"I just need help."
"Well - what do Ron and Hermione say about all this?" asked the fiery face of Sirius Black.
"That's it! I don't see them enough to actually talk to them... They're so busy being Prefects I barely get to speak to them outside of lesson time."
"Come now, Harry, surely you have actually spoken to them about it? Let them know what this means to you? I'm sure if they knew how important this was to you they'd listen."
Harry pulled his hands over his face with a sigh.
"I know it's not their fault, I'm not blaming them... I'm just left alone with my own thoughts, I don't even know if what I'm talking about sounds mental or not anymore!"
With Ron and Hermione chosen as the new Gryffindor Prefects, their newly added responsibilities meant their absence was a noticeable one in the week that came, and combined with the groups new timetable that split them up almost entirely for the majority of their lessons, meant this term had been a lonely one thus far. Hermione, on one of the occasions they'd actually had a class together, suggested Harry used his new found free time to throw himself into his work, for once he was actually willing to listen to her.
He only had two more years at Hogwarts before graduating to begin his Auror training, to say he hadn't been distracted in the slightest in the years past was definitely an understatement.
After all, it wasn't like he had a girlfriend to keep him distracted anymore. They were a week into the new term now and the most he had gotten a chance to speak to Daphne was the night by the castle's entrance. He was getting progressively more frustrated with her by the day, never quite enough to make him mad, or to make him wish to give up his pursuit all together, but enough for his mood to be spoiled by the mention of her.
She was deliberately going out of her way to be rude and cold towards him. This was the same girl who last year was willing to risk her school and her home life just for the chance to tell him how much he meant to her. What the hell had happened over the holidays to make her change her mind so suddenly? None of her behaviour made sense, he was beginning to doubt if it ever truly did at any point of knowing her.
"And your idea is…?"
"That it's something to do with Malfoy."
Sirius's face was difficult to read through the flames, but he knew what that silence meant.
"I don't see what else it could be," he pushed, regardless. "I know what I meant to her, Sirius. I know what the time we spent together meant. She isn't the type to just cut people off. Or not me, anyway. She's being forced into it, and Malfoy is definitely up to something."
"I see. And, probably a daft question, but - are you sure she hasn't just lost interest?"
Harry stared at him.
"Oh don't look at me like that! James was the jealous type is all, I'm not accusing you of anything... I just think it was worth noting."
"I'm not the jealous type..." he sighed internally. "Something is going on, I know it is."
"Right, well, listen to me, Harry. Your NEWT level examinations shouldn't be taken lightly. Even I knew when to settle down and take my school work seriously… no pun intended," he added with a hearty laugh. "Don't let whatever may or may not be going on distract you from what's important. Women come and go, but what goes down in your last two years are going to stick with you for the rest of your life. Definitely not worth throwing away for a bloody shag."
Harry let out a splutter and a loud cough, his face instantly turning the same shade as the Weasley's hair.
"It's not like that!" he stressed in a hissing whisper, suddenly very much aware of the common room around him. "We don't… we're not like… we haven't… I don't even…"
He struggled with his words, Sirius let loose a deranged cackle.
"Merlin's Beard, you're pulling the exact same face Remus used to!" his god-father cheered.
Harry blew out a puff of air, trying to hold his chest high despite his flushing cheeks.
"So, what are you telling me? That I should just do nothing?"
"Ohhh, Harry…" Sirius simmered down. "Sirius Black telling Harry Potter to do nothing would be like a pyromaniac telling a dragon not to start a fire! If you're sure with yourself, follow it up! I trust you to do so carefully, and the Order is here for whatever you may find. I'm just saying, don't let your pursuit of a girl take over your education... You've got to keep balance in mind. I've made that mistake far too many times and it was never worth it."
Although the conversation with Sirius gave him everything he needed to hear, it did nothing to give him the words he'd wanted to hear.
He wanted to hear he wasn't overthinking things. He wanted to hear that his suspicions actually made sense. He wanted to hear that his girlfriend hadn't abandoned him. If he couldn't get answers, then he at least wanted closure on the matter.
Harry debated his options. He couldn't just waltz up and approach her, not without getting the same reaction from he'd received in their recent Potions lesson, and he wasn't willing to push more aggressively than that. His letters had gone ignored over the holidays and he doubted that writing now would result in anything different. That left, as far as he could figure out, his only other choice was trying to set up some scenario where the two of them ended up isolated together. Maybe something like an enchanted broom cupboard, one that wouldn't let either of them out until they worked things through? Or the Room of Requirement, that place in its natural form was like a maze, they'd definitely have to work together to find their way out of that? Or the Forbidden Forest, if he could frame it so that they both had detention at the same time...
It was at this point in his speculation that he finally he realised just how far he'd dropped from reality.
Distracting his mind, Harry switched to overhearing Seamus and Dean bicker about their most reason Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Normally he'd would jump at the opportunity to bitch about Snape, but he was feeling in an incredibly non-confrontational mood right now.
He picked up his now stone-cold cup of tea, his mind struggling to focus on one clear subject.
Was he being overbearing? A stalker? His girlfriend broke up with him and now his thoughts were clogged with the image of her and another man… And no, not in that way. He trusted her - whether or not that's a smart decision remained to be seen - but nonetheless, he did. So should he just let no mean no and respect her decision like the adult she was? Should he push his feelings on the matter aside and just accept the shit card he'd been dealt?
Harry physically shook his head to drag his thoughts away. No, he couldn't afford to start doubting himself now. He and her had come this far, put so much effort in and lost so much already. If he had to push that little further so they could be happy, that's exactly what he would do. He had earned the right to be happy, and so had she. He'd continue his pursuit of her, and he'd find out exactly what Malfoy was up to. Even if he had to do it alone.
Severus never took Daphne Greengrass for a problem child, but by Merlin's name, she was living up to recent accusations.
There was once a time he considered her to be his favourite, most untroublesome student and the odd thing was, that time wasn't even too long ago. In just under a year she had pulled every string he had through lies, deceit, and general trouble-makingness. The two sat opposite each other right now in his new Defence Against the Dark Arts office, which had been reluctantly stripped of Umbridge's pink over-coating, but now replaced with a tense silence spread across the room.
"Congratulations on the Prefect spot. You've earned it."
The girl remained cold in her seat. She had a vein bulging from the side of her neck, her eyebrows sharp in the centre of her face. She'd been glaring at him like this for the past twenty minutes. His patience was wearing thin. She had barely moved or spoke since entering, Snape had heard vaguely of her classmates corridor-bound nickname, but now he was experiencing full force why she'd earned it. Fortunately, she had another thing coming if she thought he would allow himself to be intimidated by a little girl.
"And I see you've met Dominique Flamel. Madame Maxime thinks very highly of her. You'll do well to keep her out of trouble."
He watched her as she gave polite, most subtle nod possible, then immediately went back to glaring a hole through him.
Severus sighed in fatigued annoyance.
"What happened between you and Harry Potter?"
"We broke up."
Greengrass was snatched from her trance and sagged her shoulders, breathing heavy.
She was decently good at fighting off his Legilimency normally, but now she had mastered the art of redirecting it completely. Probably explains why she was able to survive meeting The Dark Lord. Any attempt for him to pry into her mind just turned into a hostile game of tug-and-war between the two, which he refused to be demeaned by.
If she was good enough to keep him out, he considered, she might actually have a chance at surviving on her own in this world. Her father had certainty taught her well. But that would do neither her nor him any favours while he was on a rare mission of mercy.
"I will ask you again... What happened?"
"He left me."
"Lies..."
Severus' face broke into a nasty scowl as he was unable to contain his irritation any longer.
"What is it with children your age so eager to jump into the fire pit?" he spat. "Does death have a level of fascination to you? Because you will surely be examining it up close soon!"
Greengrass looked like she'd just received a slap to the face, and shot back at him with equal prowess.
"I have no desire to die anytime soon, Professor Snape," she said coldly.
"The Dark Lord may disagree with that, Miss Greengrass!"
She cocked her head to the side, staring back at him like a mother scolding her child.
"You can tell The Dark Lord that I failed the mission he set for me. It was very tragic, but Harry Potter left me at the start of this year and - despite attempts at reconciling our relationship - I believe it is gone forever. He blames me for the attack at the Department of Mysteries and has accused me of being a Death Eater spy."
Her words came out in a well-rehearsed, almost robotic manner.
"The mark on my arm probably isn't doing a good job at convincing him otherwise, either."
His expression deepened on her remark.
He could see the bandages peaking through the end of her sleeve. It should have healed by now, meaning they were probably there as a rudimentary attempt at hiding her tattoo. He'd argued against her being blooded at such a young age, but The Dark Lord had been absolutely resolute on it. He tried convincing him that her mission would be easier without it, that it would just be incriminating her should she be caught, but he was determined to see her prove her devotion.
In reality, forcing a child to take the mark, especially against her will, was mortifying and savage act, which was exactly the reason Severus suspected he wanted it done. The Dark Lord knew she was terrified of the Death Eaters and wanted to degrade her by making her one of them.
"If you believe that answer will be satisfactory to the Death Eaters -" he swallowed to clear his tongue "- then you have several things coming. Do you know what happens to people who fail The Dark Lord?"
"They teach Potions at Hogwarts for fourteen years?"
With every fibre of his being, Severus resisted the impulse to throw his shoe at the girl.
"They suffer..." he seethed through his clenched teeth. "They suffer a fate that leaves most begging for death and those are the lucky ones. Now, if even I don't believe your story - that Potter conveniently severed all ties with you the second term began - tell me, exactly, how you expect The Dark Lord will?"
"He will believe me because that's what happened. If The Dark Lord wishes to punish me for that, I will happily submit myself to it. I did fail him. My father will protect me if worst comes to worst, he is one of The Dark Lord's most loyal servants and his word comes in good favour."
"Your father didn't do a good job at protecting you when he beat you like a mutt the first time that you helped Harry Potter! And that will be considered a mercy over what you will experience when The Dark Lord get his hands on you!"
That seemed to have finally put an end to the girls smart mouth. Whether she had ran out of pre-prepared things to say or she had just finally lost her argument, he couldn't tell. She didn't say anything, nor make any obvious movement, but the minute sagging of her face did not go unnoticed by him.
"You will find no allies with the Death Eaters, only pain and suffering," he continued, quickly. "Your father is lost to their cause. The one with the power to help you now is me… and you would be wise to accept that help. You and Draco are both in more danger than your childish minds seem to realise..."
He was offering her as much salvation as would be available to her, but she was too caught up in her own sanctimonious beliefs to see him as anything other than another obstacle. There was so much pent up aggression inside of her, none of it being directed to the right cause. He was the last name on the very long list of people that she should be rebelling against, but his words would do nothing to convince her of that. Anything he could say would just being spat back in his face, regardless of its sincerity.
She was as naive as she was self-righteous, Severus mused, and it was going to get her killed if he didn't put a stop to it.
"Listen to me; your failure will not go unpunished. Whatever the consequences are that you are expecting to be content with, I warn you not to underestimate the ruthlessness of The Dark Lord... Furthermore, need I remind you that it was I whose responsibility he placed over you? Your failure means my failure, I will not have my good position compromised by some self-entitled brat! If you have even half of a decent brain on your shoulders, you will work with me on what comes next... or you will be at Death Eaters mercy, and as I'm sure you'll come to find, those two are not often associated with one another."
Such long-winded explanations felt unnatural leaving his mouth outside the constraints of a classroom, but it seemed to have done it's job.
Greengrass stared back at him miserably.
Her mental restraints were still up, he sensed, but there was now more messy emotion to it. She looked to be contemplating his words, he slently egged her towards the correct decision.
"Nothing else smart to say?"
"I know what you're trying to do, Professor Snape..." Greengrass hesitated, "... but I don't need nor want help. I have to handle this on my own."
He was done. There was a limit to how far he would go out for another person and she had well and truly pushed him past it. He was done jumping through hoops to try and keep her safe when she was only making it more difficult for herself. She had spat the help that he had no obligation to give her right back in his face for the last time.
"Spoken like a true Death Eater. Get out of my office."
Greengrass reluctantly obeyed, rushed quickly out of her seat and seconds later he was alone.
Severus felt severely out of his depth dealing with her.
The second he opened his mouth he knew was going to regret kicking her out. She was not a problem that he could ignore, nor afford to give up on. Malfoy, he was different, he was a coward, but his heart was in the cause. Greengrass wanted nothing to do with the war, but that wasn't enough anymore. Her mere existence threatened to be a game changer on both sides. He had to be patient with her, being short tempered and hostile would just further the divide that he needed so desperately to patch up.
He would be talking to Dumbledore tonight. Even being unable to see into the girls mind, there wasn't a doubt in him that her heart wasn't truly into it. She may have taken the Dark Mark - she might even genuinely believe in the cause - but she did not have the heart of a killer.
Which just begged the question, what did The Dark Lord want with her? He would have seen she was very obviously still in love with the Potter boy even easier than he had. Why give her a task that she was so obviously going to fail? Was The Dark Lord planning to use her weakness against her? Or was she mere bait for Potter?
The more he pondered the situation, the less he liked the possibilities he came up with.
