Chapter Seven
Elaine,
It has been three months since Benjamin's death, and I feel we should meet. I know young Rowan's birthday is this weekend, perhaps we could meet up in the Hog's Head Saturday afternoon and you could bring him?
Yours,
Chester
Elaine huffed, rereading the letter that had arrived with the morning mail. She'd gone through her classes and now sat in her office, debating on answering. On the one hand, she remembered Chester as very close to Ben, and he'd fallen in love with Rowan upon the latter's birth. On the other, however, he hadn't spoken to her or written since she'd seen him at Ben's funeral, and she wasn't sure what would bring up the sudden need to meet up.
She pulled some parchment to her, and dipped the quill in some ink and simply sat there, staring at the blank parchment. And then she began writing.
Chester,
If I am still under orders not to speak to your nephews, then you are under orders not to speak to my son.
Yours,
Elaine
She tied it up and set it aside to send off later, and picked up the second letter of five she'd been putting off responding to. After she'd finally responded to them all, she bundled them up and began the long walk to the owlery. She'd made it halfway there before she spotted Harry and his two friends, gathered near the charms classroom.
"I still think he should turn the book in," Granger was saying, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "It's cheating, is what it is!" Elaine paused, wondering if she should go break it up and see what was happening, when Weasley responded.
"It isn't cheating. Some bloke wrote in a book, and Harry's just following the instructions!"
Elaine shook her head, stopping by them. "If you three could take your argument somewhere private, that would be appreciated," she informed them, earning three pairs of raised eyebrows. "People are attempting to learn, and you make it difficult yelling in the halls."
"Er-yes, Professor," Harry said, taking off. The other two glanced at her, and took off after Harry, and so Elaine continued her way to the owelry, stopping again as she spotted two students snogging in the wall. She cleared her throat in front of them and they jumped apart, and she was surprised to see it was Roger and the Bones girl, Susan. Seeing the two together nearly made her heart stop.
It had been Susan's aunt that had killed Ben, she knew. And she was proud of the relatively good job she'd done in not letting it bother her in lessons. Roger and Kyle, as well, she'd treated the same as any other students. They were just students. They had to be. And neither of them had approached her since the very beginning of the school year, and school had now been in session nearly a month and a half. She'd let it go, of course. She couldn't force either of them to talk to her, and both were doing fairly well. But the look on Roger's face now was one of pure hatred, and she couldn't imagine why.
"No snogging in the halls. Ten points from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," she scolded, outwardly not showing what was racing through her head. Roger glared but took off, and Elaine breathed out through her nose, going to move on when Susan spoke up.
"Erm - Professor Davies?"
"Punishment is final, Miss Bones. Any argument will result in a higher point loss," she informed the girl, who just shook her head.
"No, Professor, that isn't it. I wanted to say I'm sorry."
Elaine looked at her, confused. "For what? Snogging in the hall?"
"No um. Your - my auntie was killed this summer, and I know - I heard -"
"Get on with it," Elaine said sharply, feeling her insides tremble.
"Your husband, he died, trying to rescue her. And I'm sorry. That's all." The Hufflepuff looked genuinely sad, and all Elaine could think of was, if this girl knew the truth, she'd be running in the opposite direction.
"Go back to your common room," she responded, and didn't bother to see if she obeyed; she took off running down the hall, not caring the students were stopping to stare as she passed. She slammed open an empty classroom door and shut it behind her, breathing hard.
She sank to the floor, holding her knees close to her chest as she sobbed so hard she could barely take in breath. She didn't know how long she sat there on the floor before the door opened, and she felt someone kneel down next to her.
"Elaine? Are you okay?" The voice was Minerva's, but she didn't look up and couldn't stop the sobs from coming. "Elaine, I need you to calm down." There was a brief pause, then a small spell, and Minerva heaved a sigh. "They can't hear you now. Do you wish to talk about it?"
"Ben is dead." Elaine lifted her head and looked at Minerva. "Ben's dead. And I - I don't care anymore. I'm crying because - because I should care. My husband is dead. My son is without a father. But he - he joined the death eaters. He joined the people who've wanted me dead my entire life."
"People make mistakes," Minerva said gently. The older woman looked sad. "Good people make bad decisions every day."
"I know that," Elaine snapped. "It doesn't mean I understand it." She let her hair fall in her face as she looked down. "I missed him. Every day at first. But now - he killed people." She shook her head, and brushed her hair back with a hand as she looked back at Minerva. "He killed people. And then he died. And I had no idea about any of it."
A shadow fell over her desk, and Elaine looked up, startled to see Severus standing there. Three days had passed since her meltdown, and like all things in Hogwarts, it had spread all over the school. Poor Susan Bones hadn't looked in her direction during class, and half of the students now ignored most of her instruction. She had no clue how to fix the damage she'd done to her reputation, but thankfully, most of them thought it had occurred out of grief for her husband.
Severus hadn't spoken to her since that day they'd gone to the meeting with the Malfoy boy and the dark lord. She wasn't surprised after their last meeting, but it bothered her.
She sighed, putting down her quill. "Can I help you?" She questioned.
"I needed to speak with you," he informed her quietly. "Privately, if possible."
Elaine gestured. "I don't see how we could be more private then this, Severus, so if you care to speak, do it now. I have tests to grade."
"If you'd found out Ben was a death eater before he died, what would you have done?" The question caught Elaine off guard, and all she could do was stare open-mouthed as Severus continued. "I'd imagine you would have left - you being who you are."
"I don't - what?" Elaine scoffed. "You really have no reason to be asking me this, so if you could just go-"
"I have a reason, Elaine." He stepped forward, his dark gaze catching her own eyes. "I enjoy being in your presence, Elaine, and I would very much like to continue spending time with you."
She raised her eyebrows. "Severus."
"Yes?"
"Is this your way of asking me out on a date? Because if so-" He mutely nodded, and she stopped, not sure how to continue. She finally found her words. "Rowan comes first to me, Severus. I know how you feel about children, so there is no way I can go on a date with you if you cannot care for my son as you care for me." She stood up, knocking her chair back. "I have things to do." She went to leave, and he grabbed her arm. "What?"
"I can grow to care for your son too," he murmured. They stood, looking at each other. "I grew to care for you, Elaine."
Elaine shook her head, and walked out of her office.
Elaine skipped the Hogsmeade visit and was again sitting in her office the next evening when the door swung open and Minerva entered, looking pale. She rose slightly. "What's happened?"
"Katie Bell is in the hospital." Elaine took a moment to recall who Katie Bell was, then sighed.
"Everything okay?"
"She's been cursed." Minerva sat down across from her, visibly shaking. "A cursed necklace, from Burgin and Burkes."
"Isn't that in Knockturn Alley?" Minerva nodded gravely. "She'll be sent to St. Mungos, I assume?" Another nod, and Elaine leaned her head back, closing her eyes. "Dumbledore's been notified?"
"I've sent him an owl, but he is away until Monday. I came to you because I cannot find Severus anywhere, and I needed him to inspect the necklace to see which kind of curse is on the thing, and perhaps we can figure out how the poor girl got ahold of it."
Elaine chewed the inside of her cheek. "You have no theories on who it could have been?"
Minerva sighed, throwing her hands up in the air. "None. Potter believes it was the Malfoy boy, but he was in detention with me all morning. I don't see a reason he would curse Katie, besides." She stood. "If you see Severus, have him find me. I've owled him, but it hasn't come back yet."
Elaine nodded, and waited for her to leave, before standing up, grabbing her cloak, and hurrying out of her office, rushing toward the apparation point.
She turned on her heel, and appeared outside Malfoy Manor. She stared up at the mansion, heart pounding, but walked up to the door and knocked. Narcissa opened it, raising her eyebrows in surprise at Elaine standing there.
Elaine cleared her throat. "We need to talk, you and I. Is Lucius in?" The other woman shook her head and gestured for her to follow, and she did, walking into a smaller office that was feminine. Narcissa sat behind the desk and Elaine sat in front of her.
"This is, I assume, about Draco?" Elaine nodded. "Are you skilled in Occulamency?" Elaine nodded again. "Good. As am I." They sat in silence for a moment, before Narcissa snapped her fingers. A house elf appeared at her elbow. "Kospey, please retrieve some tea for Mrs. Davies and I." The house elf bowed and dissappeared, reappearing a few moments later with two steaming cups. "That will be all."
Elaine took a sip, then placed the cup back down on the saucer. "What task did the dark lord set Draco? Is it one he can accomplish?"
Narcissa shook her head. "I love my boy, but he is no murderer. He will fail, and when he does, he will be killed."
"What can I do to help?"
Narcissa closed her eyes, and Elaine noted a tear slid down her cheek. "Nothing, I don't think. Severus - he has taken a vow to help Draco, but my son was raised by Lucius. He is a proud proud to accept aid for anything."
"Tell me the task." Elaine and Narcissa simply stared at each other, neither breaking eye contact, before Narcissa broke.
"He is to kill Albus Dumbledore by the end of the school year." Elaine covered her mouth, as Narcissa continued. "As I said, Severus has vowed to help him. He was, perhaps, egged on to taking the vow by my sister, and so he will, too, be killed if Draco fails."
"There must be something I can do," Elaine whispered.
"I don't see how you can." Narcissa moved to speak again when they heard a door slam open and Lucius call out for her. "We were discussing integrating you into my group of ladies," Narcissa whispered furiously seconds before the office door opened and Lucius entered. "Dear. You are home early."
"I am." Lucius just looked at Elaine, who stood hurriedly.
"I should get back." She looked at Narcissa. "You will let me know about the ladies tea by owl, I presume?" Narcissa nodded, and Elaine smiled at both Malfoys. "Good day."
Elaine stood at the entrance to Severus' personal brewery, watching the man work. He hadn't noticed her presence, so focused on his work, that when he finally looked up and saw her standing there he jumped, startled. He cast a small stasis charm on the cauldron and walked over to her. "Is there something you needed?" He asked sharply.
"I know." Severus looked confused, so Elaine clarified. "About Katie Bell and Draco Malfoy."
"You know nothing," Severus snapped, going to brush by her.
"I know about your vow, too." The potions master froze, turning back slowly to face her. "I went to see Narcissa this afternoon, after I heard about Katie. She told me everything."
"Do you know how dangerous that is?" Severus hissed at her. "You and Narcissa could both be killed for sharing secrets that aren't yours to share!"
"We are mothers, Severus, whose sons are in danger with this war. We will do what we must to save their lives." Severus scoffed. "You may not be a parent, Severus, but surely your mother would have done anything for your safety?"
"My mother," Severus said in a low voice, "was a weak woman who did everything she could to appease the man she married. She did nothing for me." He strode out.
"Wait!" Elaine called after him and he stopped again. She rushed out after him, stopping in front of him and looking up at his face. "You're in danger too."
"In case you haven't noticed, I've been in danger for years. Why does this bother you now?"
"Because I care for you, damn it!" Elaine snapped. "I care for you, and I just lost Ben, and I don't want to lose you!"
Severus looked at her for a moment, before lurching forward and catching her lips in his. They stood there, kissing, for a long moment before Elaine gently pulled away, looking up at him. "I guess we can have that date now, huh?"
Severus let out a snort, then swallowed, taking his hand and brushing a strand of Elaine's hair out of her face. "If, and only if, you're ready. I don't want to rush you."
Elaine took a pause. "I'm ready."
Here's the next chapter. As always, please review?