," Severus said. "Though it's been abandoned since before I was a student."

"Hogsmeade is so nice. You think someone would buy it and fix it up," Millie said.

"Maybe they don't know who to buy it from," Theo said. "Lots of rich pure-bloods will buy property just for the location and then they don't do anything with it."

"Why do they buy it then?" Rachel asked.

"In case they or their descendants want to have a house there. Land in magical settlements is valuable," Theo said.

"People do that in the muggle world too, I heard my parents talking about how some people with a lot of money do that," Hermione said. "They didn't seem to think it was a very good thing."

"Magical or muggle, rich people are rich people, I guess," Millie said. "Look, there's Honeydukes."

Rachel looked through the large front window of the building Millie was pointing at and hesitated. It was packed full of people already. She knew Millie wanted to go in though, and so did she, just not when it was so crowded.

They approached the front door and Rachel pulled out her money pouch and took out a few Galleons. "I'm going to wait out here, there's a lot of people in there. Can you get me a few chocolate frogs and jelly slugs?" she asked Millie.

"Sure. Or we could come back later?" Millie suggested.

Rachel shook her head and handed Millie the money. "It's fine, I don't think it's going to get any less busy."

"If you're sure," Millie said, glancing at Severus then back to Rachel.

"I'm sure," Rachel said.

The rest of the group went inside, though Severus waited outside with her.

"Are you alright?" Severus asked.

"I'm fine. I just don't want to go in when there's so many people," Rachel said.

"If you'd like, you and I can come back another day when there are less people," Severus offered.

"Maybe, thanks," Rachel said. She paused and read the sign on the door that indicated that Dementors would be patrolling the streets at sundown due to Sirius Black. She was glad they'd be back in the castle well before then.

"Is it cramped spaces that bother you or that there are a lot of people around?" Severus asked.

Rachel turned back to Severus. "Both. I do okay with a lot of people if there's also a lot of space. Like Diagon Alley is usually fine and out here is fine. The Great Hall and the common room are usually fine."

"How about small spaces without any people?" Severus pressed.

Rachel looked around them. There was no one else within hearing distance, though she could see several students further down the road. "Depends on how small. Bathrooms are fine, though I wouldn't want to be trapped in a shower or a toilet stall."

Severus nodded. "Neither would I, to be honest."

Not long after the study group came out of Honeydukes and Millie shoved a bag into Rachel's hands. "You're all set."

"Thanks," Rachel said, peering into the bag to see a pile of chocolate frogs and an assortment of jelly slugs.

"Why don't we go to The Three Broomsticks before it gets crowded," Neville suggested. "We can do the quill shop and the Shrieking Shack after, since they're less likely to get busy."

"Good idea," Hermione said.

Rachel smiled. "Which way is The Three Broomsticks? Did we pass it already?"

"No, The Hog's Head is back that way, which I advise all of you to stay out of. The Three Broomsticks is up ahead," Severus said.

They started walking again. "Why shouldn't we go into The Hog's Head, sir?" Theo asked.

"Because the clientele are disreputable at best and the atmosphere is not suitable for students," Severus explained.

Rachel and Millie exchanged glances. It seemed the sort of place they might want to peek into, just to see what it was like, when they were older.

They made it to The Three Broomsticks which had a very homey atmosphere with a large fireplace and many of the tables were still open.

"Would you like us to get you something, sir?" Theo asked.

"A hot butterbeer, please," Severus said, reaching into his pocket and handing Theo two Sickles.

"Hot for me too," Millie said, handing Theo money.

"I'll go with you to order," Neville said.

"Me too," Hermione said.

"I'll try it hot as well," Rachel said, passing two Sickles to Hermione.

Severus, Millie, and Rachel settled down at a table big enough for their group and Rachel smiled. It was nice being out of the castle, even though they had to pass Dementors to get there.


"You've gotta get down to the Great Hall," a Ravenclaw prefect told Rachel and Hermione.

Rachel looked up from the shelf of books in the library. She'd been looking for a book on historical uses of Arithmancy to help with an essay that Professor Vector had assigned. "What?"

"The professors are instructing everyone to go back to the Great Hall, that's all I know," the Ravenclaw prefect said.

"Okay," Hermione said.

"Go straight there, I have to finish checking to see if anyone else is in the library," the prefect said.

Rachel gave up on searching for her book and left the library with Hermione. They had just come from the Great Hall after dinner, the rest of the study group had gone to their study room.

"I wonder what all this is about," Hermione said.

"No idea," Rachel said, adjusting the way her bag was resting on her shoulder. She wondered though if it could have to do with Sirius Black. Surely the professors wouldn't want everyone traveling through the castle if Sirius Black was inside?

"That was fast," Theo commented when they entered the study room.

"We've all got to go down to the Great Hall, prefects are gathering everyone on the orders of the professors," Hermione said.

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"We don't know," Hermione said. "The prefect said they didn't know either, though they might have been instructed not to tell people."

Millie met Rachel's eyes. "Maybe Sirius Black?"

"How could he get in the castle?" Ginny asked.

"Hogwarts is very flexible, maybe the castle invited him in," Luna suggested.

Hermione puzzled over that for a moment before shaking her head. "I suppose we'll find out more in the Great Hall."

They all gathered their things and went back down the main staircase that led to the entrance hall and then into the Great Hall where students were gathering.

"The professors and I will be conducting a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore announced to the gathered students.

Rachel felt her stomach grow tight. She was right - Sirius Black was in the castle.

"For your safety, you will spend the night here. Prefects will be standing guard over the doors and the Head Girl and Head Boy will be in charge. Disturbances should be reported to me immediately," Professor Dumbledore continued. He waved his wand and the tables flew to stand against the walls. Another wave conjured hundreds of purple sleeping bags. "Sleep well."

Rachel watched as Professor Dumbledore closed the doors behind him.

"Everyone get settled and get a sleeping bag, we'll dim the lights in ten minutes," the oldest Weasley boy called.

"Come on, let's get one of the corners," Theo said.

"Grab me a sleeping bag," Hermione said and then disappeared into the crowd.

Rachel shrugged and grabbed two sleeping bags and the study group made its way over to a corner near the staff table.

"What is Hermione doing?" Neville asked.

"Getting information," Luna said as she carefully unrolled her sleeping bag.

"She should have had me go, Hermione's not exactly popular with the other Gryffindors in her year," Ginny said. "Actually, I'm going to go ask the twins, I'll be right back."

Rachel unrolled Hermione's sleeping bag and then her own and sat down. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep with so many people around her.

"So how did Sirius Black get into the castle?" Neville asked. "He shouldn't have been able to get by the Dementors."

"That's a very good question," Theo said, frowning as he looked at Rachel. "Another question is what was his plan when he got here. Clearly, whatever it was, he failed."

"Good," Millie said, turning to look at Rachel. "It's good that they found this out so quickly."

Ginny and Hermione returned, both looking grim.

"Sirius Black slashed up the portrait of the Fat Lady that guards the Gryffindor Tower when she wouldn't let him in," Ginny said as she sat down on her sleeping bag.

"Why was he trying to get into Gryffindor Tower?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe he assumed you'd be a Gryffindor like your parents," Hermione suggested.

Rachel nodded. She supposed Sirius Black wouldn't have a reason to know that she was a Slytherin.

"Can they restore the Fat Lady?" Luna asked. "She's quite nice."

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I don't really know anything about magical paintings. I never thought to look."

"Are you alright?" Gemma asked, pausing by their group.

"We're fine," Rachel said.

"Good. Get in your sleeping bags, we're about to turn out the lights," Gemma said, moving on to the next group of students.

Rachel took off her shoes and slid inside her sleeping bag, though she didn't intend to sleep. She didn't think she could even if she'd wanted to.

Sirius Black had gotten into the castle and had been so upset by not being able to get into the Gryffindor Tower that he'd slashed up the guardian painting. Both Severus and Professor Lupin had warned her that Sirius Black was dangerous, but she hadn't really imagined what that could mean. She'd kind of thought of him as being like Uncle Vernon - dangerous but avoidable in most situations.

They'd also warned her that Sirius had killed innocent bystanders. Did that mean he'd hurt or kill anyone who got in his way? Did that mean he'd kill her friends if they just happened to be there when he arrived?

Rachel puzzled over these questions as the lights went out, leaving her staring up at the stars that shone on the enchanted ceiling.


Severus had finished searching the dungeons and returned to the painting of Curbin the Brave. His first task, before he'd even begun his search, had been to show Curbin a picture of Sirius Black - using the newspaper article from the day of his escape - and ask him to use the Slytherin network within the paintings to search for him.

He found Curbin waiting in his frame. "Anything, Curbin?"

"Two sightings in the corridor leading up to the Gryffindor staircase, both of him fleeing. Oddly, they did not see him when he came to the Gryffindor staircase," Curbin said.

Severus frowned. "And the other thing I asked you to look into?"

"Professor Lupin was in his office from after lunch until dinner time and then returned to his private quarters after dinner. He did not leave again until Professor Dumbledore summoned him," Curbin said. "Do I want to know why I'm spying on a professor?"

"Because I do not trust him to do the right thing," Severus said. That was a vast understatement. "I must report in. Please ask the network to continue keeping an eye out for Black. We need to know how he's getting into the castle."

Curbin nodded. "We're all aware of the threat and are watching for him. We'll report to you if we see anything."

"As always, my thanks," Severus said, inclining his head before he hurried away.

Albus, Minerva, Filius, and Pomona were gathered in the entrance hall.

"Your report?" Albus asked.

"Dungeons are clear, he is not hiding there," Severus said.

Albus nodded. "That is the castle searched. He must have fled as soon as he attacked the Fat Lady."

"But how did he get in, Albus?" Pomona asked.

"That is the question," Severus said, meeting Albus' eyes.

Albus shook his head. "I checked with the handlers who are managing the Dementors. There was no sign of Black entering the grounds. At this time I have no plausible theories as to how Black got in."

Severus did. Black couldn't have gotten into Hogwarts without help. And who better to help Black than his old friend Lupin. He knew better than to bring that up in the presence of anyone except Albus though.

"Shall we send the students back to their dorms?" Filius asked.

"I think it's best to leave them for now, most of them are asleep," Minerva said.

"I will check on Rachel before I retire," Severus said, nodding to his colleagues. He doubted very much that Rachel was asleep.

He entered the Great Hall and Gemma made her way over to him immediately.

"All quiet here, sir. Did they catch him?" she asked.

"No, Miss Farley. We believe he fled before the search started," Severus said.

"Do they know how he got in?" she asked.

"Not at this time," he said.

Gemma nodded. She clearly understood the problem as well.

"Can you tell me where Rachel is?" he asked.

"Back left corner," Gemma said, pointing.

"Thank you," Severus said. He carefully made his way around sleeping students until he found Rachel and her study group.

Rachel blinked up at him before sitting up. "Did they catch him?" she whispered.

"No, he had already fled. Would you like to come back to our quarters or to your dorm for the night?" he asked.

Rachel hesitated and looked around. "They might worry, if I'm not here when they wake up."

"Go with Professor Snape, I'll tell them," Theo said, sitting up as well.

"You are having difficulty sleeping as well, Mr. Nott?" Severus asked.

"Yes, sir, but it's okay," Theo said.

"Do you wish to go to your dorm as well?" Severus asked.

"No, sir. I'll stay here. But you should go so you can sleep, Rachel," Theo said.

Rachel crawled out of her sleeping bag. "You're sure you don't want to come?"

"I'm sure," Theo said.

Rachel gathered her shoes and her bag and followed Severus out of the Great Hall. "Thanks for letting me leave," she said, covering her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

"Of course," Severus said. "Why don't you stay in your room in my quarters tonight. Sirius Black is not in the castle, but I would feel more comfortable if you were not completely alone in your dorm."

"Okay," Rachel agreed.

"Good," Severus said. It was one less thing for him to worry about for tonight at least.


Rachel sat in her bed in Severus' quarters early on Sunday morning, a book on her lap with a piece of parchment on it and a quill in her hand. She'd woken early despite her late night and decided that it was best to do this now rather than putting it off until the evening. The Halloween feast was tonight and she still wasn't sure if she was going.

She wanted to write this letter, she thought it was important, but that didn't make it any easier.

Finally, she started.

'Dear Mom and Dad,

I hope it's okay that I call you that. I know a lot of parents prefer to be called mother and father, but I'd like to think that you'd just have me call you mom and dad.'

Rachel paused, not wanting to lie and say that it had been a good year, because some parts of it hadn't been so good, but she didn't want to complain either.

'It's been an eventful year, which I'm sure you already know, but I want to tell you about it anyway. I made two new friends, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. Luna is unique, I think you'd like her. She's very smart and has an interesting outlook on the world. I worry about her sometimes, because I think some kids still make fun of her, but it doesn't seem to bother her. I think you'd like Ginny too. She's quick and intelligent and she's a Seeker like me. She seems to be doing much better this school year now that all that evil diary stuff is done.

I suppose I ought to tell you about that too, though I really can't write down the details, but I'm sure you know. I got really lucky that the diary didn't do anything to me. It was good that Theo and Millie were looking out for me. I'm sure you know about the stuff that happened in the spring too. I'm just glad it's over with.'

Rachel fiddled with her quill. She didn't want to write more about Leander and she kind of hoped that her parents hadn't been watching that.

'I spent the summer with Severus again at his house. I developed the photos I took and I'm about halfway through taking another roll. I have photos of both of you too, Hagrid gave me an album of them. The Dursleys didn't have any photos of you, so I'm glad that I got to see what you looked like. I look a little bit like both of you.'

She hesitated again as she thought about the album. Severus had used it to show her a picture of Sirius Black.

'I've met one of your friends - Professor Lupin. He's told me a little bit about both of you, and Hagrid and Severus have too. Did you know that Sirius Black betrayed you when it happened? Was there any time for you to know? I keep imagining it; some secret meeting where Sirius Black tells the Dark Lord where you are, and then they go to your house and burst in together. And you try to fight them, but no one can defeat the Dark Lord. And then what? You die and somehow I live? Somehow the Dark Lord's spirit gets taken out of his body and he floats away? Sirius Black flees instead of staying and killing me?

Severus says that now Sirius Black wants to kill me, because of what I did to the Dark Lord. Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts last night. We were lucky we were all in the Great Hall having dinner, otherwise he might have killed anyone he found. I hope he doesn't kill anyone. I hope they capture him and take him back to Azkaban.'

This was not the direction she'd wanted her letter to go, though all of this had been on her mind lately. She wanted her parents to know that she was doing well and that she was okay.

'I'm doing well though. Severus is protecting me, he even took us to Hogsmeade. My classes are going well, though I'm very busy since I'm taking three electives. I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy. All three are okay, though I think Charms and Potions are still my favorite subjects. I'm still on the Quidditch team. We play Hufflepuff next Saturday.

I miss you and I wish you were here. I hope you're doing well in the afterlife.

Love from your daughter, Rachel Snow'

Rachel peered down at the letter and decided it more or less summed everything up. She imagined her parents already knew all of it anyway, but she thought that by writing it down maybe it got to them more directly. Maybe they could see her better when she was focusing on them. She didn't know how it worked, but she wanted to at least try.

She'd slept in the same clothes she'd worn yesterday since she hadn't left a pair of pajamas in her room in Severus' quarters. She wanted to take a shower and put on clean clothes before the rest of the day started, though she should probably find a way to let Severus know she was going back to her dorm so she didn't worry him.

She tucked the book, the letter, and her spare quill back into her wardrobe and went out into the main room where she found Severus already awake and with a cup of tea.

"Stay for breakfast?" he asked.

"Sure," Rachel said. She knew where to find her friends if she missed them in the Great Hall.

"What would you like?" he asked.

"Waffles and eggs and bacon," Rachel said, deciding that she might as well take advantage of the fact that Severus had a direct connection to the kitchen.

Severus used the floo to call in their order to the House Elves and a few moments later food appeared on the dining table. Severus had almost the same as her, except toast instead of waffles.

"Thanks. Do you know what electives my parents took?" she asked as she sat down.

"Lily took Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. I believe James took Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies," Severus said.

"Which ones did you take?" Rachel asked, realizing she should have asked him before she'd picked her own classes.

"Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Divination, though I dropped Divination after my OWLs," he said.

"Is the class really that bad?" she asked.

"It's a useful class if you're a Seer, and for a select number of students who can manage their abilities and can get limited glimpses into the future. However, those glimpses are rarely useful and are often accompanied by a great deal of superstition. It's rather useless for most witches and wizards," Severus explained.

"Why do they offer it as a class then?" Rachel asked.

"Albus believes it is a useful art and that students should be given the opportunity to learn it if they so choose," he said.

"I suppose," Rachel said skeptically before shoving a forkful of waffle into her mouth.

"Are you comfortable with all of your electives?" he asked.

Rachel nodded. "Busy, but comfortable."

"If that changes, please let me know," Severus said.

Rachel nodded again. She thought it would be just fine, at least up until final exams.