It was finally Friday evening. The Friday after that early (very early) Tuesday morning Snape had cornered her into the dungeon wall. That Tuesday morning he had accused her of preposterous absurdities! Polite and pleasant Severus Snape was not. In light of everything, Agnes was content in busying herself with grading papers and homework assignments - mainly homework assignments. The sudden clearing of one's throat echoed through the room. Startled, Agnes cursed as red quill ink painted a jagged line across a poor fourth year's work. Agnes shook her head with a sigh before greeting whoever had dared to bother her.

Agnes was quite surprised to see Dumbledore. Well, she was, but she wasn't. Agnes set aside the papers in fear any others' would be damaged.

"My apologies for startling you, Agnes; it's quite alright if I call you Agnes, isn't it?"

"Yes sir, it is quite alright." Agnes replied. She glanced at the student's ruined paper that she had place on the upper right-hand corner of her desk.

"Right. I have come to ask you how you are adjusting to Hogwarts."

"Quite well, actually. I get along with many of the other professors surprisingly enough."

"And Severus?"

Agnes froze. When a decent amount of time had passed, she sighed. "Need I say anything...?"

Dumbledore let out a whispery laugh that could have passed for a sigh. "I suppose I knew the answer to that question before I even asked."

"Then why ask, Headmaster?" Agnes' eyes remained transfixed on the fourth year's ruined paper. Her expression remained emotionless.

Dumbledore shrugged, "Formalities, I supposed."

Agnes mindlessly shuffled through the answer key she had made during the week before term. She had nothing to say, and the awkward silence only worsened the situation. Seeing that Agnes wasn't willing, Dumbledore opted to be the one to break the silence. "Earlier this week... I would like to apologize on Severus' behalf."

"No need, Headmaster. The man has no intentions in doing so himself, so you shouldn't bother with performing his pleasantries for him." Agnes never looked up from the parchment before her. She refused to make the same mistake that she had during her employment interview.

A slight smile graced Dumbledore's lips. "Then allow me instead to apologize for that dreadful discussion that you were unfortunate enough to overhear."

Agnes looked up with extreme caution. Of course he knew. The man was a legilimens, after all. The mere fact that the old man was blunt enough to tell her he knew was what shocked her. Shit! She had looked him in the eye again.

The smile that had faded returned to Dumbledore's face. "I prefer to alert a person when the occasion arises that I see something one would probably like me not knowing."

Agnes sighed, "No need, Headmaster. It was the mere boldness of the admittance that caught me off guard."

"As I suggest, I value honesty."

Agnes returned her attention to the momentarily forgotten grading key. All of the answers she knew by heart. She had merely written them down in the case of late night grading sessions. A cold hand startled her. The memory of an even colder hand from and earlier time plagued her mind's eye. She remembered, in vivid detail, the eyes that that hand belonged to - eyes that held no pity nor mercy. They only contained sadism. Agnes gasped as twinkling blue drastically contrasted the apathetic darker's hue. The hand in the present comfortingly patter her own.

"I... did not intend for that to happen..." For the first time that Agnes had ever witnessed, Dumbledore seemed to be at a loss for words. His suggested apology was clearly evident in his features.

Agnes placed a hand over her chest in an attempt to control her irregular breathing. She had never heard of, let alone witnessed, anyone accidentally using legilimency. Apparently, though, it has happened. As it were, the awkward silence from before had returned. Lovely.

"I am assuming that was...?"

"Yes." Dumbledore needn't finish his question. Agnes didn't give him the chance to. Yes they were the eyes of whom Dumbledore thought it was. Yes she had been petrified; in both the past and in the memory.

"I... I'm sorry," Agnes broke down. "I know you saw during my interview. I know you saw what I had done. I had to. I had to do it to my own flesh and blood, or..."

Dumbledore patter her shoulder as Agnes waited for the tears that never came. She had never once cried about what she had done. Silently, she wondered if she was as sadistic and wicked as Severus Snape was trying to make her appear to be. She thought herself so, but she also knew that her hand had been forced by the very people she had killed.

"No apologies needed, Miss Blackwood. You have suffered enough." Somehow, whether by his words, or by suspicion, Agnes had the feeling that Dumbledore knew exactly what she was going through. Did... she see a tear in his eye?

Dumbledore was abrupt to turn away. He silently made his way toward the door. Agnes tried desperately to ignore the surrounding heavy tension. "I believe, Miss Blackwood, that I should leave you to your grading. As apology to interrupting, I suspect that you'll find Mr. Godfrey's paper unblemished.

Agnes looked down immediately to find that the fourth year's paper no longer had the red quill mark. She was thankful for that. Without saying anymore, Dumbledore took his leave. Almost bumping into a student, the Headmaster gave his 'excuse me,' and apologies before continuing on to Merlin knew where. Glancing up from the papers she had gone back to grading, Agnes watched the almost trampled student hesitantly make their way to her desk.

The student was a female sixth year who had been sorted into Slytherin. Her name was June, or something. What it was exactly, Agnes had no idea. Agnes put the quill down from her left hand with care before giving the girl her complete attention.

"E-excuse me, Professor?"

Agnes said nothing. Seeing her Magical Theory Professor's unwavering gaze, the girl pressed on with the security of knowing that she wasn't being ignored. "I-I was just... I'm having trouble comprehending the lessons from this past week. I have notes, but they aren't helping. They way that you teach has me inspired to learn and understand Magical Theory, but I'm having difficulty. Do... do you think you could help me understand it a bit more?"

Agnes smiled warmly at the girl. She could tell that she was trying. "Of course... June, was it?"

"Juno, Professor."

"Juno. Not everyone has the knack for understanding Magical Theory." The girl's face visibly dropped with sadness from Agnes' words. "However, you are giving it your best effort. I will gladly help those who put forth the effort to help themselves."

The girl beamed. "Oh, thank you, Professor!"

Agnes mirrored the girl's smile. "Given the complexity of Magical Theory, what's say we commence weekly tutoring sessions on Saturday afternoons? Does that sound alright to you?"

"Yes, Professor!"

"Splendid. We begin tomorrow, then. Off to dinner you go." Agnes shooed the girl with a wave of her hand she watched in amusement as the Slytherin girl skipped out of her classroom door.

Deciding that the papers could wait 'till tomorrow evening after a muggle-novel reading session, Agnes made way to her quarters. She smiled to herself upon seeing Severus patrol the dungeon's halls and corridors.

Author's Note: I greatly apologize for the delay in updating. But, that was only 7 days ago. Hopefully I will be able to update a lot faster in the upcoming future. If not, I apologize in advance. Also, a reminder that I will update this story on wattpad a lot faster than on Fanfiction. So, if you have a wattpad account, that's a plus. :p

~DJ-Kyoto