"You kids are out late," Madam Rosmerta commented, handing out drinks. "Hasn't school started?"
"Not for us," George said, taking a swig. "We've graduated. We're celebrating the fact that we don't have to start school."
Madam Rosmerta smiled and shook her head. "I'm not going to tell on you, don't worry. You should watch bringing the little ones out though." She gestured to Elizabeth. She went back behind the bar.
"When is the next legal Hogsmede trip?" George asked.
"February," one of the boys piped up.
"Valentine's Day," Angelina put in.
George and Fred look at each other. "Double Date?" George asked.
"I don't think—"
"Sure!" Angelina interrupted Elizabeth, who fell silent.
"We're closing up," Madam Rosmerta called. "Ten minutes."
"A good evening draws to a close," Fred said, standing and tossing a Galleon on the table. "Back to the salt mines." He draped his arm around Elizabeth and they started out of the door.
Elizabeth had one foot on the street when she caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. On pure instinct, she threw all her weight against Fred, knocking him back into the pub.
"What—
"My dad," Elizabeth whispered.
"Snape?" George carefully crept to the window near the door and peered out. "Where is he going?"
"Who cares, as long as it isn't here," Angelina said, glaring at Elizabeth like it was her fault.
"Hog's Head," George proclaimed. "I didn't know your dad was a seedy bar guy, Elizabeth."
"Neither did I," Elizabeth peeled herself off the floor. "Is he out of sight now?"
"Yeah, but we'd better hurry. Who knows how long he'll stay?"
They slipped out the door and down the path to the shrieking shack, no one speaking until they were down in the corridor that ran to the Whomping Willow.
George broke the silence, laughing.
"What?" Angelina looked at him.
"Where were you last night, Weasley?" George said, as if interviewing himself. "Why, I was hanging out in Hogsmeade with Snape."
*S*S*
"Miss Evans," Severus said the next morning, after he'd started the class working on outlining chapter 12 of their text, "my office."
Elizabeth frowned, but followed him through the door, then stepping aside as he closed it behind her. "What's up?"
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Your grandmother said you weren't in the dorm last night when she went to check on the first years. She was told that you were sleeping in our quarters, but I don't remember you being there. Am I mistaken?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "I missed her checking in because I'd come down to the Dungeons to stay, but you weren't there. Or in your office. So I went back upstairs. Did you go out?" The lie felt awkward in her mouth.
Severus' eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded. "For a bit. I also wanted to remind you that we have an appointment at six this evening."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Do I have to—
"Yes," Severus said firmly. "Directly after dinner, no excuses."
Elizabeth flopped onto the sofa against the office wall. "Can we do it tomorrow?"
"Absolutely," Severus crossed his arms over his chest. "It will be a good follow up to this evening."
"Dad!"
"What has gotten into you?" Severus sat on the coffee table, speaking quietly. "You know how important Occlumency is."
Elizabeth shrugged. "I think it's stupid."
Severus frowned disapprovingly. "Be that as it may, I'll expect you in our quarters, ready to work. You should use your afternoon free period to complete any homework. You'll likely want to go straight to bed after our lesson."
"I'm supposed to train with Sirius tonight," Elizabeth protested.
"And you will," Severus said. "Sirius is coming here at 6; you'll have an hour and a half with him before you work with me.
Elizabeth started to argue, but Severus held up a hand. "All I want to hear from you right now is 'yes, dad' or 'yes, sir'."
"Yeah, okay," Elizabeth said reluctantly.
"Elizabeth," Severus said warningly.
"Yes, sir," Elizabeth muttered, with as much attitude as Severus would allow.
*S*S*
Severus pulled out his wand from an inside pocket of his robes and placed its tip against his temple. When he withdrew it, some silvery substance came away, stretching from temple to wand like a thick gossamer strand, which broke as he pulled the wand away from it and fell gracefully into the Pensieve on the desk in front of him.
"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked from the sofa, kicking her foot against the leg of the table.
"You know what a Pensieve is," Severus said, repeating the action twice more before moving the basin to the shelf behind his desk.
"I know what you're doing," Elizabeth clarified. "But why are you doing it?"
"That's not what you asked," Severus said lightly, crossing the room to stand on the opposite side of the table.
"Okay, why did you do that?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She leaned back, wishing she could take a shower. Sirius had pummeled her for an hour, after twenty minutes of running. She'd learned the hard way that protego didn't save you from being kicked in the butt, even if it did keep a spell from hitting you in the chest. She was sore and sweaty, and the last thing she wanted to do was talk semantics with Severus.
"Because tonight we're going to work on expelling someone from your mind. Sometimes, when you do that, you end up seeing memories from the invading person. I have some memories I'd rather keep out of your head."
Elizabeth frowned. "Dad, I can take images of Voldemort. It's not like I haven't seen him."
Severus flinched slightly at the name, but had long ago given up trying to stop her from saying it. "I know you have," he said quietly. "However, the Dark Lord is not the worst memory I posses." He raised his wand. "Let us start with the resisting we've practiced before. I will attempt to break into your mind, you will resist as much as you can." He gestured for her to stand. "Ready? Legilimens!"
Elizabeth hated it when he asked if she was ready and then didn't wait for a response. She was barely able to summon any sort of resistance before images started to flash before her eyes.
She was five, watching Dudley riding a new red bicycle, and she was picturing herself on a pink one… She was nine, and Ripper was nipping at her as the Dursleys laughed… She was sitting under the Sorting Hat, and it was telling her that she would do well in Slytherin… A dementor was closing in on her… Remus was lying on the basement floor after a transformation… Fred was leaning toward her…
Elizabeth felt a sharp pain in her knee. The living room came back into focus. She'd fallen, her knee bashing into the coffee table. She looked up at her father, who was rubbing his wrist and chuckling.
"Did you mean to produce a Stingng Hex?" he asked, helping her up.
"No," Elizabeth shook her head and her leg, trying to get rid of the pain in her knee. "Sorry."
"You lose control of your magic if you let me get in too far," Severus said. "Which I guess I should be glad you didn't slice off my arm. A pink bicycle?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "Not as good as a broom, probably."
"I'd think not," pushing the sleeves of his robe up and raising his wand again. "You must remain focused. This time, you need to repel me with your mind, not just try to keep me out. And try to avoid firing hexes at me, if you please. Just because you can cast without a wand—
"Doesn't mean I should. I know," Elizabeth finished.
Severus nodded. "Close your eyes."
Elizabeth gave him a look that told exactly how much she wanted to continue with this lesson, but did as she was told.
"Clear your mind," Severus said quietly. "Let go of all emotion."
But Elizabeth's frustration at having to participate in the exercise at all, when she could be playing chess with Ron, did not leave, coming to a head in her clenched jaw line.
"You're not doing it, Elizabeth. You will need more discipline than this. Focus. Now."
Elizabeth tried to empty her mind, tried not to think, or remember, or feel…
"Let's go again… on the count of three… Legilimens!"
Cedrick Diggory lying dead on the ground… Fake-Moody performing the killing curse on the spider…
She was on her knees again, her brain aching as though someone had been trying to pull it from her skull.
"Elizabeth!" Severus said, exasperated. "You are not trying! You are allowing me access to memories you fear. That's like handing me weapons to use against you!"
Elizabeth stood up again, her heart thumping wildly. She looked at Severus, who looked paler than usual, but also more irritated.
"I am trying," she protested.
"You were to empty yourself of emotion."
"Yeah? Well, I'm finding that hard at the moment," Elizabeth snapped.
"Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord," Severus said, nearing the end of his rope. "It will not do you any good to wear your heart proudly on your sleeve, no matter how much your House might revere doing so. A person who dies while expressing the fear that they are being so brave to overcome is still dead. Weakness can kill you."
Elizabeth pressed her lips together. "I am not weak," she said, her irritation turning to fury. How dare he talk to her like that?
"Than prove it! Control your mind. We shall try again. Legilimens!"
Severus was walking around the corner in Hogsmeade… George was shooting the Whomping Willow's knot with a slingshot… Fred on the floor of the Three Broomsticks…
She was on the ground once more. She pulled herself up, expecting another lecture on control, but she was met only with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. "Did you leave this castle last night, Elizabeth Rose?"
Elizabeth dropped her eyes to the floor, but Severus pushed her chin up to look at him. "Elizabeth."
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, what?"
"We went to Hogsmeade," Elizabeth said quietly. "But you can't tell grandma and get everyone in trouble—
"I'd worry more about the trouble you are in, young lady." Severus released her chin, crossing his arms again, tapping one long index finger against his opposite elbow. "So you decided to sneak out, after curfew, off the grounds, through an off-limits corridor, to go to a pub?"
"Yes, sir."
Severus drew in his breath sharply. "I often wonder if it was the lack of supervision you had as a child that makes you do these ridiculous things. Or perhaps it was your brief interaction with James Potter," he pressed his lips together for a moment. "This is certainly the blatant disregard for rules that he displayed."
Elizabeth winced, knowing that a comparison to James Potter was the ultimate phrase of disappointment.
"We just wanted to have fun," Elizabeth said lamely.
"Well, now you can have fun sitting in your room," Severus pointed. "Immediately. You can think about exactly what could have happened to you in the middle of the night."
Elizabeth went into her room, knowing that it was best to obey at that moment. The lecture hadn't even begun, and she was pretty sure that being sent to her room would not be the extent of her punishment. She heard Severus mutter a minding charm on her door and sighed. She'd really done it now. He'd never trust her again.
*S*S*
"Sev?" Remus looked up as the floo roared and his friend appeared. "Did something happen?"
"I'm trying to put a bit of space between myself and my wayward child," Severus said, sitting in his armchair and leaning back, staring at the ceiling.
"What did she do now?" Remus closed the book he'd been reading and placed it on the table.
"You'll be so proud," Severus frowned at the plaster above him. "A group of seventh year Gryffindors and your goddaughter decided to have their own Hogsmeade weekend last night."
"One-Eyed Witch or Whomping Willow?" Remus asked, badly covering his smile.
"This is not amusing," Severus said firmly. Then, begrudgingly, "Whomping Willow."
"Sev, I know you're angry, but this is really the tamest thing she's ever done. Teenagers sneak out. You did it."
"Not when a murderer was after me."
"A murderer who thought she was safe in her bed, I'd imagine."
"That's where I thought she was," Severus frowned. "And she lied to me earlier today, when I confronted her about missing bed check."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Sit here until I can put it in perspective," Severus answered. "I know, in my mind, that I did my share of disappearing out my bedroom window when I was her age. Then again, I know what I was doing when I snuck out, and I'm sure I don't want Elizabeth doing… that. And I know that the chances of anything happening to her, other than getting belted by the Whomping Willow, were slim. But there's this aching in my abdomen that isn't willing to settle for a slim chance. I need to know where she is and what she's doing." He sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. "This is when I need Lily."
"Lily would have given her a piece of her mind," Remus grinned. "You remember that time that you decided that you were going to live at the Leaky Cauldron over the summer, and paid that girl… what was her name? Jenni?... to tell Minerva you were dead?"
"It was not my best laid plan," Severus admitted. He sighed, and stood. "I have to go. If I'm going to shout and get her to bed at a reasonable hour, I need to get started."
"Good luck," Remus picked up his book again.
Severus stepped back through the floo. Elizabeth's door was still open, but it was dark inside. He went in, and spotted a bulge in the blankets that he had to believe was his daughter. Crossing the room, he sat on the bed and pulled back the bedspread, exposing a head of hair that matched his own. "You are not asleep," he said assuredly.
There was no response, but Severus could tell by her breathing that she was very much awake. "I have to know where you are at all times," he began, deciding that forcing her to admit that she was awake might be counterproductive. "It has nothing to do with who you are, or the Dark Lord. It is because you are a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl and there are horrible people in the world, Muggle and Wizard alike. It is because you could trip and break your wrist. It is because you could get lost."
He brushed his hand over her head. "You don't understand this now, but some day you will. Every little thing that hurts you causes me pain. I have to keep you safe, because the thought of you receiving so much as a scraped knee is unacceptable." He let his hand rest between her shoulder blades. "I'm willing to accept that life has risk. I'm willing to worry about you when you walk down stairs to quickly, or when you ride that ridiculous death stick. I'm willing to worry about things you have to do in order to have a wonderful life without letting it get in your way."
"However," He drummed his fingers slowly, "I will not tolerate you taking risks during which I have no idea where you are. If something had happened last night, it could have taken hours for anyone to even notice you were gone, let alone find you. That," his voice snapped into the silence of the room, "I will not accept. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," Elizabeth said quietly from the depths of her pillow.
"Good. Now, since you created your own Hogsmeade weekend, it seems unnecessary that you attend the next one. In addition, since you thought that it was acceptable to lie to me, you will be spending your evenings and nights here for the next week."
"Yes, sir."
Severus sighed, and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I love you so much, hatchling. No matter how many grey hairs you've bestowed on me."
"Sorry," Elizabeth mumbled.
"You always are," Severus tucked the blankets around her.
*S*S*
"Elizabeth? ELIZABETH!"
Someone was shaking her, and then a blast of cold water hit her in the face. The insane laughter that had filled her ears was punctuated with a shout of surprise. The happiness she'd felt in the dream was draining, but the laughter wouldn't stop…
She opened her eyes and slowly became aware that the wild laughter was coming out for her own mouth. The moment she realized this, it died away, leaving her panting, staring at Severus, who was holding her by her upper arms.
"What happened?" Severus asked, shaking her again.
"I dunno," Elizabeth panted. "Stop it." She looked meaningfully at Severus' clenched hands, and he relaxed his hold. "He's really happy," she said, shaking her head as if the movement would clear it. "Something good's happened. Something he's been hoping for." She was trembling, and felt as if she were about to lose whatever was in her stomach.
"What—
"Severus!" A shout from the living room made both of them jump. Remus tore into the room, wearing red pajama pants and a black t-shirt, clearly just out of bed. "They've arrested Sirius."
"What?" Severus' grip on his daughter tightened again.
"There's been a prison break. Some Death Eaters are gone, and since Sirius is the only one to escape from Azkaban—
"They think he helped?" Elizabeth asked, her mind foggy.
"We need Albus," Remus said, nodding.
"Let's go see what trouble the mutt has gotten himself into now," Severus stood, turning back to Elizabeth. "Stay here. Do not leave these rooms for any reason short of engulfing flames."
"He was happy," Elizabeth looked up at him. "He was happy that they escaped—
"What is she talking about?" Remus looked at Severus.
"On the way," Severus gestured toward the door.
*S*S*
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
MINISTRY QUESTIONS BLACK
The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban.
Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening, and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.
"An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help," said Fudge last night. "We must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps."
Fudge believes that while Black was acquitted of the murder he served time for in Azkaban, it does not mean that Black was not connected to the Death Eaters.
"It is unlikely that a man would be accused of such a crime if he'd lead a clean life," Fudge said in the interview. "We have taken Black into custody for questioning, and we will do all we can to round up the escaped criminals. We beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached."
Elizabeth looked up from the paper that Hermione had shoved under her nose and looked up toward the staff table. Severus' chair was empty, which wasn't surprising, since she hadn't seen him since he and Remus had gone in the middle of the night. He'd sent his patronus in the morning, the bright doe leaping into her bedroom.
"Go to class, hatchling," her father's voice said. "Stay with your friends at all times. If I have not returned by the end of dinner, bring them down to our quarters. Do not be alone. Do not go anywhere but class, meals, and our rooms. Black is fine for right now, but we are encased in a bit of bureaucratic nonsense."
Elizabeth pushed the paper away and tried to focus on her food. Bureaucratic nonsense. That was going to be the least of her problems.