"Severus, please come in," Torey said from her doorway.
Severus rose and followed Torey into her office and took a seat. He had become accustomed to the rhythm of his visits with Torey over the past two years. There was a sort of comfort in knowing how things would go, even when he was there to discuss difficult things.
"How are you?" Torey asked once they were both seated.
"Well enough, and yourself?" Severus asked.
"I'm doing well," Torey said. "What did you want to talk about?"
Severus allowed himself to hesitate. Likely he should have made this appointment over a month ago when Rachel first talked to him, it was well into December now. "I'm uncertain what to do in regards to some things that Rachel has told me," he said finally.
"Alright, can you be more specific or is it something that Rachel has asked you not to talk to me about?" Torey asked.
"I hope that Rachel has told you this by now, I was under the impression she had, since she mentioned that she's been working on her nightmares with you," Severus said. If Rachel hadn't, it was past time that Torey knew.
"We have been working on her nightmares, though she's reluctant to tell me about the contents specifically," Torey said.
Severus briefly closed his eyes and gathered himself. "Has Rachel told you about how her uncle forced her into prostitution?"
"Not in so many words, but yes," Torey said. "I was able to read between the lines of what Rachel wrote down for me."
Good. Severus was glad Rachel had at least made it that far in her sessions with Torey. "Rachel has been unwilling to talk about the subject since her initial disclosure to me. I'm afraid I did not comport myself well," he explained.
"What do you mean?"
"I asked her questions, about how long it had been happening and if her aunt had known. I realize that I should have done more to reassure her, but when I tried to later that day she became uncomfortable and said she didn't want to speak on it anymore," Severus said.
"It's a difficult topic for both of you. I'm not surprised that you had questions and I'm sure you were caught off guard by her telling you this. It's also not surprising that Rachel refused to talk about it later and I don't think that's a reflection on your reaction. I think Rachel is likely deeply embarrassed about this and would prefer to imagine that you don't know. If she refuses to talk to you about it, she can continue to pretend that you don't know. Obviously that's not a long term solution, but I think right now the best solution is for you to send the message that she can talk to you about anything and let her come to you when she's ready. In the meantime I'll keep working on it with her here in a controlled environment. She's gotten better about speaking about her relatives to me and I think we're getting closer to her being able to talk about some of the trauma she's experienced," Torey explained.
"You don't think that I made the situation worse by asking questions?" Severus asked.
"No, I don't. Your questions were reasonable and you didn't put pressure on her to reveal the details of the trauma."
Severus nodded, relieved by her answer. "I don't know what to do. I've been considering several options, but none of them are satisfactory."
"What is it that you are considering doing?" Torey asked.
"First, finding these men, both the people running the operation, and those who are hurting the children," Severus said. "After that, I haven't decided. I can't let this stand. I can't stand here and do nothing while they are out there."
"Are you planning on tracking down every pedophile in Britain?" Torey asked.
Severus exhaled, recognizing the infeasibility of it all. "I would if I could."
"I know how you feel," Torey said. "Part of my job involves listening to children tell me about people who have hurt them, often in unthinkable ways. It can be difficult to not wish those people harm, sometimes impossible. But it's important that we act in the ways we can legally, for a number of reasons. Part of it is that you're an example for Rachel, she takes her cues of how to interact with the world from you. It will change your relationship with her if you harm people in her name, even if she never knows. And, one day, she may want to ask the police to press charges against these people."
"I have to admit, I'm not well versed in muggle law. What can be done legally?" Severus asked.
"The police have units that investigate reports of child abuse and who can make arrests and the cases would then go to trial after they've collected evidence. The downside being we'd need Rachel to make a statement and she's not ready to do that yet. If it's something she wants to do, we can support her through that, but it has to be something that she chooses to do," Torey said. "If we have names of the people involved in the child prostitution ring, I can make that call directly to the police for them to investigate, but without a victim or a witness they may not be able to do anything."
Severus nodded, though he immediately knew that wasn't good enough. If Rachel wasn't able to do this, then he needed to do it for her.
"Once again I'm going to caution you against taking matters into your own hands. The important part right now is Rachel healing and she needs to be able to trust us," Torey said.
"Of course," Severus said. Rachel also needed to know that he would protect her and that he would do anything necessary to do so. "Thank you for your time."
"I know it's frustrating, but you're doing well with her," Torey said as they stood up.
"I appreciate that," Severus said. Though Torey obviously hadn't intended to, she had given him a new way to proceed. "Thank you."
Rachel came to a stop at Severus' office door with Theo and Millie at her side. It felt strange to knock and not go straight in. Severus opened the door a moment later and looked down at all of them.
"You've all got your gloves? And you're wearing boots?" Severus asked.
"Yes, sir," Theo said, while Rachel and Millie nodded.
"Let's go then," Severus said. He disappeared into his office for a moment and then came out with his cloak.
They met up with Hermione and Neville in the main hall and were near the start of the line of students waiting to leave for Hogsmeade. Millie had insisted that they go as early as possible. When Rachel asked Severus about it, he agreed since there was supposed to be a blizzard in the afternoon and he didn't want them to be outside in it. Hopefully the blizzard wouldn't interfere with the Hogwarts Express running the next day.
"Hi Mr. Filch," Rachel said when she got to the front of the line.
"Hello Miss Rachel. Don't be getting into any mischief now," Mr. Filch said as he checked his list.
"I won't, I'm sure Professor Snape wouldn't let us get into mischief," Rachel said.
Mr. Filch looked up. "You'd be surprised at the mischief Professor Snape got into at his time at Hogwarts. Go on then."
"You got into mischief, sir?" Millie asked once they were on the path away from the castle.
"I did not," Severus said. "Mr. Filch is misremembering."
Rachel exchanged glances with her friends and wondered what sort of mischief Professor Snape had gotten up to that he wouldn't even admit to.
"It's kind of hard imagining you getting into trouble, sir," Neville said.
"That would be because I did not get into trouble. I was an excellent student," Severus said.
Rachel wrapped her winter cloak closer to herself. It was colder than she'd anticipated. "Did you have a study group?"
"In general, no, though I tutored other students in Potions," Severus said.
"Were you a prefect?" Hermione asked.
"No, I was not. Professor Slughorn chose to select prefects based on making advantageous connections for himself with prominent families," Severus explained.
"That's terrible!" Hermione said, sounding scandalized. "Professor Dumbledore didn't stop him?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore chooses to allow Heads of House to have the final selection in their prefects, as long as the selected students aren't failing any of their classes," Severus said. "In general, this is a good policy as Heads of Houses know their students' needs better than the Headmaster, however in this specific case it was unfortunate. I made many changes to Slytherin House when I took over as Head of House."
"When was that?" Rachel asked, realizing she didn't know.
"I started as the Slytherin Head of House and as the Potions teacher in the autumn of 1981," Severus said. "Stay close to my Patronus as we pass through the gate."
Rachel hurried up to the doe's flank. "Should I try to cast the Patronus as well?" she asked. She'd finally managed to cast a non-corporeal Patronus two weeks ago. Neville and Millie could do so as well.
"No, we don't wish to disperse the Dementors who are guarding the gates," Severus said.
Rachel wasn't sure her Patronus was actually strong enough to do so, but she kept her hand on her wand in case the Dementors came any closer. Somehow the chill that radiated from them was almost not physical. Rachel shivered and avoided looking at them.
A light snowfall began to come down. "Maybe the storm is early," Neville said.
"This is likely just the front of the storm, the true storm shouldn't be here for several hours. We should be fine as long as we return to the castle by two," Severus said, shielding his face as he looked in the direction of the storm.
Rachel looked up too and saw darker clouds in the distance.
"Let's go to Honeydukes first, it shouldn't be as crowded yet," Millie said.
"Is that why we came so early?" Rachel asked, a little bit surprised.
"That and the storm," Millie said.
"Thanks," Rachel said, feeling a strange mixture of guilt and gratitude. She didn't like that people had to work around her issues, but it was nice that her friends were willing to do so.
"What other stops do you wish to make today?" Severus asked.
"Perhaps Tomes and Scrolls, just to see what they offer relative to Flourish and Blotts," Hermione suggested.
"Yes, and maybe the post office, to see all the owls?" Rachel suggested. She'd peered in the window last time she'd been in Hogsmeade and it looked interesting.
"And the Three Broomsticks for hot butterbeer before we walk back to the castle, it's freezing out here," Neville said.
Rachel was glad for the time to spend with her friends before they all went home for Christmas, though she wished Ginny and Luna could have joined them. Ginny at least was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas along with the other Weasley siblings.
"Hogsmeade is so picturesque, especially in the snow," Hermione said.
"Oh," Rachel said, coming to a stop. "Hold on a second, I want to get a picture as we come up to the village."
She peeled off her gloves and managed to trade them for her camera that she'd placed into her cloak pocket. She managed to stop shivering long enough to take a photo. "Okay, now gather together so that you're facing me, I want a group shot," she said.
"Why don't I take the photo, so that you're in it with your friends," Severus said, holding out his hand.
Rachel handed him the camera and went to stand with her friends. A flash a few moments later let her know that he was done.
"There you are," he said, handing the camera back to her.
"Thank you," Rachel said, carefully putting her camera back in her cloak pocket and pulling on her gloves again. She was going to need a warming charm if they were out here much longer.
They made their way down the main street of Hogsmeade to Honeydukes. Rachel peered inside the window and found that only a few people were inside. "Thanks," she said to Millie.
"No problem, let's shop. I'm out of sugar quills again," Millie said.
The inside of Honeydukes was bigger than it looked from the windows and Rachel looked around in awe at all the different sweets that were offered. Even the sweetshop in Diagon Alley didn't have this much selection.
"I'm going to get some of the Toothflossing Stringmints for my parents, they'll find them funny," Hermione said.
Rachel went to examine the trays of fudge, aware of Severus following her. It seemed a little unnecessary, Sirius Black obviously wasn't hiding in Honeydukes, but she wasn't about to complain. She couldn't come at all if Severus hadn't agreed to come with her.
"Professor Snape, do vampires really eat the blood-flavored lollipops?" Millie asked.
"I doubt it as they don't contain actual blood, they are most likely a diversion for curious young witches and wizards," Severus said.
Millie wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I'd want to eat anything that tasted like blood, at least not on purpose."
"I suppose I should rephrase my statement to say they appeal to curious young wizards who are easily amused and have no sense of taste," Severus amended.
Millie laughed. "Yes, I could see some of the boys in our year buying those."
"Hey," Theo said as he passed by carrying a few bars of Honeydukes Best Chocolate. "I wouldn't taste one."
"I was talking about Crabbe and Goyle, no need to be offended," Millie said.
"Add some of the Gryffindor boys to that list and you're probably right," Neville said. He had several packets of Fizzing Whizbees and some peppermint cream toads.
Rachel picked out several small packets of different flavors of fudge. "Is everyone ready to pay and go to the bookstore next?"
"I am," Hermione said, leading the way to the counter where the store clerk was.
"Did you want to get anything?" Rachel asked Severus.
"No, I'm not overly fond of sweets," Severus said. "Do you have money?"
"I do," Rachel said. "I'll be right back."
It didn't take long before they all paid for their things and were ready to go back out into the storm. Rachel braced herself for the cold and decided it was going to be a good day.
As fifth year David Zeek was the only other Slytherin to remain at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays, Rachel moved into her room in Severus' quarters on Sunday after she and Ginny saw the rest of their friends off to the carriages that would take them to the Hogwarts Express. There was more than a foot of new snow on the grounds and Rachel was glad she didn't have to go out in it. She made plans to meet Ginny in the Great Hall for lunch and went back down to the dungeons.
For the next week she spent the mornings practicing her Patronus charm with Severus, the afternoons in the library or the study room with Ginny, and then in the evenings she spent reading and chatting in her two-way book. In no time at all Christmas morning had arrived.
Rachel showered and got dressed before she went out to find Severus in the main room. He already had a cup of tea and the Daily Prophet was sitting folded up next to him. There was a stocking for her on the mantle and a pile of presents nearby. Rachel smiled. It was nice that she and Severus had their own holiday traditions.
"Happy Christmas," she told him.
"Happy Christmas," he said.
"This is for you. I hope you don't mind that I keep getting you books," Rachel said as she handed him a wrapped present. As usual she had given money to Hermione and asked her to purchase and send the book.
"I don't mind at all. I find muggle literature interesting and I'm particularly interested in what you like to read," Severus said as he neatly undid the wrapping paper. "Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. That name is familiar."
"Maybe my mom read some of her books?" Rachel asked. "This is the only one of hers I've read, but I know she has others."
"Actually, I suspect if you check the past rolls of Hogwarts, you'll find she attended here," Severus said.
"She's a witch?" Rachel asked, combing through her memory of the book to find similarities between Hogwarts and the world the author had described.
"A Hufflepuff, if I'm not mistaken. Around the time I was first starting school there was a hearing to decide whether her books broke the Statute of Secrecy. It was decided that since muggles had taken them as pure fantasy, it didn't count as a violation," Severus said. "However, it was also brought up later as a talking point that muggleborns couldn't be trusted to keep magic a secret. This was when there was significant pushback against recent laws providing protections to muggleborns, half-boods, and their families."
"Wow," she said as she sat down on the couch. She supposed the Dark Lord hadn't gained power without people to support him, even outside the Death Eaters.
"Thank you for the book, I look forward to reading it," Severus said. "Would you like to open your stocking?"
"Sure," Rachel said. She got back up and unhooked her stocking from the mantle. "Do you think I'm too old for Christmas?"
"No, I don't," he replied. "I don't think there is such a thing as too old for Christmas. I still receive gifts for Christmas, as does Albus and Minerva."
Rachel considered that as she dug into her stocking, pulling out the giant candy cane, this time in green and silver, and an orange, a small pocketbook of Quidditch moves, a pair of wool socks, and a pile of sweets and toffees at the bottom. "I suppose so. People give the Headmaster Christmas gifts?"
"Quite a number of people. He complains that people insist on giving him books. As such, Minerva and I gift him with new clothing in garish colors and bottles of alcohol," Severus explained.
Rachel grinned. "Professor Dumbledore does have a unique taste in clothes."
"I think he does it for the shock value and to cause people to underestimate him, which is not a bad tactic in some situations," Severus said.
"Wouldn't you want people to think you're strong, so then they don't even try to mess with you?" she asked. She couldn't imagine anyone being stronger in magic than Professor Dumbledore.
"That's one option, but it's not always viable. Sometimes if people think you are very powerful they will attack with everything they have. But if they underestimate you, they might be sloppy or not have a backup plan, or they might not even attack you at all if they don't think you're powerful enough to bother with," he explained.
Rachel nodded. "I saw that at my old school sometimes. The weirdest kids were the ones who got bullied, but other kids could get around that by not even being noticeable. After I stopped talking, most of the kids in my class stopped making fun of me, at least to my face."
"In their view you no longer had any power, so you were not an interesting target," Severus said, frowning deeply. "It's unfortunate that your teachers did nothing to stop them before that."
"Some of them did, but there's not much they can do if they're not looking," Rachel said, deciding she was done with this topic of conversation. She didn't have to worry about bullies at Hogwarts - she had friends watching her back. "Presents?"
"Yes, open your presents," Severus said.
Rachel slid down onto the floor and opened a small unmarked box. There was a silver watch inside and she carefully took it out of its package. She'd asked Severus for a watch for Christmas, but she hadn't meant for him to get her something this nice. "Thank you."
"There are dials on the side which you can use to set a time for the watch to chime. There's a button you can press and the watchface will be illuminated. It's also waterproof. Bring it here and I'll help you size it," he said.
Rachel got up and went over to Severus, putting the watch around her left wrist since she was still wearing the silver bracelet he had given her on her right wrist.
Severus tapped it with his wand and the silver links adjusted themselves so that the watch fit just right against her wrist.
"Thank you, it's very nice," Rachel said, examining it again.
"You're welcome," Severus said. "The envelope is from me as well."
Rachel went back to her presents and picked up the envelope. There was a letter with a gift account to Flourish and Blotts, which was perfect for her since she'd read through all of the fiction books she owned. "Thank you."
"Of course. I would suggest either Owl Ordering or we can wait until the Easter holiday or the summer holiday to go in person, depending on the situation," Severus said.
Depending on whether or not Sirius Black had been captured, Rachel read between the lines. "That's fine. Thank you." She then picked up the biggest present.
This year the study group had decided to do Christmas presents differently. Each of them had taken a turn to go sit in the library while the rest of the group discussed what to get them for Christmas. In turn, each of them assembled a package of gifts for one of the group members and they'd all pitched in money to make sure everyone had enough. Rachel thought it was a much more sensible way to do gifts when there were so many of them, and it was easier to come up with gifts when they could brainstorm as a group.
She took off the wrapping paper and opened the cardboard box underneath. Inside there was a box of chocolate frogs, the new Horath Bogtrotter book - Horath Bogtrotter and the Grand Plan - which Rachel eagerly put aside to read later that day, a silver and green bracelet shaped like a snake, which Rachel could guess was Luna's contribution, and a four book series called Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce.
Glad for some new things to read, Rachel set the box aside and opened her last presents.
Hagrid had sent her a tin of what looked like mini mince pies. That went well with the study group's gift to Hagrid, which was a big recipe book of traditional desserts from around the world.
Pansy had sent Rachel a large bar of Honeydukes Best Chocolate, which Rachel appreciated, especially as she'd sent Pansy sweets as well.
Daphne's gift was a little different. Rachel unwrapped a small box and pulled out a small figure on a broomstick - it stood about two inches tall. Confused, Rachel pulled the small booklet out of the box and began to read it. The figure was part of the Seekers series and this one was modelled after the Holyhead Harpies Seeker Glynnis Griffiths. The Seeker would enter a searching pattern for the Snitch if you tapped on it with your wand, but would also do various Seeker moves if you held your wand against it and said the name of the move. Apparently if you bought other members of the team they could do coordinated moves together.
Rachel pulled out her wand and tapped it against the figure, which began to fly around the area between the couch and Severus' armchair.
"What is it?" Severus asked, watching it carefully.
"Some sort of magic action figure," Rachel said. It was much cooler than the action figures that Dudley used to get. She hoped that Daphne liked the hair clips and the sweets she'd sent, though they weren't as interesting as what Daphne had sent her.
"Why don't you catch it and we'll have a light breakfast?" Severus suggested.
"Okay," Rachel said, waiting until it came closer to her before she grabbed it out of the air and tapped it with her wand again. She collected all of her presents and brought them to her bedroom, ready to have breakfast and then settle in to write thank you letters and read the new Horath Bogtrotter book until it was time for the Christmas feast.
On the day after Christmas Rachel went up to the Great Hall with Severus for lunch. She'd finished reading the new Horath Bogtrotter book this morning and was waiting for Millie, Ginny, and Hermione to finish reading it before she could discuss it with them in their two-way books.
"Rachel!" Ginny called, waving at her.
"Go on, I'm going to go speak with Albus," Severus said.
Rachel hurried over to Ginny. "What's going on?"
"The storms have stopped. We're going to go flying after lunch. Come play some Quidditch with us," Ginny said.
"Sure, who's playing?" Rachel asked, sitting down and taking one of the turkey sandwiches off a platter.
"Me, you, Fred, and George," Ginny said. "Ron's still asleep and Percy doesn't like to fly."
"It's lunch time," Rachel said, confused as to how Ron could still possibly be asleep.
Ginny shrugged. "Mom would never let us sleep in that late, so he's taking advantage of it now I guess."
Rachel hesitated. There was something she'd been wondering, but it had seemed inappropriate to ask. "Do your parents ask all of you to stay at school during the holidays?"
"Sometimes, but only because they're off visiting my older brothers. Dad doesn't get a lot of vacation time so he's been combining it with his holiday leave so they can go see my brothers, but they can't really afford to bring us all. This year they're visiting Charlie since we spent part of the summer with Bill. I don't mind staying here for the holidays though," Ginny explained.
"That's good, that you don't mind, I mean," Rachel said.
"It'd be more fun if more of the study group stayed, but I understand that they'd want to see their families," Ginny said.
"Or that their families don't let them stay," Rachel said. She'd been worrying about Theo ever since he'd left. He seemed okay from what he wrote in the two-way books, but it was hard to tell how someone really was through writing.
"Yeah," Ginny agreed, frowning. "It's only another week though and then they'll be back."
Rachel nodded. She was planning to talk with Theo when he got back. She'd meant to do it earlier, but with everything that had been happening it had slipped her mind.
They quickly finished their lunches and Rachel went over to where Severus was talking quietly with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall and waited for him to notice her.
"Yes?" Severus asked.
"I'm going to go play Quidditch with the Weasleys, and then Ginny and I are going to the library," Rachel said.
"That's fine. Be careful. Join me in our quarters for dinner at six," Severus said with a nod.
"Thank you," Rachel said.
"Wear your thick cloak and your boots," Severus added.
"I will," Rachel said, hurrying away before he could give more instructions.
"I can go," she told Ginny. "I've got to go get my cloak and stuff. I'll meet you on the pitch."
"Me too, I'll be there soon," Ginny said.
They parted company in the entrance hall and Rachel went back down to the dungeons to put on her winter gear. Bundled up in her winter cloak, boots, thick wool socks, gloves, scarf, and hat, she went back up through the entrance hall and out the main doors. It was beautiful outside. The thick snow cover was glistening in the sun and she could see snow coating the trees in the forbidden forest. It wasn't cold enough for the lake to freeze over but it still looked very dark and chilly.
Rachel made her way through the snow, which was up to her knees, and went into the Slytherin girls locker rooms to collect her broom. She flew up and over the stands to get onto the pitch and started flying around. It didn't take long for the Weasleys to join her.
"Beaters vs Seekers, first to ten goals wins the match," one of the Weasley twins offered, holding a Quaffle up.
"Fine, but you have to pass at least twice on your way across the pitch for the goal to count," Ginny said.
"We can do that," the other twin said.
"We'll even let you have the Quaffle first," the first twin said, tossing the Quaffle to Ginny.
"You're on," Rachel said. She knew the Weasley twins were good Beaters but she'd never seen them handle the Quaffle before. She suspected they could pass to each other as well as any good Chaser team.
"I'll count us down since you have the Quaffle," the second twin said. "Three, two, one, go!"
Rachel and Ginny took off and Rachel got herself into a position where Ginny could easily pass her the Quaffle. Only minutes later and they'd scored their first goal and were looping around to chase Fred and George across the pitch.
It was a fast and furious game. The twins moved easily in tandem but it didn't take long for Rachel and Ginny to fall into a rhythm together. For nearly an hour they were all nothing but blurs in the sky as they flew and passed the Quaffle.
"And game!" one of the twins shouted as he scored the final goal. Ginny and Rachel were only two goals behind.
"Not bad at all, considering none of us are Chasers," the other twin said.
"And considering we're several years younger than you and have spent less time on a Quidditch team," Ginny pointed out.
"We're just glad you're on our side when it comes time for a real game," the first twin said. "Rachel, are you sure we couldn't convince you to join Gryffindor? I bet Dumbledore would do it if you asked nicely."
Rachel shook her head. "I'm proud to be a Slytherin. Our team is excellent."
"Well, we had to try," the second twin said. "Another game?"
"Yes, let's go," Rachel said.
Near the end of the week Rachel found the door to Professor Lupin's office open. She'd noticed that Professor Lupin had been missing from meals during the full moon and the two days surrounding it. Even now as she peered inside she noticed that he looked ill and tired. The werewolf transformation must be very difficult on him.
She knocked on the doorframe and Professor Lupin looked up from his desk. "Ah, Rachel. Good to see you. Come in. How has your holiday been?"
"Very good, how was yours?" Rachel asked as she entered his office and sat down in one of the chairs that was in front of the desk.
"One of the best that I've had in many years, probably since I was a student here," Professor Lupin said. "No one can outdo the Hogwarts House Elves for a Christmas feast."
Rachel nodded. She suspected Professor Lupin knew as well as she did what it was like to be without food at the holidays. "Are you doing grading?" she asked, looking at the piles of parchment on his desk.
"Yes, I've gotten a little behind. I'm hoping to be able to pass everything back at the start of January. I have to admit I didn't realize how much time teachers spend grading homework and essays," Professor Lupin said.
"Maybe they shouldn't assign so much homework then," Rachel suggested with a smile.
Professor Lupin laughed. "Sometimes you very much remind me of James."
"Really?" Rachel asked. "What did my parents do during the holidays?"
"Usually they'd go home to visit their families," Professor Lupin said. "Lily quite enjoyed Christmas. After she became a prefect she convinced McGonagall to have a Christmas tree set up in the common room and she and some of the other upper year Gryffindors would decorate it. She used to place charms on the various ornaments. If they had people on them, the people would move about and dance, the animals would make their appropriate sounds, the baubles would twinkle. One year they had made a bunch of lion ornaments and they would roar if you got too close to the tree."
Rachel smiled and tried to picture her mom decorating a Christmas tree with her wand, busy placing charms on everything in sight. "Do you think she would have gone on to get a Charms Mastery if it hadn't been for the war?"
"I think that's likely, though once you were born her main focus was on you," he said.
"What do people do after they get their Masterys in a subject?" Rachel asked, realizing she didn't really know.
"Oh, many things, depending on the Mastery. Some teach or tutor, some do research and publishing, some invent, some work in the Ministry consulting in their fields, and still others have careers that have nothing to do with their Mastery. There's also career paths that require further education, like being an Auror or a Healer, but those don't require Masterys," Professor Lupin explained. "Was there a particular subject you were thinking about seeking a Mastery in?"
Rachel shook her head. "I don't know yet. I like Potions, but I don't know that I'd want to do it forever. I like a lot of my other subjects too, but sort of the same thing. Don't tell Severus this, okay? I kind of want to try for one of the teams in the British Quidditch League. The Holyhead Harpies, if they'd have me."
Professor Lupin smiled. "There's nothing wrong with that. James often talked about playing Quidditch professionally for ten years before perhaps joining the Ministry."
"What team?" Rachel asked eagerly.
"He supported the Appleby Arrows. He had many pictures of them and would always try to catch a game during the summer while we were away from Hogwarts," he said.
Rachel had a realization that she thought was rather stupid of her. Of course people could go see professional Quidditch games. She wondered if she could convince Severus to take her to see a Holyhead Harpies game over the summer for her birthday present.
"I hear Severus is teaching you the Patronus charm," Professor Lupin said after a moment.
"Yes, but I'm still not very good at it, see," Rachel said, standing up and preparing her wand. She thought carefully about spending her friends' birthdays with them. "Expecto patronum."
The silvery mist spilled out of her wand and she left it there for about a minute before she stopped concentrating and sat back down.
"That is still excellent. Many people much older than you couldn't get that far," Professor Lupin said.
"It's not good enough though," Rachel said, frowning. She'd never had this much trouble with a spell before.
"Has Severus been letting you try it against a Dementor?" he asked.
Rachel quickly shook her head. "No way. Professor Dumbledore won't let them on the grounds, and Severus said not to cast it against the ones standing guard at the gates because they were supposed to be there guarding it."
"Perhaps not against a real Dementor then," Professor Lupin suggested.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"Your boggart is a Dementor. Perhaps you could practice against a boggart," he said. "The effects should be similar enough, though less intense than those of a real Dementor."
"That's a good idea, I'd like to try that," Rachel said. Maybe that would give her the motivation she needed to cast a corporeal Patronus. "Do you think there's a boggart somewhere in the castle?"
"Most likely, but don't go looking for one without an adult present. In fact, don't go looking for one at all, I'll see what I can find," Professor Lupin said.
That seemed reasonable. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I really hate what the Dementors do to me, and if I can figure out how to defend myself, I think it would help," she said. She'd still been having nightmares, though not every night now, and not as severe as they had been in November.
"That's understandable. I'll do whatever I can to help," he said.
"Thank you," Rachel said again, smiling at him.
