Chapter 5

Elaine felt a little odd sitting up at the staff table, watching the students enter and sit at their respective tables. She felt her eyes drifting to the Ravenclaw table, looking for Roger and Kyle. There they were - entering together. She felt Kyle's eyes land on her and she gave him a reassuring smile. The twelve year old turned away, and Elaine felt her heart sink. So Chester had gotten to him, after all.

As the first years trekked in, Elaine glanced over at the Gryffindor table, where - no Harry Potter sat. Perplexed, she sat up and scanned it again, and again, but he wasn't there. She glanced down the table, but there was no Severus either. "Filius," she whispered, and the charms professor looked over at her. "Where's Severus?"

"Trouble on the train," he told her quietly. "I'm sure he'll be here soon." As the sorting began, she found herself peeking at the doors repeatedly, wondering what had happened to make both Severus and Harry late. Her eyes landed on the Slytherins, where Draco Malfoy sat. She watched him for a moment, thinking back to his mother and the way her eyes had fallen when she'd asked if he was in danger. He didn't seem to be in any danger now; in fact he was sitting at the table miming something and laughing.

She let it go, and began to eat once the food appeared. She'd nearly finished her meal when the double doors entered and Harry entered, his face covered in blood. Elaine let out a small gasp, sitting up straight and scanning him for any injuries. Seeing none, she let herself sink back, as dinner vanished and dessert appeared. She ignored it, choosing instead to watch the students.

Harry and his friends, a boy with red hair and a girl who's hair was so bushy it made Elaine cringe, were deep in a conversation, a conversation that had the attention of half the Gryffindor table.

Draco Malfoy, it looked like, was simply sulking, his laughter having faded with the arrival of the feast. The Slytherins that were seated around him seemed lost in conversation, one he was not participating in.

Roger and Kyle were seated next to each other, but they too were not speaking, not to each other or anyone else. Kyle looked pale, drawn, and it broke Elaine's heart to see him like that. For as long as she'd known him, he'd been lively, even after the death of their father.

She didn't realize how much time had passed until she noticed Severus had arrived at the table and Dumbledore, two seats down from her, stood up. "The very best of evenings to you!" He smiled broadly, and his sleeves fell off his arm, revealing his blackened hand. Elaine had attempted to discover what had happened, but the headmaster kept his secrets. She was so lost in thought she almost missed her cue to stand. "-a new member of staff this year, Professor Davies-" she stood, waved slightly, and sat back down. "-who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."

There was light applause, but Elaine found her eyes land on Kyle, who was glowering up at her. She let out a soft sigh, focusing back on Dumbledore. "Now, as everybody in this hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe." Elaine felt her throat close up with fear as she recalled those red eyes.

She hadn't been to another meeting just yet, although Severus had told her she was required to be at the one later that night. She wasn't to receive the dark mark, thankfully, in order to help keep her position as spy and defense teacher.

Elaine had zoned out, and was brought back to reality with the deafening noise of the benches being pushed and the students heading out of the hall. Severus was standing in front of her, face drawn.

"Are you ready?" Elaine could only nod, rising. She glanced back at Dumbledore as they left the Hall, feeling his piercing blue eyes on her. And then they were out, halfway down the hall when-

"Roger." The seventh year was glaring at her, and it took her a minute before she cleared her throat. "You are supposed to be heading up to your dorms, Mr. Davies."

"Don't," he said sharply. "Don't be a teacher. Be my sister." His face crumpled, and Elaine glanced over at Severus, who was focusing his dark eyes on the clock, pretending as if he wasn't there. "Chester says you - he said Ben joined the death eaters. Is that true?"

"Roger," Elaine sighed. "Come to my office in the morning, just after breakfast. Okay? We'll talk then."

"You promise?" he demanded. Elaine nodded. "Good." And he turned on his heels, jogging to catch up with a girl who was waiting at the end of the hall for him.

Elaine swallowed, temporarily closing her eyes, before looking back at Severus. He now was watching her. "Are you ready to go?" he questioned her, again, his eyes searching her face.

"I - yes." She took a slow breath, looking up at him. "Yes."

"No you aren't," he said harshly. "Go ahead and go to your office. You cannot face the dark lord with your mind spinning so fast you are making me dizzy. I'll tell him Dumbledore called you in, and you needed to go to avoid suspicion."

Elaine could only nod, and Severus swept away, his black robes billowing behind him.

"Who ever it is, they're against muggleborns. You know the story." Elaine and Ben sat in the library, piles of books scattered around them as they attempted to study for their NEWTs.

Ben looked at her, laughter in his eyes. "Who would go after you?" he took her hand in hers and kissed it. "You- are- the-best-" each word was punctuated with another kiss "muggleborn-here."

"Except maybe that Granger girl." Elaine looked over at Edmund, who shrugged. "You know her. The bushy girl that runs around with Potter."

Ben rolled his eyes as Edmund's girlfriend sniggered. "What?"

"They say Potter's the Heir of Slytherin," Gemma informed them with a smirk. "Obviously they're wrong. That boy is as Gryffindor as they come." She glanced at Edmund and Elaine. "No offense, of course."

"None taken," Elaine said, releasing Ben's hand and stretching, a yawn slipping out. "My brain is fried from all this, the studying and the stupid rumors both. No way is Potter the heir of slytherin. He's twelve for starters."

Gemma shrugged. "It's just what they say. He can talk to snakes, after all."

"So can more people than you know," Ben piped up. "I had a great grandfather who could. Nobody in my family is able to since him, but does that mean I'm the heir of Slytherin?"

"Yes, and you're going to murder all the mudbloods, starting with your girlfriend," Elaine said, laughing, ignoring the look Edmund sent her at the insult. "I'm a mudblood. I might as well take the name back, right?"

Ben shook his head at her, lacing their fingers once more. "I'd rather you didn't."

Gemma rolled her eyes, standing up. "I'm going back to my common room. I've been around you Gryffindors too long. The rest of the snakes are going to think you abducted me." She gave Edmund a peck on the cheek, yanked her bag up off the ground and flounced off. Ben smacked Edmund's arm when he caught him staring at the girl's behind, and all three burst into laughter.

Elaine stared at her bedroom wall, having woken in the middle of the night. There were times, in the past four years, that she'd wondered what had happened to Gemma Farley and Edmund Spiers, a rare Gryffindor/Slytherin couple, but she'd never written them after she and Ben had married. She had meant to, of course, but when Ben's dad died everything else got thrown aside.

A knock on the door caused her to jump, and she grabbed her wand, holding it steady as she slowly crept through the dark room. She opened the door, pointing her wand out, to see Severus standing there, looking pale. "Severus," Elaine said in surprise, lowering her wand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm here to tell you he demands your presence at the next meeting," Severus responded, leaning against the door jam and wincing. "He was not pleased you were not there this evening, and I was instructed to tell you this immediately upon arriving back at the castle."

Elaine looked at the clock. "It's five in the morning," she said, looking back at Severus. "The meeting was at nine. Where've you been all this time?" Severus just shook his head, closing his eyes slightly. "Why don't you go get rest?" Elaine said gently. "You look completely exhausted. You could have come and told me this in the morning, no matter what that - man - says."

"I couldn't have," Severus informed her. "The next meeting is at six this Saturday morning."

"I-what?" Elaine stared at him. "What could possibly be the reason for that?"

"The dark lord commands it, and so it shall be." His voice was bitter. "Don't worry. It's just a meeting with a few key people. I will be there, of course, and so shall the Malfoys. Including the boy. You are to talk to him after your class this morning and inform him of this."

Elaine sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Alright. Fine." Severus swayed, and she looked at him, alarmed. "Come in and sit down," she instructed. The potions master didn't resist, sinking into an armchair with a low groan. "Do you need anything?" Severus simply shook his head, and Elaine sat down on her bed, chewing the inside of her cheek. "Water, or-?"

"No," he said sharply, opening his eyes and looking at her. "I am fine. I just needed to sit for a minute." He went to stand, but swayed again. His legs gave out and he fell back down into the chair. "Maybe.. Maybe a pain potion, if you have any," he admitted.

Elaine nodded, standing up and sliding a trunk out from underneath her bed, unlocking it with a tap of her wand. She kept her potions here where they were safe from Rowan. The last thing she needed was for the toddler to overdose on potions. She found the correct one and unstopped it, handing it over to Severus who downed it in a single gulp. "What happened last night?" she asked quietly, sitting back down.

"I failed in a task that was set me," Severus said softly. "Punishment is always harsh with the dark lord, although I should be thankful I am still high in his regard. If I wasn't, the task I was set would have been my death."

"What was the task?" Elaine questioned, leaning forward slightly. "And - did you go to Poppy? She has better pain potions than I do, I'm sure."

"I was supposed to recruit - someone - for his cause. I failed. As I said, punishment is harsh. There is nothing for Poppy to do, or for me to do, other than waiting it out." He went to hand her the vial back, and she noticed her hand shaking. He watched for her reaction. "The cruciatus curse has lasting nerve damage if under it for an extensive amount of time," he said, after a long pause. "It only lasts for a couple of hours. I should be back to normal before lessons begin." He went to stand, wincing again. "I should get to my own rooms."

Elaine shook her head. "You're not exactly in a condition to be trekking down three flights of stairs," she told him. "Why don't you stay here?" I'm up for the day already, you can take my bed and try to get an hour or two of sleep." Severus raised his eyebrows. "Look, what you're doing is a wonderful thing, and once everyone knows that, they'll be calling you a hero. So for now, take the rest a hero needs while you need it. Okay?"

There was a yet another pause, and he finally consented. Elaine stopped by the door as he settled in the bed, and she watched him for a moment, wondering, not for the first time, how Dumbledore could handle sending people purposely into a situation that would cause them this much pain. And then she left, leaving the potions master in her bed.

The knock on her office door an hour later brought her out of her thoughts, and she called for the knocker to enter. In came Roger, his arm around Kyle. The brothers stood in the doorway, just looking at her. She put down her quill, having been making adjustments on her lesson plan for that day. "Roger. Kyle."

"Uncle Chester doesn't want us here," Kyle said softly, his eyes filled with tears. "But you know - you know why Ben died, right? They told you? They didn't tell us."

Elaine sighed, gesturing for the boys to sit. She would have to lie, and hope they never found out the truth. The truth put them all in danger. "Ben was - he was an auror. You know that." Roger and Kyle looked downcast, and she stood up, shutting the office door. "You both know.. you know he's back." The boys nodded. "Ben - he was trying to save Madame Bones in a death eater attack. They - he was killed. I don't know how, I don't know who did it, either. I'm sorry."

"Where's Rowan?" Roger asked softly. "Who's watching him while you teach?" He brightened. "Is he here in the castle?"

Elaine smiled. "Yes. The headmaster arranged for a school house elf to watch him when I'm here, so he's in good hands. He'll be happy to see you two, if you come down after lessons."

"Why does Uncle Chester say Ben's a death eater?" Kyle asked quietly, his bottom lip trembling. Elaine hesitated, not sure what to say. She didn't know how Chester had found out. "Never mind. I know the truth." The twelve year old stood up, crossing his arms. "My brother's a hero," he declared. "And I'm not going to let Uncle Chester say any different."

Elaine smiled sadly at him. "Okay." She stood. "We need to go down for breakfast, guys. You'll have to pick up your time tables."

Review? (The middle portion is supposed to be in italics, but for some reason it's not showing up on my end)