Krazyasibe: Thanks for reviewing! Of course I reply to everyone who reviews. It makes my day to know that people are reading and enjoying, so I do my best to reply to everyone! I will absolutely keep writing, even if it's just slower than I would like for it to be. I can guarantee that I won't stop writing this until it's finished. I hope to one day write a book of my own, and if that day comes, I'd love to have you read it! Also, thanks for following me!

EmilyCMalfoy: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the chapter! Thanks for the motivation!

QueenBookDragon: Thanks for following and favoriting!

Filipe151: Thanks for following and favoriting!

Thanks for your patience! I hope to have the next chapter up toward the beginning of October!

CHAPTER 37

For the rest of the day I lie in my bed, checking the time periodically, ignoring how hungry I am. It's not until late on Sunday night that I finally remove the charms from myself, but I don't move from my bed. Instead I just lie there, unable to bring myself to do anything. Without the thought of having my safety net known as Severus around me whenever I need it, I feel vulnerable. And scared. So very, very scared.

And what's worse is that I have failed Dumbledore. His final note to me in the amulet specifically asked that I help Severus deal with the shit he has to go through, and I have only made things worse. He needs me, and I betrayed him. He trusted me, and I took advantage of that trust for my own selfish purposes.

The curtain corner by my face slowly opens, and Daphne jumps slightly when she sees me. "Oh, Charlotte, you're back," she says. "I didn't expect—" She stops short.

"Were you trying to rob me?" I quip, the smile on my face dying as quickly as it came. "I got back a short while ago. What time is it?"

"Nearly ten."

I desperately want to know what she is doing by my bed, but I simply cannot bring myself to ask. I don't have the energy to care.

"I'll…I'll just leave you then," she says.

I jerk my hand forward and grab her arm. "I don't want to be alone right now." The tears form in my eyes before I can stop them, and I look away from her. Daphne holds my hand kindly and crawls under the sheets with me. Then she waves her wand, and I assume it's to keep everything between us private and hidden from Pansy.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asks quietly.

Shaking my head, I wrap my arms around her and rest my head under her chin. "I don't think I can."

She holds me closely, and I actually feel slightly better. Then I cave. "I ruined one of the greatest friendships I've ever had, and I did it basically for selfish reasons."

"If what you said to me the other day is true, then it wasn't for selfish reasons."

"You don't even know what happened," I mutter.

"But I know you."

Before I have a chance to say anything, my stomach emits a grotesque sound, and Daphne begins laughing, which brings a smile to my face despite my attempt to stop it. "Sorry," I mumble.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Friday at some point, why—"

Daphne pulls away from me abruptly. "What? Get up, right now. We're going to the kitchens and you're going to eat something."

"Do you even know how to get to the kitchens?"

She scoffs as if offended. "What kind of question is that? Get up."

"Wait." I cast the Disillusionment and Silencing Charms over us, link my arm through hers, and together we climb off the bed and make our way to the staircase. I slide in front of her and take her hand, making sure we both remain flat against the wall in case someone starts up while we make our way down.

Christopher and the other second-years sit with Astoria and Malcolm, and I realize just how long it's been since I actually sat down and talked with them. I need to spend some time with them soon. Especially since I am supposed to be going with Christopher for the Christmas holidays. Can't have that be an awkward holiday.

Once Daphne and I are out of the common room, I remove the Silencing Charms from us. "You sure you know how to get to the kitchens?" I ask.

"Ask me that again, Rodgers, and I'm abandoning you."

"And you trust yourself to be able to remove the charm making you invisible?"

She groans.

"That's what I thought."

She laughs, and we exit the dungeons. "It's down the same staircase that goes to the Hufflepuff Basement."

I smile at her even though she can't see me, but other than that we don't speak until we get down to the kitchens.

"I'm glad you've been eating again," she says as I stuff my face with food. She continues chattering away, and I nod along encouragingly as she tells me all that happened while I was gone. Apparently the Carrows asked Daphne some questions about the D.A., but they quickly lost interest because she knows very little about it, thanks to my refusal to talk too much about it. She says they're planning to question me more this week. Which is just great, especially now that Severus is no longer speaking to me and will not be able to help me get away from them or discuss why the Carrows are questioning me about things other than Dumbledore's Army. Lovely.

"You're really struggling because of that friend thing, aren't you?" she asks quietly as we're leaving the house elves and the kitchens behind.

"Yeah," I sigh. She slides her arm through mine, and I cast the Disillusionment Charm over us. "Biggest regret of my life so far." That's not true. I should have forced Zoe to hide in France with her cousin for a while, or some other country. I should have forced her to leave. Maybe she would still be alive. Allowing Zoe to stay in Hogsmeade is the biggest regret of my life.

"Let's not go back to the dungeon just yet," she says kindly. "I imagine you don't want to be around that many people right now."

"Thanks."

We wander up the staircases, and when I hear a familiar voice, I stop her, remove her arm from mine, and take the charm off myself. "Stay quiet," I whisper.

I clear my throat and step around the corner, Daphne's hand on my back. "What are you doing out of bed at this hour?" I ask, smirking at the surprised looks on the faces of Neville, Ginny, and Luna. "I'm surprised your detentions didn't last more than just Friday night."

Neville smiles at me. "We got out of that an hour ago. Detention all this week."

"So what are you doing now?"

"More D.A. stuff," Ginny informs me.

"This early after being caught by Snape? Sorry about that, by the way. Bellatrix was awaiting my arrival, and she and Snape hate one another. There wasn't much of a chance for conversation between the two of them."

Neville shrugs indifferently.

"I have it on good word that I will be questioned by the Carrows again this week. Is there anything you're all okay with me telling them?"

Ginny smirks maliciously. "Tonight we're doing a harmless prank that serves only to anger them. You can tell them I did it."

"Ginny—"

"Neville, it's fine," she says, then smiles at me. "There are six of us. Two groups of three. We're locking the Carrows into the offices. They'll have to destroy the door to get out, but I'm guessing they'll not lose that easily so they'll spend time trying to break the charm."

"Isn't…isn't that…a bit juvenile?" I ask carefully.

"Yes." They don't seem bothered by that though.

"How are you planning on doing this?"

With a proud gleam in his eye, Neville says, "A chain and a Permanent Sticking Charm—they're going to be livid."

"And what exactly should I tell them when they come to me about this?"

"I did it," Ginny says. "Six of us are involved, but it hardly takes that many people to do this. Tell them I did it by myself."

"Ginny, no, I don't want them torturing you in detention," Neville quickly says. "I did it."

I shake my head. "They're going to assume you're the leader if I turn you in twice, Neville."

"You think they'll automatically assume that?" Ginny says. "Are they that smart?"

"They're not smart per se, but they're not idiots."

"Blame it on me," Ginny says. "I'll take the punishment."

I watch her for a moment in silence. She has just gotten in trouble for breaking into the headmaster's office and stealing—something I blame myself for because I should have done a better job of distracting Severus. Really I shouldn't have let anything interrupt us. Now she wants to be punished for a personal affront to the Carrows. They'll not go easy on her. They'll torture her like they did to me when they thought I was Neville. How can I send someone into that kind of slaughter when I've been there myself?

Then an idea strikes me. "You won't be punished," I say confidently. "I'll get you out. You won't be punished."

"Haven't we learned the problems with breaking kids out of detention?" Luna asks.

"I've wizened up." Because I think I can do it differently this time. I can do what I should've done last time: change the Carrows' memories. "I have an idea of what to do."

"I trust you, Charlotte," Ginny says.

I smile and nod, then leave them to it.

Once we're out of earshot, Daphne says, "I could help you, you know. I could be a covert member of the D.A. like you. No one else would have to know about it. Not my sister, not Malcom, not the second-years. I could help you."

"And put you at risk like that when the Carrows trust you? No."

"Didn't know you cared so much, Charlotte."

"Of course I care. Besides, it's better to have you sparkling clean in case I need you to be my alibi. The Carrows need to have no reason to distrust you."

"Ah, using me for you own benefit. I like it."

I turn and smirk in the direction of her voice.

"Will you take this charm off of me now?"

"Right, sorry."

Her face is curious when she is no longer invisible, but it becomes somewhat sad after just a moment. "The friend you lost…was it Snape?"

I feel the color drain from my face. "Why would you think that?"

"I just find it odd that the night you were fretting over ruining a friendship is the night that those three back there tried stealing the Sword of Gryffindor from Snape's office."

"Coincidences happen," I say airily.

She doesn't look convinced. "You can trust me, you know."

"I know that." I sigh quietly and mutter, "You're right." Her eyes light up with questions, and I add, "But I don't want to talk about it. Besides, we'd better get back to the dungeons before someone finds us and alerts the Carrows that we're out past curfew."

Daphne doesn't argue.

The next morning I slip out of the dungeons before the others are awake and make my way to The Fat Lady where I wait for a Gryffindor to exit so I can speak with Ginny. It doesn't take long before Seamus Finnigan exits the Gryffindor Tower, not letting the painting close behind him again when he sees me, his eyes suspicious, looking almost as if he is ready to attack or go back into the Gryffindor common room. "Would you mind telling Ginny that I need to speak with her?"

He doesn't want to, that much I can tell from the look on his face, but he goes back inside and returns with Ginny a few minutes later. Then he disappears down the stairwell. "Did it work?" I ask Ginny as we start toward the Great Hall.

"Yeah. Yeah, it did. They're stuck in their separate offices right now."

"Who else was involved?"

"You can't narc on anyone but me, you know that, right?"

"Of course."

She nods. "Okay. It was Luna, Neville, Seamus, Hannah Abbot the Hufflepuff, Michael Corner the Ravenclaw, and me. Two of each group set up the chain, making sure it was against the wall and their door. But it had to be tight, no slack. The third person used the charm."

"I guess that could've been done by one person. How do you think they'll get out?"

"They'll break down the door when they get too annoyed with being unable to undo the charms, but I doubt they'll want to be outwitted by some students so they'll be a while trying to undo what we've done."

We come to a stop at the Great Hall and stand silently for a moment before we both walk away from the other, going to our separate House tables. None of my friends are at my table right now, but I believe I'm all right with that because I just want a moment alone. I'll have to go face Severus eventually—or at least I want to—and I don't want any of my friends seeing me struggle with this because that'll be too much to explain to all of them.

I put my head down on the table and stew over my mistakes. Perhaps I should have just told Severus what was happening. Or I should have tried distracting him another way. What I should have done is made him use the Daydream Charm from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. That would have given Ginny, Neville, and Luna half an hour to get the sword out of the office.

And most importantly, that would not have been as much of a betrayal to our friendship as trying to seduce him turned out to be. I know it is highly unlikely because he's only shown up to a handful of meals, but I really wish Severus would attend breakfast today like a normal headmaster. Then maybe I would be able to catch him and speak with him before he disappears into his office for the next three weeks.

Someone sits down beside me and says, "Did you hear what happened, Charlotte?"

I look over and see Christopher smiling widely at me.

"No, what?"

The other three second years take their seats around me, leaving room for three more people, the Greengrass sisters and Malcolm, all of whom are apparently lagging behind.

"People are trying to keep it quiet so no one goes to their aid quickly," Ella says.

"Someone in the D.A. has locked the Carrows in their offices!" Julia announces. She and Ella share a smile at this, and for some reason I feel grossly jealous that they're both alive and happy. The loss of Zoe rams into my chest dangerously again. The loss of Severus follows shortly after, and I am left fighting down the pain that wants to make itself evident on my face.

"Any idea who?" I force myself to ask.

They all shake their heads, Christopher's carrying a sadness that the others do not. Apparently he still desperately wishes he was part of the D.A. But I can't let him do that because it would be too dangerous for a Slytherin to get caught and I am in no way going to sit by and let him endanger himself that way.

The rest of breakfast is spent speculating over who could have possibly locked the Carrows up, but none of my friends come up with a name that satisfies them. I feel no guilt over not telling them, and by the look on Daphne's face, I can tell she doesn't feel bad about her silence either.

Things get more interesting after breakfast. The Carrows have still not been rescued from their offices, which I assume is due to the fact that none of the students care enough for them to attempt a rescue and each sibling is hoping the other will arrive soon. Hardly anyone shows up for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and those who do show up probably realize that Amycus is not present and simply leave the classroom. Not that I blame them. I'm skipping it completely and sleeping, but that's just me.

When lunch rolls around, the excitement of the Carrows' absence seems to have reached its peak. There is a wave of happiness here at Hogwarts that has been missing since the Carrows' arrival, and I am not looking forward to it disappearing again. But for now, with no professors or students attempting to save the Carrow siblings, this is the greatest day at Hogwarts so far this year.

The rest of my friends seem to have the same feeling as well. Hogwarts hasn't been this warm since Dumbledore's death, and I wouldn't mind it at all if the Carrows withered away and died in their offices.

But that's just not the way the world works, I am reminded as I leave the Great Hall and am grabbed by the Death Eater siblings. They each grab an arm and force me to walk with them—backward and stumbling. "You'll regret not helping us," Amycus growls into my ear. He's just angry a bunch of kids made him look foolish by using a charm he didn't know how to reverse.

Then I am being dragged up a set of stair, my feet tripping on the steps, my calves ramming into the edges and sending small jolts of pain through my leg. "Fuck," I grumble, biting back a shout because they're just letting me basically fall backward up these steps. Suddenly I find myself clinging onto Amycus Carrow so as not to fall over. I shudder when I realize how tightly I am clutching to him but refuse to let go and hit my head on the stone stairs. I only release him when we reach the top and the stairs flatten out.

"He should be in here," Alecto says. My stomach drops because of course I know this stairwell like the back of my hand, and of course I know where I am.

A knock on a door—an "Enter"—I am flung onto the stone floor, throwing my hands behind my head to keep from smacking it on the floor to roughly. My knuckles curse and throb as I roll over and struggle to my knees.

"Get her out of here," Severus says, his voice cold and rough.

Amycus steps closer to the desk. "She needs to answer—"

"Get her out of my office."

"Professor, please—"

"Silence!"

"Tell me what I want to know," Amycus says.

"Must you do this in here?" Severus asks. "Unlike you, I have things I need to finish today."

"She doesn't seem to fear us anymore, Snape."

"Did I ever give the impression that I actually feared you?"

He slaps me across the face before continuing, "But you, Snape, you're the headmaster. You're trusted by the Dark Lord. And if she believes you'll send her back to him, she might be more willing to tell us what we need to know."

"What you need to know is that you let a child lock you into your offices like the fools you are," I say.

The palm of Amycus's hand rams into my right ear, and I let out a yelp before covering it protectively with my hands. Severus does not look the least bit perturbed by Amycus's actions.

"Tell us," Amycus growls.

"It was the D.A.," I say vaguely. The man's hand strikes my other ear, and I let out a quiet shriek. "If you keep doing that, you might burst my eardrums. What good will I be to you then? What if I lose my hearing?"

His boot connects with my back and sends me to my face on the floor. I start laughing weakly. "I don't think the Dark Lord will be too pleased knowing that you are physically harming me."

"Enough of that threat!" he yells. "We all know you haven't the nerve to snitch!"

I push myself up to my hands and knees. "That's what you think." Apparently the Dark Lord hasn't actually spoken with them yet about their actions against me. He was lying to me, probably trying to see if I could be grateful. I hate him. But even though I hate him, I hope he'll do so soon. Or maybe he told Snape to take care of it, and the headmaster decided to postpone talking to them because he's vindictive.

Again his foot strikes me, this time in my stomach to topple me onto my back. Before he can bring his boot back down full force onto my stomach, Alecto gently pushes him away. "That might be a little more dangerous than you think."

On the off chance I were pregnant, is what she means. She doesn't want to risk anything like that just yet.

Alecto squats down beside me. "Just tell us what we want to know."

Severus clears his throat. "Tell them, Rodgers. It'd be a shame to inform the Dark Lord that you are turning against him after everything he's done for you. I doubt that will be forgiven easily. He's tried to make your life as easy as possible. Betraying him and withholding information is the worst thing you could do right now."

I squeeze my eyes shut to force back the tears. "I overheard some people talking," I whisper. "According to them, it was Ginny Weasley."

"Weasley?" Severus repeats.

Two pairs of footsteps rush from the room, and I can only assume that they belonged to the two Carrows. Which means I am currently alone with Severus in his office.

I roll over, put my hand on the headmaster's desk, and pull myself to my feet. "You are free to leave, Rodgers."

"Professor, please let me—"

"Get out, Rodgers."

"Please just—"

"Out."

"Not until you let me speak. Don't you realizing you're doing to me what Lily did to you?" His nostrils flare. "Don't you realize that I made a mistake and that I'm trying to apologize but you won't even give me the time of day?" He starts toward me, but I do not quiet down. "Losing your friend ruined your life! What do you think will happen to—"

His hand grabs the front of my robes, and for a moment I remember the softness of his lips on mine and am tempted to kiss him again. But now is not the time for those types of thoughts. Severus begins forcing me backward, away from his desk. "Never say her name to me again." His free hand opens the door, and he continues shoving me along, my feet stumbling beneath me, threatening to make me tumble down the stone stairs. "You will not compare our struggles, do I make myself clear?" My foot catches, and I gasp quietly. "You have no right to—" He huffs and pulls me closer to keep me from falling backward down the stairs. He steadies me, allowing me to hold onto him, but continues pushing me from his office and down the stairs. We get to the bottom where the gargoyle statue stands, and he pushes me away from him, not hard enough to fall but hard enough to know that he is serious. "Do not come back here again."

I stand still as the gargoyle statue moves itself in front of me.