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"Potter did what!?"
"Blew up her aunt. ...Well, inflated, actually. And it wasn't her blood aunt either, I suppose. Let me clarify." Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Violet's uncle's sister came to visit, and it seems there was a bit of an...argument, which, unfortunately, led to Violet losing her temper and accidentally inflating her aunt."
Severus sighed. "That brat."
"And then she ran away from home."
"...What?"
"She was able to call the Knight Bus, fortunately, and after an encounter with Cornelius, is now safe and sound in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. She'll be remaining there for the last two weeks of the holiday."
With no idea what to say, and wondering why Dumbledore was even bothering to tell him any of this in the first place, Severus lowered himself down into a chair with an inward groan. Not even during the holidays could Potter be normal!? What on earth was that girl thinking!?
Absently, he rubbed the soulmark that was hidden beneath his sleeve and then noticed he was being watched. "What?" he questioned with a scowl.
"Is your Dark Mark bothering you again?"
Severus very nearly rolled his eyes. "Yes, because I wear the Dark Mark on my wrist. No, that mark is just fine."
"Ah, then it's your soulmark that's giving you pain?"
Why was he being asked all of these inane questions? "You know as well as I do that soulmarks cause no pain unless one's soulmate is near death or actively dying. My own is mark is painless."
"Hmm, is that so?" Dumbledore folded his arms on his desk and fixed Severus with a rather stern look from over his half-moon spectacles. "When will you tell us who your soulmate is?"
"When it becomes your business." Which, of course, was to say never. But the old man never really paid any attention to that anyway. Everyone's business was his business, really, except for when it wasn't convenient. At least, that was what it always seemed like.
And then Severus ignored the long, dramatic, and drawn-out sigh that left Dumbledore. He was getting better at ignoring the emotional blackmail each day. It was a relief but never truly made the situation any easier.
And as he left the Headmaster's office, Severus wondered if he ought to drop by Diagon Alley. Not to make sure Potter was doing alright on her own, of course. No, nothing like that. He just had some errands to run, that was all…
He found Potter sitting at a table outside Fortescue's with a rather large bowl of ice cream in front of her. He frowned. That was far too much sugar for one sitting.
Potter didn't seem at all bothered or concerned, over-indulging as she scribbled away on some parchment. Was she pleased to have so much time alone with no adults telling her what to do? And then Fortescue came out and asked her if she wanted more ice cream.
Much to Severus' surprise, Potter refused and pulled out her coin pouch, only for Fortescue to tell her the ice cream was free for her. Severus thought she would go along with it and thank him, but she didn't. Instead, she insisted on paying for at least half of the ice cream and after some protest, Fortescue accepted the coins reluctantly before returning inside his shop.
"Professor!"
Severus blinked. Ah. He'd been spotted. He hadn't planned on standing there for so long. "Miss Potter," he said in greeting as he approached the table. "What are you doing here?"
"Homework," said Potter. She shot him a cautious look. "I already finished your essay, I swear!"
Homework? Severus wasn't sure why he didn't want to believe her, but a single glance at the table's surface told him she was speaking the truth. The transfiguration and charms textbooks made that much clear.
She was free without any sort of supervision for two weeks and she was spending that free time doing her homework of all things? He certainly couldn't see Weasley doing anything of the sort. In fact, he'd only thought Granger would do something like that. For that matter, why hadn't she just done her homework earlier in the break? Why wait until the last two weeks?
...Then again, he supposed he was one of the odd ones to have always completed his holiday homework immediately. Still, this wasn't something he had expected from Potter.
Severus was more than a little displeased when he found out Lupin was going to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts during the upcoming school year. And displeased was an understatement as well.
First Black escaped from Azkaban and now Lupin was returning to Hogwarts? Severus knew there was a chance it was simply a coincidence, but if it was, it was one with impeccable timing. There was something wrong with this entire situation. He was sure of it.
Dumbledore, of course, dismissed his suspicions, but Severus hadn't expected otherwise. The Headmaster had always made excuses for the Marauders, and it seemed like that hadn't changed at all, even when one of them was a convicted killer, though Severus wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that either.
But Severus' concern quickly and frustratingly, returned to Potter when he found out about the dementor attack that took place on the Hogwarts Express.
The dementor had been searching for Black but had, for some reason or another, decided it would be a grand idea to attack Potter. Because of course it would be her. Potter was practically a magnet for danger.
For what was surely the first time, Severus had to admit he was glad Lupin was around, because he'd been the one to get rid of the dementor and ensure Potter's safety, and he had the right knowledge to be sure of it as well.
Even then, Severus kept his eye on Potter as she sat at Gryffindor Table with her friends not too long later. She was too pale, he noticed immediately, even despite the chocolate he'd been told she had been given.
The smile she was currently wearing was fake as well. He didn't know how he knew that-he just did. Only thirteen, and she had already suffered an encounter with a dementor? That was something that never should have happened.
Severus decided to blame it on Black.
A few days later, Severus was in the staff room during one of his free periods when Lupin walked in with a line of children trailing behind him. A single glance showed him that it was the third year Gryffindors.
Oh joy.
Lupin, Longbottom, Weasley, Granger, and Finnegan, all in the same room? They would be lucky if the place was still intact by the end of it. He knew it would be best for him to leave, but...Potter was here too.
No, no, he couldn't stay. He didn't know what Lupin had planned, but he didn't care to find out, Potter's presence be damned. So, he taunted Lupin, just to keep in character, unwilling to draw any suspicion to his conflicted emotions, and left the room as swiftly as he could.
But it didn't take him long to find out what Lupin had done.
By dinner, nearly everyone in the castle had heard about what happened in the staff room, though Severus knew the rest of them were focusing on a very different aspect of the situation than he was.
"-and Violet's boggart...it became a dementor," said Lupin, who was recounting the events of his lesson to Dumbledore.
Surprise crossed Dumbledore's face. "A dementor, you say? That is...unexpected. I thought it would become Voldemort. She has ample reason to fear him, after all."
"I thought that too," Lupin admitted, "which was why I intervened. I didn't think it would be a good idea for Voldemort to appear in the middle of the staff room."
Though he remained silent, Severus could only agree with both statements. He'd also thought Potter's boggart would become the Dark Lord. Why wouldn't it? And while there was a part of him that was glad her greatest fear wasn't the Dark Lord, the fact that it was a dementor was disturbing in its own right. In some ways, he would have preferred it to be the Dark Lord.
"So, Violet's greatest fear is fear itself," said Dumbledore. He nodded and smiled, looking impressed. "She's quite wise for her age. That is a very mature fear to have," he all but gushed to a suddenly mostly unresponsive Lupin, and Severus grit his teeth as he was forced to listen to the entire thing.
He cut dinner short that night. Lupin did as well.
"Hey, Violet, did you hear about Black?"
Since when was Finnegan interested in gossip? Despite being at the other end of the room, Severus heard every word being said by the students. He didn't give a damn if they spoke during class so long as they paid attention to their potions, but it was Black that Finnegan was talking about. That was something Severus couldn't help but listen to.
He was telling Potter and Weasley about how a Muggle woman had seen Black nearby, though he'd vanished before the Ministry managed to arrive, and when Potter and Weasley exchanged a glance, he had to wonder what it meant.
Fortunately, the girl didn't seem too disturbed...until Draco began taunting her about him. Suddenly, Potter's calm became concerning. Potter didn't take well to being taunted. She and Weasley traded another look, this one filled with confusion.
"I don't know why you're bothering to tell me this, Malfoy. Why in the world would I want to go after him?" And though Potter returned her attention to her cauldron, Severus watched her curiously.
Did she not know?
Had no one told the girl who Black was? Did she not know he was after her? Did she not know who he was? Why had no one said anything? Did she not deserve to know? He hadn't thought to ask Dumbledore about how much Potter knew, but by the sounds of it, it wasn't much.
And like so many other things, Severus also began questioning the sense, or lack thereof, in that decision.
But much to his dismay, things only got worse from there. Black's attack, the dementors, Potter falling off her broom from so high up. Again and again, she gave him a heart attack, and by the end of the year, he thought nothing more could possibly happen. But then it did.
Black, Lupin, Lupin as a werewolf, Potter still running off on her own, Potter nearly losing her soul, Black still managing to get away. Severus was desperate for the school term to finish, just so he could have some peace…
That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!