Test of Character

After Potions class, Hufflepuff was in the lead by twenty points over Ravenclaw. It was safe to assume by how the Ravenclaws as a whole looked that the Hufflepuff's lead was going to be short lived. Toby, however, smiled inwardly as he silently followed his grumbling classmates with the gleeful Hufflepuffs rushing towards the Defense classroom. His plan had worked beautifully. Now he'd wait.

He had found over his many years of teaching that competition was usually healthy. It definitely had brought a new spark to the students' eyes, one that they all needed this year. Too many of them looked lifeless and drained because of last year's dark events.

When he brushed up against someone, Toby raised his head and glanced to his right. He half-smiled at Celes who was smirking at him. She seemed better now for some strange reason. She had lost her sickly pallor from earlier. He didn't know how to explain it, but his wife was an enigma nowadays.

Upon entering the Defense classroom, Toby and the other students instantly stopped. A large wall had been erected and provided them only with enough room for the class to stand in. The classroom door shut after the last student entered and plunged them into sudden darkness. It took several moments before their eyes had adjusted enough to make out shapes in the soft dim light.

"Welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts," shouted a man from behind the large stone wall.

Toby frowned, glancing at Celes. This certainly was an interesting way to start class. If he had done this when he taught his year of Defense, all of the students would likely have died of fright. As it was, all of the students were huddled closely together and wore looks of clear nervousness.

"When I call your name, you will step forward to the wall and step through it to complete a series of challenges that I've set up for today. At the end of class, the two students who complete the course most efficiently and most logically will receive a prize," explained the mysterious and unknown Defense professor. "Mister Lark, you're first."

Glancing towards the young man, Toby watched Anthony gulp, step through the wall, and disappear. Toby's frown deepened. The students' nerves were already frayed horribly from the horrors they witnessed during the Battle of Hogwarts. These challenges likely were going to make it worse.

At the feel of Celes grabbing his hand, Toby glanced at her. He could see her face becoming paler again and knew it was a result of not knowing what lay ahead on the other side of that wall. He gave her a quick reassuring squeeze of their conjoined hands, hoping it'd give her strength and peace. He heard no noise from the other side of the wall. Just utter silence as they all waited, watching their classmates pass through the wall and disappear.

"Miss Martins," called out their professor.

Toby heard Celes gasp beside him. He gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. She'd be fine. Whatever it was that was on the other side, she'd be fine. After all, it was Defense class. Oh, whom was he kidding? Hogwarts was a goddamn death trap.

For a brief moment, Toby entertained the idea of kissing her, but instead he chose to send his love to her through their mental link. A moment later, he blocked the link so he couldn't hear or feel her. The Final Battle had taught him how frustratingly hard it was to hear her cries in his mind while he was separated from her, unable to help. This would be just as frustrating and difficult as that just because of the mental anguish they all felt.

When she let go of Toby's hand, he drew in a slow breath. He silently watched Celes step up to the wall, glance back at him for a moment, and walk through. He waited and did his best to ignore his gut clenching in concern.

"I wish Snape was here," quietly stated the remaining Hufflepuff.

"Me too," agreed the other Ravenclaw. "At least then the most we'd have to deal with was his snapping at us about how stupid we are." Her name was called then.

Toby kept his eyes trained on the wall, watching the Ravenclaw girl pass through and then after several minutes as the Hufflepuff boy did the same. He was last. He drew in several calming breaths, knowing that whatever it was he'd face on the other side would require a clear mind. He couldn't help but draw the parallel of his standing in the Shrieking Shack with the Dark Lord last May. Would he find himself failing again? On the precipice of death, metaphorical it would seem in this case?

He shook his head to rid himself of that question. He hadn't failed. Potter lived. The Dark Lord was defeated. The world once more was saved. The words sounded hollow in his mind, though.

Sure, Potter was alive, but the boy's—no, the man's—spirit was broken. Then again, all of them were now left to pick up the pieces that once were their lives. Some had bigger pieces to pick up than others. He closed his eyes. His thoughts weren't helping.

"Mister Brooks," called out the Defense professor from the other side of the wall.

Toby drew in another breath to force himself to remain calm. He then took a step forward and passed through the wall. His eyes quickly adjusted to the difference in lighting again. With his true ebony wand in hand, he glanced around the magicked fog to gain his bearings. He then headed forward, his eyes darting around the room as he continued down the path.

A jet of light suddenly flew towards him, causing Toby to roll forward on the ground to avoid the curse. The moment he stood up to continue, he found a dozen Disarming Charms headed for him. He rushed forward, ducking and weaving. One spell hit him from behind and sent him flying through the air. He groaned when he hit the floor. However, he quickly picked himself back up. There was no time to waste. He threw up a series of shields to block the charms and just sprinted down the path. He kept going until he was forced to stop by walls suddenly rising and cutting him off.

"Damn," he hissed, banging his hand against the wall.

Hearing a noise behind him, Toby whirled around. There on the floor was a simple box. He frowned and kept his wand trained on it. The box rattled once more before a black mist filtered out of the top. Had to be a Boggart then, he decided.

He watched it shift and waited for the Boggart to settle on his worst fear. For so long it had been Lily dead and her just staring at him with that accusing look on her face. However, he knew that his Boggart had changed. He had come to terms with Lily's death, thanks to Aurora's help over the years. He eventually had forgiven himself for revealing the half-heard prophecy to the Dark Lord that led to Lily's death. When he had nearly died in the Shrieking Shack, he had definitely forgiven himself without a doubt then.

The Boggart finally settled on an image of his fear. He felt his heart stop for half a moment as he stared at Boggart Aurora. She wasn't dead, nor was she bruised and bloodied. Instead, she stood in front of him with her wand in hand. Her usual warmth and happiness was gone. In its place was coldness and indifference. He recalled that same look on her face a few months back and resisted the urge to shiver.

"Riddikulus," he cast, flicking his wand at the Boggart. He snorted at the sight of her covered only by whipped cream with a cherry balanced on her nose as if she was a sundae. The wall dropped and allowed him to continue, then. He did so, walking briskly down the path.

Once more, walls rose to cut him off after a few moments of continuing forward. He frowned, but glanced around. The lit torch that gave him a bit of light started to flicker as if it was a strobe light. His eyes darted about the room, assuming that some creature or object would attack him soon.

As expected, he wasn't wrong with that assumption. Something slashed his wand hand and caused him to drop his wand. Arms then wrapped around his midsection as someone grabbed him from behind. Toby struggled against his attacker for half a moment before throwing his head back to connect with the person's face. He heard the groan behind him and felt his attacker release him. He whirled around, summoning his wand wordlessly. However, his attacker was gone, and the walls were lowering. His brows knit in confusion, but he quickly continued down the path to find himself reaching his classmates. He took a step back when Celes launched herself at him and embraced him tightly. Their surroundings suddenly vanished and returned to the usual Defense classroom, complete with desks now.

"Very good. All of you," announced their Defense professor, who finally revealed himself to the class. Toby felt Celes's heartbeat skip with his at the sight of the approaching salt-and-pepper haired man who was wiping blood away from his lips. "I apologize for not being there to greet all of you earlier by the door, but it was important that you didn't know who I am until this moment." The man smiled faintly, his warm chocolaty brown eyes sparkling slightly in the soft amber light.

Toby drew in forced slow breaths as he projected calmness. He didn't know what to think about this revelation. Did that mean that—? He stopped that line of thought. He'd just have to wait and see.

"You're likely wondering what the point of this exercise was. Correct?" There were a few murmurs of 'Yes.' "After what occurred last term here at Hogwarts, you may feel despair, anger, grief, shock, hopelessness, and just plain broken now. Some of you might even feel some form of guilt because you survived whereas some of your classmates didn't."

Toby noticed several students glance down at the floor immediately. He reached for Celes and grabbed her hand once more. He could breathe easier knowing that she was beside him, safe.

"It's normal to feel all of that and more." The man sighed. "All of you had your innocence taken from you. You were forced to grow up, become men and women in a matter of minutes, in order to survive. I want each of you to know this, though." His eyes rested on each student for half a second before he moved onto the next student. "You are not alone."

Toby closed his eyes, hearing several students around him fight back their tears at the assertion. They weren't alone. He and Celes knew that because they were mature enough to understand that one needed to rely on another, seek help when one felt lost and hopeless. Though, he and Celes weren't always yielding to let others help, he amended. These students who truly were fifteen or sixteen didn't have that luxury of maturity. Their minds were trying to make sense of everything still. For some of them, he guessed, it was the first time they had experienced death firsthand. They were scared and unable to comprehend the evilness they had witnessed.

"You will move past this darkness. Your teachers here—our doors are always open for you. No matter the time, we will listen and we will help you move past this. We are all hurting with you. So, like that ratty old Sorting Hat says, this year we must put aside our differences and come together to heal as a school. We must be one. If we see one of our friends having a difficult time, we must help. We can do this either by talking with our friend or by telling an adult about them when we don't know how to help our friend." The man sighed, glancing at each of them again. "You survived. Now, it's time to move on slowly and heal your broken heart. Not by forgetting about your friends who died, of course, but by carrying on their memories and remembering them always by holding them dear to your heart. Love is the most powerful thing in the universe, class. Love will always conquer the darkness."

Toby noticed many of the girls had tears streaming down their cheeks. He closed his eyes again. It had been thought by Minerva he later learned that sending the underage students to Hogsmeade would keep them safe. However, it hadn't. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters had first attacked Hogsmeade before they reached Hogwarts and continued their bloody campaign of death and destruction.

"Love didn't conquer Voldemort, though," said one brave Hufflepuff boy.

"Of course it did, Mister Adams," replied the man kindly.

"How do you figure, sir?" a Ravenclaw asked.

"We've all heard the brave story of Lily and James Potter, who gave their lives for their son by standing up and fighting Voldemort in their Godric's Hollow home. However, that was only one act of love in a long line of acts by others that followed. For example, Severus Snape."

Toby barely kept himself from flinching at the sound of his real name. What was the man going to reveal about him? He waited on edge for the man to continue.

"He swore to protect Harry over the years at great risk to himself."

There was no mention of his love for Lily. To that, Toby was quite thankful.

"Albus Dumbledore, who didn't stop fighting for what was right and who saved Severus from certain death as well."

Toby felt a chill rush down his spine at that. He blinked several times to keep the memories of lying in the pool of his own blood at bay. He could recall Dumbledore's look of remorse as the man tried to heal the deep puncture marks to his neck.

"Molly Weasley, who protected her surviving children from a raving lunatic."

She hadn't been able to save Ginny, though. If only the stupid girl hadn't moved, she'd have been fine then. Of course, it was easy to say now in hindsight.

"Narcissa Malfoy, who lied to Voldemort about Harry's supposed death. And above all, Harry Potter himself. He walked into the forest alone and faced Voldemort with no way of knowing if his plan would succeed or not, if he'd live or not. He did this not only because it was the right thing to do, but because he had a weapon that Voldemort couldn't understand therefore couldn't block—love."

Toby waited for one of the students to argue that the Dark Lord had been defeated by a well-placed Expelliarmus or even a mention about the Elder wand, but no student did. He snorted silently at this. Love may have been a catalyst, but the Elder wand belonging to Harry was the main reason the Dark Lord had been defeated. In the words of Minerva, Harry had sheer dumb luck.

"Over the course of this year, we're going to work together as a family in this class. There will be no points awarded for practical demonstrations like the one we did today. You will earn your house points by the essays you write. However, I will be perfectly honest with you. My goal is to help you heal and move on, not award house points." Several students nodded slowly. "Our practical sessions from now on will be you working with a partner to complete a series of objectives. Your partner will be someone you rely on for anything, a friend and a comrade. We will celebrate each victory together. We will learn from each mistake made and support each other after them. We will move on from this."

At the sound of the bell ringing, the students as a whole glanced at the door. However, none of them moved to leave. One of them, in fact, cleared his throat.

"Sir? You haven't told us your name yet," Anthony Lark stated as the other students looked on curiously. That was all except Toby and Celes, who already knew the man's name.

The man laughed softly and nodded once. "Quite right, Mister Lark. I haven't." His eyes twinkled for a second. "I'm Orin Sinistra. You may call me Mr. Sinistra, however." The class instantly started whispering intently with one another after hearing the man's name.

"Um, sir? Are you related to Professor Aurora Sinistra?" asked a Hufflepuff girl.

"She's my daughter," he replied with a curt nod.

"Will you tell her that we miss her and hope she's all right?" another student asked.

"Of course I will, Miss Snow. I have a feeling that she knows already, though." Orin smiled faintly. "Now, go on. Off to lunch. Mister Brooks and Miss Martins, I would like you to remain behind for a moment, though. To talk about your prize."

The class quickly filtered out, chatting energetically amongst themselves. Toby and Celes waited calmly as the other students left.

"Follow me, please," Orin said, motioning them up to his office. He held the door open and closed it when they entered soon after. "Is there anything I get for either of you?"

"No, sir," Celes replied softly.

"I'm fine."

Orin laughed softly. "So, who wants to explain?" He half-smiled when Celes glanced at Toby in confusion. "I may be old, baby girl, but I'm not senile yet. Though, I'll give you credit. You've both done well at disguising yourselves, but a father can always identify his daughter. So, what's going on?"

"It's for a class I took over the summer." She sighed, crossing her arms.

Toby noticed Orin's eyes narrow on her for a moment. However, his father-in-law remained silent. He supposed it was going to come after she left them alone for a moment.

"Are you planning on ruining this now, Dad?"

"No."

"Good." She turned away to glance out the window.

"And here I thought I was past these years," Orin remarked with a snort.

"Are we to assume that you're here to keep an eye on us?" Toby asked softly.

"No. Albus thought it'd be good if someone who went through this after-war stuff before taught Defense this year. Course I didn't actually show up until last night, though." Orin shrugged. "Your dad's worried about you two, as am I."

"We're fine," Celes snapped.

Toby watched Orin force his smile. He frowned, sighing inwardly. If he had a Time Turner, he'd use it in an instant. She wasn't like this. This was not the woman he had fallen in love with.

"I would like both of you to meet me in the Entrance Hall at seven on Friday night."

"Fine. Whatever," she said snottily before turning around and heading out of the office.

Toby sighed. He hated when she acted like this. "I'll keep an eye on her, Orin."

"I know you will, son." Orin sighed. "Your dad's in Hogsmeade now. He wants to see you."

"All right. I'll try to go over there in a bit." Toby shook his head. "I wish I could take her pain."

"She has to come to terms with this her own way. We just need to support her and be there."

He nodded slowly to Orin before he inclined his head and left silently.

~Rising~

Several hours later, Toby headed to the Ravenclaw tower with Celes by his side. She had been quiet since learning her father had taken the Defense post. However, he knew that was solely because she was trying to keep herself distracted. She clearly seemed unsettled with her father in the castle now. He assumed that was a result of her thinking that her father would force her to confront her pain.

Would his father do the same if Toby met him in Hogsmeade? Probably, he decided a moment later. Tobias was a bit of a straight shooter. He frowned. He had thought about talking to his father, but he never actually got around doing it.

"You're hurting me!" a young witch above them shouted loudly. "Stop it! Let go!"

Toby's head came up suddenly as his eyes darted to the sound of the witch in distress. He frowned instantly when he saw Weasley—Ron that was—yanking Granger towards an alcove. He quickly rushed up the stairs after them. He didn't like the look Weasley had on his face.

"Shut it or I'll—" Weasley snarled as Granger cried out again.

"Or you'll what, Weasley?" Toby hissed, gaining their attention instantly. He could see the familiar fear on the young witch's face. It was unfortunately similar to the look he had seen on Aurora's face once. He resisted the overwhelming urge to shudder at that realization.

"Sticking your nose in things it doesn't belong tends to get a person killed. Or haven't you heard that, git?" Weasley reluctantly released the young witch's arm. "Now, be a good Ravenclaw, and get the hell out of here before—"

"Ron! Stop it!" Granger yelled. She cried out in half-shock and half-fright when Weasley backhanded her a moment later.

Toby instantly grabbed a hold of the other boy, slamming him up against the wall with his ebony wand pressed deep into Weasley's throat. Anger with himself bubbled up inside Toby.

"Celes, take her away from here," Toby instructed, knowing that Celes was still there. He waited until he heard two retreating footsteps before he lowered his wand slightly. "Listen here, Weasley. If I ever catch you laying a hand on her or any other young lady again, I'll report you to the Aurors for assault and battery. Is that understood?" He growled when Weasley spit in his face a moment later.

"Go—"

Toby's fist connecting with Weasley's mouth finished that sentence instantly. However, Weasley clearly had something left in him, since he came out swinging back at Toby. The two boys then brawled in the entryway to the fifth floor, slamming into suits of armor and knocking them over.

"Enough!" shouted McGonagall several moments later, finally appearing. A spell quickly separated them. "Misters Weasley and Brooks, my office. NOW!" The two boys glared at one another but headed off in that direction. Once they arrived, she slammed her door shut behind them. "I suggest one of you starts speaking," she snapped, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she waited.

"He attacked me, Professor," Weasley started to lie. "I was with Hermione, and he just came out of nowhere and started to—"

"After he had struck Granger and was dragging her through the castle," Toby growled, clenching his jaw to keep his temper back.

"What?" McGonagall's eyes darted to the bruised Weasley. "Is this true, Mister Weasley? Did you strike Miss Granger?"

"Of course not, Professor. I love Hermione."

Toby's eyes narrowed instantly. The way Weasley had said that—it was clearly rehearsed. Which begged the question: Had the boy struck her before?

"Professor McGonagall, I suggest she be examined by Madam Pomfrey," Toby requested.

"You goddamn—"

"Mister Weasley, I would hold my tongue if I were you!" McGonagall snapped. She stared at Toby for a few short moments. He knew what she was thinking. If it was found that Granger was being abused by him, there would be an inquiry that would further hurt the Weasley family. However, he knew she couldn't live with herself if she did nothing.

"Very well. Mister Brooks, return to your common room." Toby quickly headed for the door, hearing her say as he shut it behind him, "Mister Weasley, you will remain here until I return."

Toby, however, didn't stick around to make sure that Weasley did stay. He quickly set off to find Celes and Granger. He skidded to a stop several minutes later when he saw Harry step into his path.

"They're in the courtyard," the young green-eyed man stated.

"How do you know?" Toby frowned when Harry held up a familiar object. Just a spare bit of parchment his arse. "What's that?"

"The Marauders' Map. I used it to find you so we could talk." Harry sighed, shifting his weight slightly. "About last year."

"I wasn't here last year, though." He caught Harry mouthing Muffliato and drew in a breath.

"I know, Snape. The map showed me."

"How grand," Toby replied bitterly. Did anyone not know at this point? Honestly. Her entire project rested on the staff and students not knowing. Yet, four of them already knew when Pomfrey was supposed to be the only one who did.

"We were there, you know? When they died, I mean. We watched both deaths. He's been taking it hard, losing them. He thought—we all thought—that Fred was going to die as well. He doesn't—he's not like this. He just doesn't know how to handle it. All the emotions in him right now. So he lashes out. Hermione and I have been trying to keep him calm, but sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes we can't get him to come back to himself. So, things happen."

"He's hit her before, then?" Harry didn't need to answer him. He already knew the answer to that. He frowned as he stared at the silent young man. "Take it from me, Potter. He needs someone to help him control his emotions." He grimaced as he thought of himself for a brief moment. "You and Granger protecting him all this while will only make the situation worse."

"He loves her, Snape."

"And I love my wife, yet I still lost my temper with her once and hit her." He caught Harry's confusion instantly, but brushed it off. That was a story for another time. "Weasley needs help. And as long as he's not getting it, he should be nowhere near Granger or you for that matter. Unless you want to be beaten by your friend?" he remarked coldly before striding away to the courtyard.