The preparations were moving along smoothly. Anna managed to find a note in a library book mentioning a hidden passage as a tight, winding flight of stairs with only a hand-sized window for ventilation in between the restricted section of the library and the Runes Study classroom. It stretched for three floors, leading to a dead end inside one of the smaller towers of the castle.

On the first December morning, she decided to check if her theory was correct and her experiment was going to work. She closed the passage behind her and allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once she could make out the shape of the stairs, she began climbing, eager to check on the small crystal plate she had placed in a lodge above the window. She had to go almost all the way to the top and feel around for the plate, and hopefully...

Her fingers slipped inside the crystal plate. Unsure if it was just cold, she climbed in front of the window to see the light reflecting off the drops of water on her skin.

Overjoyed, Anna cast a cleansing spell to rid the plate of any trace of her hands, then quietly made her way down the stairs. She had to listen carefully so that nobody would be in the corridor when she came out, or her secret would be exposed. She listened to Dolores Umbridge walking right past her.

"Not at all! Why would it be harsh? They've got to learn, don't they?"

"Indeed, but a lifelong ban?" Albus Dumbledore pleaded hopelessly. "Seems unreasonably long, wouldn't you agree?"

"I've had it approved by the Ministry!"

"Yes, you've mentioned that already. Well, they've forwarded me an appeal..."

The girl waited for the two figures to fade into silence. After a few minutes, she carefully exited the passage, placing a protective charm over it. Who received a lifetime ban and from what? She hasn't heard of this yet, probably because she had been spending most of her time studying. She read everything she could find on the spell that she was going to attempt - history, early mentions, legal aspects, risks, documented failures, precautions, and the process described by magicians from every era.

As she sat down in the Great Hall for breakfast, she noticed Hagrid was at the Professor's table again. Selena pointed it out in passing.

"How is the study group going?" she asked Selena quietly.

"Well," the girl responded. When Anna didn't say anything back, she felt the urge to go on. "We're learning mainly charms, like the Shield charm, or the Disarming one. There is also the Patronus charm, you know, against... Dementors." A cold shiver ran down her back.

"Any chance that you would be caught?" Anna concluded that they couldn't be learning anything truly dangerous from the type of spells Selena had mentioned.

Her friend shrugged. "If somebody talks, maybe. Otherwise, no, I don't think so."

She nodded. "Learn healing magic," she whispered as they ate, "for magical injuries."

Selena's eyes widened. "But you said you won't help us...?"

"I am not. I didn't say anything," she quickly said.

Still a bit confused, Selena decided not to press the matter. "How are things with Theodore?"

"As expected," Anna replied. Every time she looked towards her roommate, she thought about the protective amulet from Severus, currently around Selena's neck, concealed with magic, and absent from Selena's memory. She had to tell Severus about that, he should know what happened with his gift. "We've been going out quite a bit lately. It feels so refreshing to take a break from what is going on here, with the Ministry intervening in our school, and all of those inspections and evaluations, and the rules changing every day..." the girl sighed.

"Oh, I bet," she replied. "I'm glad you get to enjoy your time now that you're not an Assistant anymore. Neville has been, too. He hangs out with us a lot more."

That remark hit a nerve. If only she knew... Anna hummed in agreement. Her engagement ring had to stay on her finger whenever she was in public, a reminder of the role she had to play. She didn't care about most other people, but not being able to confess to Selena was weighing her down.

"I'm glad to hear that. He's a nice boy," she said as she glanced toward the table shared by the Professors. Their eyes met and they both had to hold back the instinctive response of affection.

"You sound like my mother," Selena chuckled lightly. "I mean, he is, but he's so shy... So terribly quiet!"

"He is, isn't he?" she signed. "Have you tried asking him to the Yule Ball this year?"

The blonde almost choked on her tea. "Me? Asking him? Shouldn't he be the one to ask me?"

Anna shrugged. "Well, it's not like anyone would know. You can go as friends, or maybe he likes you and this is the little push he needs to confess."

"I don't know," Selena leaned against her palm. "Do you think he likes me? I kind of like him, except I have no idea what he's thinking because he never says anything. I don't know his hobbies or his favorites. He doesn't seem to be into sports, but I can't tell for sure."

"Maybe if you pay closer attention to him, he's going to show you, rather than tell you. There is comfort in silence."

"You have an answer for everything," her friend teased her. "I'm kind of jealous, though. Theodore is outspoken and lively, and he has that smirk everyone related to Malfoy has... You know what I'm talking about."

Anna stared at her in shock. "Oh! No... Trust me, it's not that glamorous."

"Stop trying to be modest," Selena giggled. "You want me to believe he's not all that and more when you are engaged to him?"

She wanted to scream but chose a forced smile instead. "You're right... Well, Neville isn't a bad pick, either. He's the sole heir of Longbottom. He seems to have good bone structure. He should lose the baby fat anytime now. Have you seen the picture of his parents?"

"Merlin! Yes! If he suddenly turns into his father, I am going to melt! His dad was so hot!"

Severus could hear fragments of their discussion when Anna didn't whisper her words. Briefly, he wondered how his life would have changed had they met when he was younger. He had been the heir of a terrible shyness, as the song went... From what song was that? 'Pretty Girls Make Graves'? Or maybe some other... He hadn't heard that band in too long. It was a matter of time until school went on a break and he would receive the invitation to the Yule Ball. Would he be able to spend time with Anna?

"What do you think, Severus?" the annoyingly high-pitched voice of the Head Inquisitor interrupted his thoughts.

Trying not to reveal himself as absent-minded, Severus hummed. "Aren't our opinions irrelevant since the Ministry has been deciding everything lately?"

"...Pleasant as always, I see," the woman squealed a laugh. "I think it's a distraction for the students. It could even prove dangerous! I have been told about a group of rebellious students who have been meeting in secret, despite groups being forbidden!"

Severus felt a headache creeping closer with her every word. He realized they were talking about the Secret Santa exchange - one of which he was not a fan, but also one that his students enjoyed.

"What could they possibly exchange in wool socks?" Flitwick questioned her rhetoric. "Dynamite? Dragon eggs?"

Umbridge seemed to be seriously considering the two ideas. "You never know with rebels!"

Taking notice that his place was empty, Severus stood up. He didn't want to spend a single second longer than necessary around Dolores and her overpowering sugary perfume. Everything about the High Inquisitor irked him, from her bright pink eye-sore suits to her obsession with cats and china plates.

"I think we should skip it," Umbridge stated as Flitwick sighed.

"It would have provided the students with a stress relief from their exams and all of those recent changes in our school..."

"Let's give them fewer practical assignments. They can rest while reading for their essays. We'll choose some nice topics."

Severus left them talking. Umbridge didn't even acknowledge his absence - not that he minded it much, but it would have been polite for her to do so. He had one more meeting to attend. Lucius asked him to Chat Gris, which could only mean he had something terrible to ask of him. He took his coat from his office and left, hopefully before Umbridge could come looking for him with some absurd demand.


Author's note:

This chapter is a bit shorter because the scene that followed is extended in the next one. I thought it would give it more continuity to have everything on the same page. As such, today you will be getting two chapters.

There is also a bit of a controversial idea being introduced next. I find it pretty in-character, although it breaks canon just a little bit. Let me know what you think in a review or in private. It could also be a chance to redeem a character that is generally painted pretty negatively in canon.