Detention with Dolores and Harry
I ambled through the corridors, not wanting to return to the common room. That evil cow. How bloody dare she. If the Dementors really did find Dad, we all knew that would be his fate, yet none of us had mentioned it over summer, avoiding the fact that he was a convicted murderer all together. Loosing Dad would leave me all alone in the world and I couldn't bear to think about it. Angry tears stung at my eyes and I let them fall as I turned yet another corner, now feeling completely lost. I carried on down a few of the staircases hoping to find a passageway to outside but failed to do so. It was much colder down here and I wrapped my cloak around me a little tighter. The tears were beginning to blur my vision and everything had become much darker, the torches not much further apart. I began to walk towards the staircase I had just descended, sobs heavy in my throat.
"No students should be in the corridor during lessons. All study periods should be spent in your common rooms or the great hall." A voice carried out of the door I had just passed and retraced my steps quietly. "Sorry, I…" Looking down into my eyes was Sev, a group of Gryffindor's looking nosily past him out to me. I saw Ginny and attempted a smile. "Miss Black, is there something wrong?" I saw worry in his eyes and I smiled to reassure him. "I'm fine sir, just a little lost that's all." Ginny was looking wearily from Severus to me. "I believe that the Gryffindor's had defence against the dark arts this morning with the Slytherins?" "I did Sir but it got to me a little and I had to leave." He blinked, no emotion crossing his face. "Well as you seem to be stood in the dungeons you are far from Gryffindor tower Miss Black." "Maybe I could show her the way Sir?" Ginny had stood to come beside us and she rested a hand gently on my arm, obviously noting the tears in my eyes. "No Miss Weasley, I'll escort her back upstairs, wouldn't want you to get lost on your way back to potions would we." Severus brushed passed me gently leaving one of the severe looking Slytherins in charge of his lesson. I followed Severus quietly.
As he began to ascend the corridor he pushed open a door and ushered me through it. It was dark and cold and he cast Lumos before lighting several candles around the room. I saw a large desk covered in books and papers, surrounded by tall shelves lined with jars of potions and jarred specimens. He'd led me into his office and I quickly realised why his complexion was so pale. He spent so much of his time in the dungeons where there were no windows that he rarely saw sunlight.
He reached over and took my hands, brushing a tear from my face gently with his thumb, "What wrong love?" I couldn't look him in the eye and instead took to staring at his hands in mine. "Umbridge." He pressed his forehead against mine and nodded gently. "What happened?" a sob escaped my throat and his hands dropped mine so that they could hold me to him. "Shh Love, Shh." I cried for a while not wanting to admit my childish fears of being left alone. "She said something amount Dad. The Dementors." He pressed me gently against him and I wrapped my arms around his waist. The tears wouldn't stop and I allowed them to fall freely. "They can't get him Lena. They don't know where he is. He's careful." I looked up into his eyes, "not that careful, he came with us to the station yesterday, anyone could have recognised him." "As a Dog? I highly doubt it. He's safe Lena. Nothing can get into Grimmauld place. You know that." I squeezed him tightly and he kissed my forehead lightly.
"I can't do it Sev. I'm not like Harry. I don't think I can be alone." His hand brushed my hair gently from my face. "You'll never need to be alone Lena. Your father's not going anywhere. Neither am I or Remus, Harry or the Weasleys." Guilt washed through my veins at Remus's name. I'd spent several hours led awake last night trying to work out whether I should tell Severus or not about the kiss. It had meant nothing to me, but I wasn't so sure about Remus. "Severus, Remus he' I would tell him, it wouldn't matter, 'Remus kissed me yesterday. It meant nothing but,' his face dropped and his grip loosed on my back, 'Severus?" He looked down and kissed me gently. "I believe you love. Remus is lonely. Just be careful for me. It's not as if I can claim you from him is it." I looked at him sadly. It was true. Severus would always be Snivellus to Dad while even though Remus was the same age as Severus, he was always Dad's friend. Which was worse, theft by an enemy or the betrayal of a best friend.
"You should be in class." He let his grip loosen further and I pulled away from him. "Don't let Umbridge faze you love. She's a vile old bat. She hates everything that challenges Fudge's authority. She's going to cause you trouble because of Sirius, but I'll have a word with Minerva and Albus. Warn them she's already being too sterile. You're only human." He kissed me one last time. "You have an hour till break. Do you want to stay in here?" I nodded and he left me quietly, locking the door behind him. I crawled up and nestled in the chair behind his desk, nuzzling my face against the soft fabric of the seat. My eyes quickly drifted closed and with Sev's musky smell filling my nostrils, I quickly fell asleep.
Severus returned within an hour and held me softly before walking upstairs to the great hall with me where I met up with Fred, George and Angelina. Angelina took my arm and the boys stared after Sev. "What were you doing down in the dungeons?" "Got lost," I mumbled and they said nothing more of it. They fussed me for the remainder of the break, telling how Umbridge had made them take notes for the rest of the hour and had said nothing of my departure. The rest of the day passed quite uneventfully and as we gathered around Gryffindor table for Dinner that night, Hermione filled us in on Harry's quarrel with Umbridge in their own Defence against the Dark Arts lesson that day. Harry was quiet over dinner and I squeezed his hand gently. We told them of how she'd angered not only me but the boys also by discussing Sirius and Harry looked even angrier, his mood not helped when Angelina, realising Harry had a week's worth of detentions with Toad-face had shouted at him quite unashamedly for missing the quidditch trial that Friday. As our dinner plates were replaced by pudding dishes a small note flew from the staff table to where we sat and landed before me.
The handwriting was small and loopy, the envelope pink. Oh Merlin no.
"Miss Black,' it read 'I would like you to attend detention tomorrow after the poor, disruptive behaviour you displayed in today's lesson. Meet in my office after dinner please. Your Sincerely Professor Dolores Umbridge."
"At least I'll be able to keep you company Harry." I glanced towards the staff table where McGonagall was deep in conversation with Sev, who had apparently not seen the note, but Umbridge, who sat at the end of the table, was smiling maliciously towards Harry and me.
Tuesday passed quickly, more charms and transfiguration, and before we knew it, dinner had finished, our pudding dishes disappearing. Everyone wished us luck and we left the table together, winding our way up to the classroom, within which stood Umbridge's office. We knocked on the door quietly and entered on orders to.
The small room was decorated in large plates with ugly kitten designs, the subjects of which hissed as Harry and I walked past them, the walls underneath were a sickly sweet pink. She sat behind a large white desk with gold gilding, and like everything else associated with this witch it was too elaborate, too sweet. "Please take your desks. You will be writing lines for me tonight. No need for your own quills, you'll be using two of mine." She handed us the quills and we replaced our own in our bags, taking the large black quills she handed us. "But we don't have ink Professor?" Harry's voice was much stronger than anything I could muster. First week and already sat in detention. "You won't be needing ink Mr Potter. "I shall not tell lies" shall be suitable for you Potter and "I shall not question the Ministry" should be suitable for you Miss Black. As many times as it takes for the message to sink in I think."
Harry and I shared a look but began to scribble away on the parchment in front of us. As I wrote the lines time and time again, the skin on the back of my hand burned and as I looked to Harry I could see he was in a similar pain. Looking back down on my parchment I noticed it was not ink on the page but my own blood. The bitch! Torture, Seriously?
"Is there a problem Miss Black?" I shook my head and when she asked Harry the same question he answered with a pained no. An hour later, the quills had sliced our skin so that the message was etched for all to see, the blood dripping from my hand in tiny teardrops. "I think a few more sessions this week may help the message to sink in a little further. The same time tomorrow please."
We took our time to walk towards the common room, both of us in agonising pain. "She's evil." Harry looked to me and I shook my head, what were we supposed to do? Tell McGonagall? Great idea but it wasn't as if she could do anything about it. "We'll just have to be careful. Can you imagine the poor first years, getting that as their first detention?" We pushed open the portrait and Harry went to talk to Ron after wishing me a good night. I climbed the stairs to my own dormitory quietly, everyone else being in bed at such a late hour. I went to the bathroom and scrubbed the day's dirt from my skin in the shower, allowing the water to run over my skin and soak my hair, not caring for any potion to fix the curls. They could matt for all I cared. The pain in my hand was unbearable enough as it was, the water running over it, let alone a potion.
Wearily I climbed into bed and pulled my hangings around me. Tomorrow would be a long day. It was my first lesson in Severus's classroom and it would be unbearable being unable to touch him. Not to mention the fact it was with the Slytherins and I'd have to face Ambrose and his cronies again. I closed my eyes and fell into a sleep rich in nightmares. Dad lying motionless as a scaly grey mouth hung over his. Severus's body lay mangled at the bottom of Gryffindor tower and Remus lying peacefully on a funeral pyre, death eaters surrounding him laughing.