"Well, as much as I like the holidays, I'm glad to be back at Hogwarts. I'm going to go shower. I'll see you in our dorm?" Millie asked Rachel as she stood up.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit," Rachel said. She waited until Millie had disappeared down the hallway that led to the girls dorms and showers before turning to Theo. "Theo, can we talk about something in private?"

Theo's forehead wrinkled with concern. "Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, glancing around the common room.

"No, I just need to talk to you about something. There's an unused room just down the hallway, we could go there for a few minutes, if none of the prefects are using it," Rachel said.

"It looks like all the prefects are here," Theo said after he looked around the room. "It's nearly curfew."

"This will only take a few minutes, I just don't think we should talk about this where people can hear," Rachel said, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.

"Alright," Theo said, getting to his feet.

They left the common room and Rachel led him down the hallway and found the unused classroom that Gemma had shown her last year.

"The prefects meet here?" Theo asked, looking at the couches.

"Yeah, sometimes," Rachel said. She sat down and Theo sat down next to her.

"Is there a reason you didn't want Millie to come with us?" he asked.

Rachel nodded. "This is private. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or like we had to explain to the whole group what we were talking about."

"What are we talking about?" Theo asked.

Rachel bit her lip and wished that Severus was the one doing this. He seemed to know how to do this. "About your father."

"What about him?" Theo asked, looking even more confused. "Did he say something to Professor Snape?"

"Not that I know of. I meant to talk to you about this in September, and then it was really chaotic and I forgot. I'm sorry," she said.

"Rachel, I still don't understand what we're talking about. Can you just tell me?" he asked.

"I'm worried that your father is hurting you. Professor Snape said he can try to help if you tell him about it. There's laws and the Ministry and stuff, and maybe he can do something to make your father stop," Rachel said.

Theo frowned. "My father's not hurting me. I'm sorry if something that I said led you to that conclusion, but he's not. He's just a Death Eater and a pure-blood elitist who doesn't want me to spend time with other people who aren't pure-bloods. I'm a disappointment to him, because I'm not like him. He's not a nice person and he's not a particularly good father, but he doesn't hurt me."

"But he would if he found out that you were friends with me and Hermione?" Rachel asked.

"He'd be angry and he'd yell at me. He'd probably send me to Durmstrang to finish my schooling there. But no, I don't think he'd hurt me," Theo said, watching Rachel with an odd expression. "You're asking because your relatives hurt you, and that's why Professor Snape adopted you. Because you couldn't go back there."

Rachel looked down. "Basically. He knew my mom. I think he felt some sort of obligation. Professor Dumbledore helped arrange it."

"Whatever his reasons, I'm glad he helped you. What happened to your relatives?" Theo asked.

"Nothing," she said.

"Do you want something to happen with your relatives?" he asked.

Rachel shook her head. "No. I just want to forget about them. I don't want to see them again."

"Okay," Theo said. "I can understand that. You don't need to worry about me. I don't enjoy going home, but I am safe there. And in four years I'll move out and then I can stop pretending to be like him."

"That will be good. When I move out I'm going to get a cat," Rachel said. "And maybe play professional Quidditch, though I haven't told Professor Snape about that part yet."

Theo laughed. "I can't imagine why not. As long as you have a backup plan, like getting a Mastery or having the NEWTs to work in a specific field, I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to play professionally."

"You don't think it's frivolous?" Rachel asked, trying to anticipate what Severus would think.

"I don't particularly understand the appeal of Quidditch, but I get that you and many other people like it. And I know that you're a good player. If you like it, why not play for a while, and when you're done you can do something else," Theo said. "We should get back to the common room before curfew."

Rachel checked her watch and saw that it was almost five minutes to nine. "Yes, we should go. The last thing I need is a prefect telling Professor Snape I was out past curfew." They both stood up and left the room.

"What would he do?" Theo asked.

"Ask me about it until I told him why I was out past curfew and then remind me that the curfew is in place for our safety," she said. "Nothing bad, just annoying."

"Good. From what I understand from the rest of the group, parents are supposed to be annoying," Theo said.

"And siblings. I'm kind of glad I don't have siblings," Rachel said.

"Me too," Theo said. "Non ducor, duco."

The common room door appeared and they went inside, almost bumping into Gemma and Nathaniel.

"Cutting in close," Gemma said as she tapped her watch.

"You won't tell Professor Snape?" Rachel asked.

"I won't, but try not to be out so late," Gemma said.

"I'll do better," Rachel promised.

"That goes for you too," Nathaniel said, looking at Theo.

"I understand," Theo said.

Rachel and Theo went further into the common room.

"I'm going to go back to my dorm. I'll see you tomorrow," Rachel said.

"Okay, goodnight. And thanks for checking on me," Theo said.

Rachel nodded. "Of course. Just trying to be a good friend. Goodnight."


Severus took the Polyjuice potion before he flooed to Spinner's End. He'd collected this particular set of hairs from a man over thirteen years ago, when he was still an active Death Eater and frequently used Polyjuice to disguise himself. The man had a similar build, so he didn't need to worry about adjusting his clothes, though tonight he was dressed in muggle attire, and his hair was short, dark, and tidy.

From Spinner's End he apparated to Privet Drive and sought out number four.

He'd been debating doing this for well over a month now. He still wasn't sure if he was going to go through with his plan, though that partially depended on what information he gathered tonight. This much, however, he thought was necessary. He needed to know.

He unlocked the front door to number four with a short jab of his wand and stepped inside. The house was both clean and garish. He heard sounds from the room at the end of the hall and stealthily made his way there. The door was cracked open far enough that he could see part of the room, and he found Petunia sitting on the couch, light flashing from the television.

"Remain silent," Severus said as he stepped into the room, his wand pointing directly at her. "If you don't struggle, this won't hurt."

Petunia raised her hand to her mouth in shock but otherwise remained still.

Severus ignored the sounds of the television and stepped closer, meeting Petunia's eyes. He made a short loop with his wand for the compulsion charm. "Remember your niece."

He plunged into Petunia's memories of Rachel. Though they were disorganized, the memories came quickly - Petunia shouting at Rachel, Petunia slapping her for burning something on the stove, Petunia pulling Rachel by the arm and shoving her into the cupboard beneath the stairs and then locking it. One memory kept looping back. There was water on the floor of the bathroom. Rachel was on her knees as Petunia held one hand in her hair and one hand around a white bottle that she was forcing against Rachel's mouth. Rachel collapsed to the floor and vomited while crying.

Roughly withdrawing from Petunia's mind, Severus scowled at her. "You should have refused to take her in."

Petunia was trembling. She shook her head.

"Petunia, when does the Turnabout come on?" a voice called.

Severus turned just in time for Petunia's husband to enter the room.

"Thief!" the man shouted. "Burglar! I'm calling the police!"

"You will sit down," Severus said firmly pointing his wand at the man and using the compulsion charm again. This sort of compulsion charm would only work on muggles, squibs, and the very weak willed. Most witches and wizards would simply shrug it off.

The man dropped down onto his knees, his eyes fixed on Severus' wand. "I'll not have any of that business in my house. Not in my house!"

"Shut up! Remember your niece," Severus said, looping his wand once more and staring into the man's eyes.

The memories came in a rush once again. There was more yelling. Rachel flinching as she was hit. Rachel being beaten on her bare back and buttocks with a belt. Rachel, impossibly young, sitting in the car as they drove.

Severus focused on these memories, trying to get a sense of where he was and looking for addresses. They pulled into the parking lot of a hotel and Rachel's uncle led Rachel inside with his hand around her upper arm. The man at the front desk nodded as they passed. Severus focused on his face so he could identify him later.

In a room to the side, another two men, these ones talking to Rachel's uncle and then one of them taking her from him. Severus focused on their faces as well. They were the ones he wanted. Certain that he could get to this place, Severus left Rachel's uncle's mind.

And then he obliviated him of the last fifteen minutes and did the same to Petunia.

He'd gotten what he'd come for, now he just needed to decide what to do with it. He left the room, passing the cupboard where Rachel had been locked in, where she'd lived before she came to Hogwarts. Severus could feel his rage boiling just beneath the surface. He wanted to do something, now.

And yet he couldn't, and not just because Albus would likely find out.

Severus left Privet Drive and apparated back to Spinner's End, where he would wait for the Polyjuice to wear off before he went back to Hogwarts.


"We're going to send the Gryffindors off the field as laughingstocks," Draco said firmly as he and Rachel walked together out to the Slytherin locker rooms after breakfast.

Rachel hoped not. This was her first time playing against Ginny in a real Quidditch match and she had some mixed feelings about that. She still wanted to win, but she knew she would feel slightly bad about it if she did. At the same time, she also knew she couldn't let down Severus, her team, and her House - roughly in that order.

"And, we have a plan in case the Dementors show up," Draco said, looking over toward the Forbidden Forest, where the majority of the Dementors were supposedly gathered beyond its bounds.

"What is this plan? Do Marcus and Imogen know the Patronus charm?" Rachel asked. "I've gotten better at the Patronus charm, my mist is pretty strong now, but I don't think I can push away a whole group of them. I don't actually know if it would even stop one Dementor."

"I don't think they know the Patronus charm, but the plan is if the Dementors show up, Imogen and Lucian will fly over to you and help you land in the stands before you pass out," Draco explained.

Rachel came to a stop and stared at Draco. "That's the whole plan? Get me to somewhere I can pass out?"

"Well, ideally they'd get you to the staff box, so the professors can protect you with their Patronus', but we figured anything would be better than just letting you fall off your broom again," Draco said.

"I suppose that's true," Rachel said. "With any luck the Dementors won't come back. Professor Snape said that Professor Dumbledore did what he could to stop them."

"When it comes down to it, I'm not sure anyone can stop the Dementors from doing what they want to do," Draco said with a shudder. "Come on, it's freezing out here. By the way, try to catch the Snitch quickly before we freeze to our brooms."

"At least it's not snowing," Rachel pointed out as they continued to crunch through the layer of snow on the ground.

"Quidditch is a spring and summer sport," Draco said. "And Marcus has us out here twice a week."

"The Gryffindors are out here every day. Poor Ginny comes to our study group with her face and hands red from the cold," Rachel said.

"Well, clearly we're the superior team when we still win when they're practicing every day," Draco said.

"We'll be hard pressed to replace Marcus and Imogen next year. I wish they weren't leaving," Rachel said. She would miss Imogen. Marcus, not so much.

"Who is Professor Snape naming captain next year?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, he hasn't said anything about it," Rachel said as they came up to the doors of the locker rooms. "I'll see you out there."

Rachel had just finished changing into her uniform and was strapping her shin guards on when Imogen came in.

"It's freezing out there, you better catch the Snitch fast and put us out of our misery," Imogen said as she took off her winter cloak.

"I'll do my best," Rachel said, picking up her bracers.

"After this we'll have a two month break and then we'll play the Ravenclaws in March. It should be a lot warmer then, as long as we're not playing in a storm again," Imogen said. "Oh, did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Rachel asked.

"There are scouts from Tutshill Tornados here today, looking at Marcus," Imogen said as she changed into her uniform.

"I didn't know he wanted to play professionally," Rachel said. "How did he get them to come out?"

"He wrote some letters to some teams he was interested in playing for. I suspect there will be scouts at the game in March too," Imogen said.

Rachel nodded to herself and tried to imagine writing similar letters. What were you supposed to say in the letters besides the fact that you wanted to play for their team?

"He said Puddlemere United is scouting Wood, from the Gryffindors, but I don't think they're at today's game," Imogen continued.

"Do you think I could play professionally, if I wanted to?" Rachel asked as she put on her Quidditch gloves.

"I don't see why not, you haven't lost a game yet. And, if you stay short and small like you are, you'll definitely have a competitive edge," Imogen said, starting on her shin guards. "Besides, you have an advantage in asking people to scout you. Everyone knows who the Girl-Who-Lived is."

Rachel frowned. "I wouldn't want them to let me on their team just because of that."

"And they wouldn't, a good Seeker is too important to waste on just names. You don't find many players who make their way into the League because of their family name or bribes. You have to have skill," Imogen said. "But, it can be hard for students to get scouts to even come see them play. They'd come see you play just because they were curious about you, then you can show them just how good you are."

"Okay," Rachel said, a little bit relieved.

"Let's get out there," Imogen said as she put on her gloves. "It's time."


"Did you see me catch the Snitch yesterday?" Rachel asked as she came through the wall that led from Severus' office to his quarters.

"I did, well done. If the team does this well against the Ravenclaws in March we're set to win the Quidditch Cup again," Severus said as he looked up from the book he was reading.

Rachel grinned. "I don't know what we're going to do without Imogen and Marcus next year."

"You'll recruit and train, that's the way it is with school teams," Severus said. "Do you want to do Patronus practice before dinner or after?"

"After," Rachel said. "I feel like I've been all over the place today. We went down to see Hagrid in the morning before lunch and then we went to the library. Then after lunch I had Quidditch practice, and then I was up on the third floor studying and doing Arithmancy homework, and now I'm here, and then I'll be in the common room writing an essay."

"You've had a busy day," Severus said as he tossed floo powder into the fireplace. "Hogwarts kitchens."

Rachel sat down at the table as Severus asked the House Elves to send two dinners to his quarters. A few moments later plates of roast pork, along with jacket potatoes and some green beans appeared. She eagerly dug in as soon as Severus sat down.

"How is balancing Quidditch practice with your classes and schoolwork, now that you're taking three electives?" Severus asked.

She swallowed the food in her mouth before she started to speak. "Not bad, but I'm busy all the time. It would be worse if I was in Gryffindor."

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Oliver Wood has his team practicing seven days a week. In the middle of the winter. I feel bad for Ginny," Rachel said as she began to spear green beans onto her fork.

"I didn't realize that. I may have to have a word with Minerva about this," Severus said.

Oops. She hadn't meant to get anyone in trouble. "If you do talk to her, could you not tell her that I told you?" she asked.

"I will simply let her know that I came by this information, I don't have to tell her how I got it," he said.

"Do you think she'll do something about it?" Rachel asked, going back to her potato.

"I don't know, but I think she should be given the opportunity to do something about it. Captains are usually given complete freedom when it comes to arranging practices for their teams, however it shouldn't interfere with schoolwork. Students are at Hogwarts to learn magic, not to fly broomsticks," Severus said.

"But, we can do both," Rachel said hesitantly.

"Yes you can, as long as you have the proper priorities in place. School comes first, that includes studying and homework, not just classes. I'm glad that you and the other members of the Slytherin Quidditch team understand that, but it seems Mr. Wood has forgotten and needs to be reminded," he said.

Rachel had the feeling that telling Severus that she wanted to play Quidditch professionally would go badly. Maybe she would have to wait until she finished at Hogwarts before she started seeing what she could do about getting a place on a team.

"How have your classes been going?" Severus asked.

"Good. Arithmancy gives a lot of homework and so does Ancient Runes, but they're both interesting," Rachel said. "I think I'm doing well in all my classes and so far I've been able to keep up with homework. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when we start revising for exams."

"It's only January, there's no need to worry about exams yet," he said. "Defense is going well?"

"Yes, much better than Professor Lockhart. We're learning about Red Caps right now," she said.

"Am I correct in assuming most of your Defense curriculum this year has been based around dark creatures?" Severus asked.

Rachel nodded. "So far, yes. Should we be learning spells as well?"

"It would not be a bad idea. By third year you should have some defensive spells," he said.

Rachel thought about this. "I know the Knockback jinx, the Disarming charm, the Tongue-Tying curse, and the Freezing charm. Oh, and Hermione taught us the Full Body-Bind curse."

"That's not a bad start, but remind me to teach you the Stunning spell. That's not usually taught until fourth or fifth year, but I think it would be a good one for you to know," Severus said. "After you've mastered the Patronus charm, or once the Dementors have left the surrounding area, whichever comes first, I will also teach you the Shield charm. That's also usually not taught until fifth year, but your progress with the Patronus charms suggests that you should be able to do it."

"My progress with the Patronus charm has not been very good," Rachel said grimly, reaching for her pumpkin juice.

"You are now adept at casting the non-corporeal Patronus charm, I'd like to believe you could do so even in the presence of a Dementor. Many people cannot cast a corporeal Patronus. It's possible you will be able to in the future and you're just too young now," Severus said.

"I want to keep trying," Rachel said, aware that she was being stubborn, but she wanted to master this charm. She needed to if she wanted to protect herself from the Dementors.

"Have you thought of any new memories to try it with?" he asked.

"I have," Rachel said. She'd been mixing up trying different memories and trying some of the same. She hoped it was just a matter of stumbling across the right memory.

"Let's finish dinner and then you can try them," Severus said.

"Okay," Rachel agreed, turning her attention to eating her food.

A short time later she was standing in front of the couch, her wand out and raised, and her eyes closed as she focused on remembering exactly how she felt. She was picturing herself at home, on her twelfth birthday. Severus had made her breakfast and told her she had a birthday cake. She was safe, she was happy, and she had a good home and people who cared about her.

"Expecto patronum," she said, looping her wand.

She opened her eyes, hoping to see a silvery animal of some sort, but instead was greeted by the same silvery mist. "Damn."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry," Rachel said quickly. "Let me try one more time."

"Once more," he agreed.

Rachel closed her eyes again. This time she pictured just after she'd won the Quidditch game against Gryffindor last year. "Expecto patronum."

She opened her eyes and frowned. The silvery mist was even thinner this time. Obviously that wasn't a good memory to use for this.

"That's enough for tonight. There's something I wanted to talk to you about before you return to the common room," Severus said.

Rachel sat down on the couch, wondering what other memories she could possibly use. She was running out of things she could remember that were actually good.

"I would like you to consider asking the police to press charges against your uncle in the muggle courts," Severus said.

Rachel felt like she'd just been hit by a truck. "What?" she asked when she found her voice.

"Given that you are the only person connecting him to the organization where he was taking you, I believe you are the only one who can provide evidence against him," he said.

Rachel quickly shook her head. "No. Please don't make me do this."

"Rachel, don't you want your uncle to face justice for what he did to you?"

"No," Rachel said again. "I don't want anything to do with him. And, besides, we can't. It would just find its way to the Daily Prophet. I don't want people to know."

"It would be in the muggle courts, not with the Ministry," Severus said.

"No. They'd find out. I can't do this," Rachel said, getting to her feet. She could feel her heart beating in her throat. "I have to go. I have an essay to write."

"Rachel," Severus said, but Rachel ignored him and hurried through the wall and into Severus' office. She left his office, carefully shutting the door behind herself, and then hurried down the corridor. She kept going past the entrance to the Slytherin common room and down the corridor to the unused classroom where the prefects sometimes met.

It was mercifully empty and Rachel sat down on one of the couches and pulled her knees up against her chest. She just needed to sit by herself for a while, until she didn't feel like she was going to throw up. Hopefully Severus wouldn't follow her.


Rachel carefully picked the petals off the sneezewort, being careful to avoid the thorns on the stems and the burrs beneath the petals, and placed them on the scale. She needed exactly four grams, which meant picking some of the smaller petals and some of the larger ones to try and balance them to get the exact amount.

"I'm almost done chopping the lovage," Neville said, looking up from his work. "Then I'll start on the scurvy grass."

Rachel glanced at her watch. "That's fine, we still have five minutes before we need to add the lovage. Make sure you wash your knife between chopping though so the scurvy grass doesn't get contaminated."

"I will, thanks for the reminder," Neville said.

Severus stopped by their workstation and peered into the cauldron.

Rachel waited, a little bit worried about what he was going to say. She hadn't spoken to him since she'd run out of his quarters last night.

Severus nodded and continued on his way to check Hermione and Millie's cauldron.

"I really hate it when he does that," Neville said quietly once Severus was out of earshot.

"Well he has to check the cauldrons and make sure that nothing dangerous is about to happen," Rachel said, going back to weighing the sneezewort petals.

"Then he could at least say that we're doing well instead of just staring at us," Neville said. "I'm going to go wash this knife. Will you add the lovage if I'm not back in time?"

"Sure," Rachel said, finally getting the scale to balance exactly.

Neville left to go use the sinks and Rachel peered into the cauldron to check. The green mixture was still gently bubbling just as it should. She kind of agreed with Neville that it would be nice if Severus gave them positive feedback in class, but she'd also learned that him saying nothing about your cauldron or your ingredients meant you were doing well. In a way that was like feedback, even if he didn't say it out loud.

She checked her watch again and then reached for the chopped lovage and then brought her hand back with a jerk as she accidentally set her forearm against the cauldron. She touched the spot gingerly. It was already red and it definitely hurt. She'd had worse burns cooking for her relatives, but burns were easily her least favorite type of injury. They just hurt and hurt for days no matter what you did with them.

Biting down on her lip, Rachel more carefully reached again and picked up the lovage and sprinkled it into the cauldron. She then began to stir counterclockwise using the stirring rod, keeping an eye on her watch so that she stopped in exactly two minutes.

"Sorry about that," Neville said as he came back. "Lavender and Parvati were chatting at the sink and I couldn't get them to let me through."

"Well that was rude of them," Rachel said, finishing stirring and gently shaking off the stirring rod before she set it down. She got the feeling whenever Hermione talked about Lavender and Parvati that they didn't quite get along, which was unfortunate because Hermione had to share a dorm room with them.

Neville shrugged and started chopping the scurvy grass.

Rachel checked the cauldron again and saw that it was starting to thicken, just as the instructions indicated it should. "I'm going to add the sneezewort petals and then stir again," she said, double checking it against her book.

"Okay, the scurvy grass should be ready within the three minutes," Neville said as he worked.

She dropped the sneezewort petals into the cauldron and began to stir again, this time counting strokes instead of time.

"The scurvy grass is ready," Neville said as he began scooping it up.

"Give it twenty more seconds," Rachel said, eyes on her watch. "Okay, now."

Neville dropped the scurvy grass in and they watched as the potion began to turn a dark green.

"Lowering the heat now," Rachel said, checking her watch once more.

"I think we did it," Neville said as he sat down.

"Not bad at all," she agreed, rubbing at the burn on her arm. It hurt to touch, but at the same time she felt the strange urge to put pressure on it. "Can you put it in the vials?"

"Sure," Neville agreed. He passed her a full vial a few moments later and Rachel carefully wrote her name on it.

They brought their vials up to Severus' desk and left them there, as Severus was busy lecturing Crabbe and Ron.

Rachel cleaned up her work area and put away everything in her potions kit, Neville doing the same on his side.

"Bring your completed vials to me if you haven't already," Severus called from the front of the classroom. "Miss Snow, please remain after class."

Rachel didn't think he was going to say something about her class work, but she still didn't want to have this conversation.

"Was something wrong with our Confusing Concoction?" Neville asked, looking at Rachel.

"No, this is something else," Rachel said.

"We'll wait for you in the common room. We can go up to the study room together after," Theo said as he approached them.

"Thanks," Rachel said. She also didn't want to have this conversation with people standing around waiting outside the classroom.

"You'll be okay?" Neville asked, watching her closely.

Rachel nodded. "It will be fine. I'll see you in the study room soon enough."

The classroom emptied out and Severus waved his wand to shut the door behind them.

"Are you well?" Severus asked as he approached.

"I'm fine," Rachel said.

"You're holding your arm as if it hurts," he said.

Rachel looked down and realized that she was still holding onto her forearm. "I brushed it against the cauldron earlier. It's fine."

"May I see?" Severus asked.

Rachel pushed up her sleeve and showed him the burn.

"If this happens during class, you can tell me. You don't have to wait for class to be over," Severus said.

"It's fine," Rachel said again.

Severus frowned. "I'll get you a jar of burn paste when we're done here. I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. I realize that I upset you and that was not my intention."

"I know it wasn't your intention," she said quickly. "It's just not a topic I want to discuss."

"I can understand that. There are things from the war that I prefer not to think about or discuss either," Severus said. "However, I want you to at least know that the possibility of talking to the muggle authorities is there. You have that option and I will do everything I can to support you."

"Thank you, but I don't want to do that," Rachel said as firmly as she dared.

"Right now you don't. But someday you may want to. If you decide that you do want to, just tell me, and Torey and I will make whatever arrangements are necessary," he said.

That wasn't going to happen. Not ever. "Okay, I'll tell you if I decide I want to," she agreed anyway, because it was the easiest way out of the conversation.

"Okay," Severus said. "Come with me and I'll give you some burn paste to put on your wound."

Rachel collected her things and followed Severus into his office. Hopefully that would be the end of that.