Ariel was feeling torn as her summer ended. On one hand, she would miss the warmth and chaos of the Burrow, and on the other, she wanted to return to Hogwarts so badly that it hurt. She was looking forward to this year when she took Dobby's ominous warning out of the equation.

She spent the morning packing with Hermione. Their trunks were Charmed so they fit much more than met the eye, but Ariel was beginning to lose track of her things. Mrs Granger had bought her a whole set of jumpers and a new pair of black loafers and Mrs Weasley had knitted her three sweaters. She'd also gotten quite a bit in Diagon Alley, which meant that she was starting to lose track of all the new things she needed to make sure were packed. She'd never had this much stuff in her life, and it wasn't even that much.

Hermione, being Hermione, had made a checklist. She was in the middle of reading off Lockhart's textbooks when Ariel realized she'd forgotten one.

"Wait wait wait," Ariel counted the stack again. "How many are there? Six?"

"Seven," Hermione replied. "You're missing Traveling with Trolls."

"Six too many," she muttered under her breath, whacking her head on the underside of Ginny's bed. She'd hated what Lockhart had done at his stupid book signing. She was dreading seeing him again, after that. It had been absolutely mortifying.

That earned her a pointed stare from Hermione, who went back to reading off the list. They basically had the same of everything, except for some miscellaneous items, like things Ariel had taken from Mum's trunk. She and Snape had agreed it was best if it stayed with him at the end of last year since Aunt Petunia would've set fire to it if she'd found it, and they'd both wanted to keep it safe. Ariel had kept some things, mostly pictures and some of Mum's old shirts, but she'd found a pair of small gold hoop earrings and a pearl necklace she'd hung onto as well. She'd known Snape must've gone through it at some point when he'd mentioned a note with a jewelry box that had belonged to her grandmother. Ariel hadn't much use for jewelry, but Lavender had said she'd pierce her ears for her whenever she wanted.

"Did you find it yet?" Hermione asked — the list was, of course, alphabetized, and she'd gone from T to V — Voyages with Vampires.

"Yeah," Ariel called — it had fallen behind Ginny's headboard, somehow. "though if you ask me, Lockhart is a bigger troll than the one from last year… why did we need to buy all his books?"

"Because he wrote them!" she countered, but she'd said this at least a hundred times already. "How're we supposed to learn from someone as brilliant as him without them?"

"He's supposed to be teaching us that."

Hermione gave her A Look. "It's supplemental."

She snorted. "Yeah, to his income."

Hermione ignored her and checked off the list. "I think that's all… can you think of anything else?"

Ariel gave the room another once over. "I think so, I've just got to get Hedwig in her cage. How are we all going to fit into that tiny car?"

"Mr Weasley mentioned a Charm on the car, but Mrs Weasley isn't supposed to know that."

This was a moment where Ariel thought, I love magic, and meant it purely out of awe. Mrs Weasley wondered aloud often on where Fred and George had gotten their mischievous streak from, but Ariel was surprised the rest of the family didn't see it — it was clearly Mr Weasley, who had a penchant for rule-breaking himself. He'd been talking about upgrading the car with some Charms since they'd arrived with the help of some input from Hermione's parents, who'd found it hilarious.

Hermione started organizing her trunk as Ariel coaxed Hedwig from the window. She hadn't had a chance to do a whole lot of flying since she'd been staying with the only two people Ariel wrote to. Snape had forbidden her from sending an owl. Sometimes, Ariel wondered what in Merlin's name had made him so paranoid… and why she was to be kept such a secret.

Hedwig nibbled at her ear. Ariel gave her head a scratch and guided her into her cage, setting her atop her trunk.

"What's this?" Hermione asked. When Ariel turned around, she was holding the small, thin book that had been under Ginny's pillow. She hadn't seen it since that last time she'd seen Snape.

"I think that's —"

"Mine!" came a shrill voice from the doorway. "That's mine!"

Ariel whirled around to see Ginny rushing in. She plucked the not-diary out of Ariel's hand with an air of desperation she'd never seen her have before. Usually, Ginny was all snarky remarks and trying to outdo her brothers. Ariel liked Ginny a great deal, actually, but she'd been acting strangely since the other day, when they'd gone to Diagon Alley.

Mrs Weasley's voice called from somewhere downstairs. By the sound of it, her bad mood had only gotten exponentially worse. Ginny quickly flew out of the room, leaving Hermione and Ariel only more puzzled as her footsteps thundered down the stairs, accompanied by more shouts of names.

"Do you know what that's about?" Ariel asked, making her way back over to her things.

"I've no idea," Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure she's nervous…"

"I don't blame her. If I had a zillion brothers all in Gryffindor, I'd be pretty cagey too." Ariel picked up her last item she needed to pack — a picture of Mum from when she'd been a student. She was wearing her school robes in the Great Hall, a little older than Ariel was. Mum smiled and waved up at her. Ariel waved back and tucked the frame right on top so the glass wouldn't break.

She found the coin, safely tucked away in her jacket pocket. She turned it over in her hands and looked for a message, but there wasn't one. There hadn't been any since she'd last seen Snape. It wasn't surprising — she hadn't been expecting any, but in the back of her mind, she'd been hoping. When she looked up, Hermione was watching her again with a strange look on her face — her expression was deliberately blank. Sometimes, Ariel wanted to just come right out and ask what she was thinking but couldn't shake the feeling that if she did, she wouldn't like what she heard.

Luckily, Ron chose that moment to end the weirdness by knocking on the door. He poked his head in and looked around, Scabbers on his shoulder. "Ready to go? Mum says we've got to get a move on."

After three false starts they finally all climbed inside the Ford Anglia and were off. It had been a tight squeeze, but Mr Weasley had made the inside much roomier. Ariel would've given a whole bucket of galleons to see the car fly, but Mrs Weasley had made it quite clear that was not going to be happening anytime soon, even if they were running terribly late.

Once they were on the platform, Mrs Weasley ushered the older boys forward.

"I'll take Ginny through with me first," she told Ariel, Hermione, and Ron. "You three will follow."

A pleasant little squirm of excitement flooded through Ariel as she watched Ginny disappear with her mother, and then Hermione. She couldn't wait to be back on the train, back at Hogwarts and think I'm home again. Ron wiggled his eyebrows at her theatrically as he gave a quick look around to make sure no Muggles were watching and ran full speed at the barrier, Ariel following suit.

And then Ron's trolley bounced right off the brick with a horrendous smash.

"What the —" he grabbed at Ariel before she went hurtling over her trunk.

Hedwig screeched furiously as a Muggle woman picked her up and set the cage right. "What do you two think you're doing? It's bad enough you have the poor thing in a cage…"

Ariel gritted her teeth and forced out a thank you, clutching at her side. Ron set the trolley right side up, glaring wildly at the barrier. "We can't get through," he whispered frantically. "What's happened?"

"I don't know… maybe it's on a timer or something?"

"Mum and Dad have to get back, though, that wouldn't make sense!"

Ariel looked around wildly. People were staring at them, one of them a man in shabby clothes and tired eyes. He only caught her eye because he seemed to be getting closer, working his way through the crowds of confused Muggles and towards them. The last thing she needed were people questioning what in the world they were doing.

"We're going to miss the train," Ariel said, putting her hand on the barrier. The stone was cold to the touch. She put her ear against it, trying to listen, but there was no sound, no voices, no train.

"What're we going to do?" Ron moaned. "How're Mum and Dad going to get back to us now?"

She leaned her forehead against the barrier and thought for a moment. They didn't have any way to contact Ron's parents, but she did have a way to let a professor know.

She reached into her windbreaker for the coin only to find that it was gone. Panic gripped at her, and she clawed at her pockets.

"What is it?" Ron asked, looking at her like she had gone mad.

"The coin," she felt like she was going to throw up. "it's gone —"

From the other column, a familiar head peeked around to hesitantly smile at them. A familiar head wearing a potato-sack for clothes —

"Dobby!" she gasped.

Dobby smiled hesitantly at them. A small hand appeared, something shiny glinting in the early-afternoon light.

"Ariel Evans cannot return," Dobby whispered. "Dobby must protect Ariel Evans!"

"Is that —" Ron began to say, but Ariel cut him off.

"No," she rushed forward. "Dobby, listen to me, I need that coin!"

He was gone with a POP, nearly sending Ariel colliding into the opposite barrier. She put her hands against the wall and hung her head as she tried to steady her breathing. He'd taken the coin — not messed with it but taken it — and they were stuck here with no way of getting to Hogwarts. Not to mention that Hermione was on the train without them, she would be so worried…

"That was our only chance," Ariel swallowed roughly as she turned to face Ron. "I could've called Snape; he would've known what to do."

He kicked at the ground a couple of times. Hedwig hooted at him condescendingly, as if to say if you get dust in my feathers, I will pluck your eyes out.

"Actually," Ron's mouth slowly spread into a grin. "I have a much better idea…"

—-

Severus awaited the arrival of the hoard of brats like he did every year — brooding.

It was quite possibly the worst day of the entire year for Severus. Knowing that in just a few hours he would have to return to the most loathsome of pastimes — teaching — was enough to sour his mood for at least the first month, and that was without the brats' stupidity.

He stood at the entrance. The grounds stood silent and still, save for the smoke wafting upwards from Hagrid's hut. Dumbledore had gone to visit with him this evening before the students arrived.

Severus had debriefed him on everything that had occurred with the girl and Lucius' house elf. On the outside, Dumbledore had taken it with a grain of salt, but Severus knew him better than that. He'd seen the gears turning inside that maddening mind of his. He had known there was more Dumbledore was thinking but they had nothing to go on except for Lucius' threat and the house elf's warnings.

They'll learn their lesson soon enough

Are you friends with the Malfoys?

Ron said Draco's family supported You-Know-Who

If only the girl knew the half of it, Severus thought to himself as he descended to the dungeons. He would hide until the last possible minute before arriving at the Welcoming Feast. The students aside, Severus didn't think he was going to be able to stomach any meals with Lockhart sitting near him this year. He would be keeping an eye on him… not as an agent of the Dark Lord, but with his interactions with Miss Evans. Severus would have no problems making any… corrections. Dumbledore might even sanction it if Severus bided his time.

As he sat down at his desk, looking over his syllabus and lesson plans he'd written only once, eleven years ago, he found himself staring at something else. Severus had taken a picture of Lily and the baby and placed it in his study. It was Charmed so that only he could see what it actually was, but he found himself staring at it frequently. It was the only picture in Lily's trunk that was just the two of them, without Potter. He had a hard time connecting the bright-eyed infant to Miss Evans sometimes, who touched her mother's face and smiled a toothless smile. Lily lifted her high above her head and laughed, throwing her head back. When she looked at him, she always pointed, trying to get the baby to as well, but the baby was only interested in playing with a teething ring.

Severus fervently wished that photographs were physical spaces, sometimes, like tunnels. He wanted to crawl inside them and go back… it was a mad thought, but he did what he had to.

He couldn't have seen an alternative to his current situation, really. He'd mulled over it after reading Lily's letter, sleepless nights spent thinking about what he could have done differently. In hindsight, if he had not been nineteen and a fucking idiot, he would have asked the Order to keep Lily and the baby safe in exchange for information. If he'd hidden them both, kept the baby's existence a secret, Lily — and Potter — would still be alive. Miss Evans would not be Marked. He would still had to have taught at Hogwarts to stay out of Azkaban, but he would have happily paid that price if it meant they'd both been safe from the start…

It was hard to envision that the baby had grown into the girl who had sat under the Sorting Hat a year ago. It was hard to recall that she was already a Second-Year student, after ten years of a blissfully ignorant existence. Twelve years old and the Dark Lord had wasted no time in trying to end her existence before it had really ever begun.

He would see her make it to adulthood if he lived that long. It was depressing – agonizing – to think that Miss Evans might not even outlive her mother. It was beginning to drive him a bit mad, thinking about the past. In the present, the girl was returning, and something else was coming for her… again.

Severus took the memories, the pain and soul-crushing guilt, and placed it back inside his tidy little box in the back of his consciousness. The Occlumency rolled over and through him, all encompassing, taking the tremor from his hands as he stared at the picture. He didn't feel it until it hurt, sometimes – this was one of those instances.

At a quarter to, Severus stood watch as the students clamored into the Great Hall. There was a deafening ruckus that made his ears ache as the students chittered excitedly amongst themselves. Severus was still mildly amazed at how much they grew in two months. When he'd seen Draco in Diagon Alley he had forgotten to remark on how he'd grown, the more childish features fading into the sharper image of his parents. It was still unclear if he'd look more like Lucius or Narcissa.

He caught sight of a hoard of Gryffindors (ugh) making their way in. Longbottom was a nervous wreck as always, trailing behind Thomas and Finnigan. Noticeably missing from that party was Weasley-twerp.

Severus' eyes narrowed, scanning the crowd for Miss Evans. Granger walked alone looking quite nervous. If Severus hadn't known any better, she would've looked like one of the first years, anxious to be Sorted and welcomed into a House.

She caught his eye, stopping in the midst of everyone. A dreadful feeling was taking hold in his sternum as she pushed her way through to him. Some of the students gawked at her, Longbottom especially, who upon meeting Severus' gaze turned white as a sheet, practically running into the Great Hall.

"Miss Granger," Severus began in a dangerous voice. "if this has anything to do with assignments, so help me –"

She furrowed her brow at him, her fists wound at her sides. Severus could see that she was shaking.

"Ariel and Ron never got on the train," she said.

—-

"Well," said Ariel. "That could've gone… better."

Ron sagged to the ground, watching the car disappear into the tree line. He looked like he wanted to rip his hair out.

"Or a lot worse," she said reassuringly. "The tree could've killed us."

Hedwig flapped and screeched inside her cage. Ariel tried to reach through the bars to calm her, but Hedwig gnawed at her finger, her yellow eyes narrowed in anger. She didn't blame her, she was pretty upset too, and tired of being jostled and thrown about. The car had started to feel like a cage after the first few hours. She still couldn't feel her bottom.

"My parents are going to kill me." Ron groaned. "And my wand!"

He held what was left of it, half of it dangling pitifully by a thread. Ariel grimaced as Scabbers cowered against Ron's neck.

"They must be able to fix it," she reassured him. "At least it's not… completely broken."

"Mum will kill me – first the car, then my wand…"

"They'll be able to fix that too," Ariel tried, but she wasn't sure she was being very convincing. "at least the car still drives."

"Of all our luck," Ron muttered. "We hit the bloody tree that hits back!"

He glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree, which was still flailing its branches threateningly. Ariel had the urge to stick her tongue out at it, but she wasn't about to go pushing her luck.

"Come on," said Ariel wearily. "we'd better get up to the school."

She had just started to wonder if Snape noticed she wasn't at the Feast when something grabbed her from behind, spinning her around. Ariel almost screamed, but she knew almost instantly who it was. Ron let out a sound that sounded a whole lot like a moan.

Snape's eyes glinted in the moonlight, deep and dark and deadly.

"Oh shit," said Ariel.

—-

In the dim light of Snape's office, Ariel's heart was cramming her way up her throat. He looked half mad, his face white as bone. It didn't help that his office had a considerable Creep Factor to it, with the stuff in jars floating in various liquids. She could've sworn one of the specimens was mouthing help me at her, but she was pretty sure it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

"Do you have —any — idea what you've done?" his voice was barely a whisper. It made the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand up straight, like when the ghosts were nearby but you couldn't see them yet.

"The barrier sealed itself," Ron said, his voice strangled. If Ariel didn't know better, she would've thought Snape's glare had wrapped around his throat. "We couldn't get through."

His black eyes flashed, his neck snapping in Ariel's direction. "You didn't think to call someone?"

"Dobbytookthecoin —" she blurted out.

His lip curled. "What do you mean took it?"

"I don't know how he did it," she admitted, digging down inside herself for a bucketload of courage. "But it was gone."

Ron's head bobbed eagerly, his eyes darting between her and Snape.

"I tried to call you," she went on, desperately. "we waited for the barrier and then I tried the coin, but the Muggles were all staring, and we didn't know if Ron's parents were stuck —"

"Did you think," Snape leaned forward, his teeth bared. "to simply wait?"

"The train had left!" Ron interjected.

Snape's face rippled with malice. "Are you telling me your parents don't know how to Apparate, boy?"

He deflated like a balloon. "I didn't think of that…"

"They could've Apparated even if the barrier was closed?" Ariel asked.

"You can Apparate anywhere that does not have anti-Apparition wards in place." Snape said flatly.

She looked at Ron, who looked back at her with wide, anxious eyes. When they turned back to face Snape, he looked like something Ariel might've conjured up from her nightmares. Some of the blood vessels in his eyes had popped.

"Oh," Ariel whispered.

"Yes," said Snape. "Oh."

She peeked a glance at Ron, who was staring at the floor. "We're sorry —"

"Sorry?" Snape swelled with anger; his fists balled tightly at his sides. "You were seen, by no less than seven Muggles. Do you realize how serious this is? Not to add that the two of you could have been injured, but no, instead, you did damage to a very valuable Whomping Willow –"

"In our defense, the tree did more damage to us –"

"Silence!" he snarled, and Ariel snapped her mouth shut.

He rounded the desk and stood so close to her that she could see the shaky rise and fall of his chest. She didn't dare look at him, staring straight ahead instead.

"You two are going to stay here while I get the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall," he said coldly, a tone that made Ariel feel like she'd been dropped off a cliff into the Antarctic. "If you move, I will know, and I will make you regret it."

Ariel let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in as the door slammed shut behind Snape. Several jars on the shelves behind his desk rolled and shattered to the floor, puffs of smoke wafting upwards, like a demented form of fireworks or something.

"What're we going to do?" Ron hissed frantically. "They'll expel us!"

Ariel felt another rush of panic. What if they made her go back to the Dursleys? Gods, she would die, she couldn't — she wouldn't —

As if he'd read her mind, Ron put his hand on her shoulder, giving the door a quick glance to make sure Snape wasn't returning to turn him into a toad for moving. "Don't worry, if we are, you'll come stay with us. Mum would never let you go back to the Muggles…"

"Thanks," she managed to force out, but she felt dizzy, her heartbeat in her ears. Would Snape let McGonagall expel her? Maybe he would push for it to keep her safe from whatever was coming to Hogwarts, but no, he wasn't that cruel… was he?

After what seemed like an eternity, Snape finally returned with McGonagall and Dumbledore. He still looked furious, but McGonagall's lips were so thin that Ariel couldn't help but cringe when she met her eyes.

"Sit," she said, and they both backed into chairs by the fire. "And explain."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "They already did so, I told you what allegedly happened."

"And they are my students, Severus." McGonagall said sharply. "I will hear their explanation myself."

She turned to Dumbledore expectantly. Ariel stared at him, feeling numb and far away from herself.

"Please tell us why you did this," he said in a grave voice. Ariel's insides shriveled up like a dried-up sponge.

Ron launched into the story, starting with the barrier at the station refusing to let them through. They left out the part about the coin because spilling that secret was not a mistake Ariel would be making. Dumbledore sitting and staring at them like he was disappointed was ten million times worse than anything Snape would have yelled. She didn't trust herself to speak for fear of crying, and she didn't think crying was going to do any good. It certainly wouldn't make them feel bad after what she and Ron had done.

"Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? I believe you have an owl?" McGonagall asked, looking straight at Ariel.

She looked down at her knees. "I — I didn't think —"

"That," said McGonagall. "is obvious."

Snape made a sound of pure disgust under his breath. Ariel bit her lip to keep it from wobbling.

"We'll go pack our things," Ron said dejectedly.

"What are you talking about, Weasley?" McGonagall demanded sharply.

"Aren't – aren't we being expelled?"

Ariel instinctively looked to Dumbledore, who, to her shock and delight, shook his head. "Not today, Mr Weasley, but I must impress upon you the severity of the matter. If there is an incident like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you."

She could feel her heart beating in triple time. She uncurled her hands from her palms, wincing as they cracked from stretching. Ron sent her a private, sideways look that shared in her relief.

"Hospital wing, Mr Weasley." McGonagall said, holding open the door. "You're bleeding."

"Not much," he stood up, though. "I wanted to see my sister get Sorted –"

"She's in Gryffindor," McGonagall said shortly, as if she was sick of hearing them speak. "you will go see Madam Pomfrey and then you will go straight to your dormitory. Is that understood?"

Ron nodded jerkily as McGonagall's beady gaze turned to Ariel. She could feel her face flaming red. "Miss Evans will take her dinner in her dormitory. It will be waiting for you at the edge of your bed."

"Yes, ma'am." she mumbled, earning herself an eye roll from Snape.

"Severus will escort her there," Dumbledore said, rising from his chair. "I, in the meantime, have a delicious looking custard-tart I want to sample."

All of the blood drained from Ariel's face. She didn't want to be on the opposite end of Snape's wrath a moment longer, but she supposed she deserved it as Ron gave her a mournful look while McGonagall ushered him out, mouthing an I'm so sorry mate at her.

Snape lingered for a moment. He didn't look at Ariel, but she stood still, making an obvious show of I'm-Not-Going-Anywhere-Yet. It was probably suicide, but she didn't care, she needed him to know that she hadn't meant to cause so much trouble. She couldn't stand the teachers – especially him – being cross with her. She wondered if this was how Hermione felt when her marks weren't perfect.

"Well?" Snape bit out. "I believe you have your orders."

Ariel thought of how Lucius had looked at Draco, how she would've felt if one of her parents had looked at her like that. Snape was giving her that look, only it was tinged with something else…

She'd learned that being completely honest with him was the only way to get him to deflate a little bit. If she wasn't, he always knew, and he would implode and level everything and everyone in his path.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "we didn't mean to cause such a mess."

Snape gave her a glare that should have resulted in her turning into a puff of smoke. "I don't want an apology, Miss Evans."

"Then what do you want?" she asked miserably. "I feel terrible –"

"You should," he said coldly, his eyes glittering dangerously. "your inanity nearly got you both killed tonight."

"We panicked," Ariel swallowed back the lump in her throat. "after Dobby took the coin, I didn't know what to do, I was…" I was scared, scared of what he thinks is coming to Hogwarts.

She let her words trail off into the space between them. She wished she could fill it in with something that would fix it, undo what they'd done tonight, or even just make it smaller by moving closer, but she also didn't have a death wish. Snape was about as approachable as a hydra right now.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did he say anything to you? Anything at all?"

Ariel shook her head. "He said he wanted to protect me… again."

Snape swore under his breath. Ariel stood there, filing some of those words away for later. Fred and George had quite a colorful vocabulary, but Ariel didn't know what half of them meant. She only knew that Snape was the only one who could make her ears blister.

He seemed deep in thought, now, which was much safer than Angry-Snape. Ariel took a hesitant step towards him, wringing her hands in her robes.

"Never do anything like that again," his eyes weren't looking at her, but something on the desk. It was a picture of a forest Ariel hadn't seen before, and she knew his office very well after all her detentions last year. She thought to ask about it but didn't want to risk setting Snape off again.

"I won't," she said earnestly. "I swear."

After another minute, he blinked and scowled down at her, like he'd forgotten she was still there. "Come along, then. I have first years to whittle down."

She joined him at the doorway, passing his tall frame as Snape held open the door. When she passed him, his hand touched the top of her head for the briefest of moments. Surprised, and a little confused, Ariel peered up at him, but he wasn't looking down at her – he was staring at the picture on the desk again. This was even weirder for Snape than normal, but she didn't mention it as he walked her up to her dormitory, leaving her without another word.

Somehow, Ariel knew as the climbed through the Fat Lady's portrait that this was going to be a strange year.

—-

"She cannot possibly be mine," Severus said, slouched in a chair in Dumbledore's office. "Any child of mine would not have done something so criminally stupid."

He'd been force fed a Calming Draught in his tea. He hated when Dumbledore did that, but sometimes, it was necessary. If he hadn't, Severus was quite certain he would be poisoning Weasley-twerp the following morning. Minerva would be upset, but she would get over it, and Miss Evans would not be crashing Muggle vehicles into rabid foliage again.

It was only the first day — not even. Sometimes it was a wonder Severus hadn't been driven to drink, but he had been determined not to end up like his father. No, he'd dabbled in Dark magic instead and the hold on him it had held had only proved to Severus how weak his father had really been.

"You mean to tell me you never did anything foolish in your youth?" Dumbledore asked in a voice tinged with amusement. It was a good thing he'd giving him the Calming Draught, because Severus normally would've broken something.

"Maybe she is Potter's," Severus said bitterly. "I never did a paternity test, you know."

"That does surprise me," Dumbledore said, stirring in his fifth sugar cube. "I was quite certain that would have been the first thing you did."

"Lily wouldn't have lied — not about something like this."

He inclined his head. "True, but she could have been mistaken."

Severus raised an eyebrow at him. "You question the validity of the letter now?"

"Not at all," Dumbledore tapped the spoon thrice on the cup. "I did it myself shortly after I read it."

He scowled into his tea. "Why am I not surprised?"

Severus could've killed the girl when he'd found her and Weasley-twerp on the grounds. He'd wanted to shake her until her teeth had rattled, but Dumbledore was right – though he'd never admit it out loud. Miss Evans wasn't stupid, children were stupid, and this incident was a symptom of that thoughtlessness.

Part of him – perhaps it was the part of him that was her father, the part he didn't know how to call on – watched the girl's face splintering in shame earlier and had almost felt bad about how he'd spoken to her. Anger was a powerful tool, though, as was fear. Fear would keep her alive, keep her from doing shit like this that would end with her decapitated by a goddamn tree.

I'm sorry, she'd said. Oh, how'd he'd make her sorry if she pulled a stunt like that again –

"This is beyond the pale," Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Even with that damn elf meddling…"

"It is rather intriguing to find a house elf so emboldened to defy his master." Dumbledore took a sip of his tea, gazing thoughtfully at the fire. "Many experts might claim it impossible, even, but without express orders from Lucius for his plan to remain a secret…"

"A house elf with initiative." Severus muttered. "That's all we have to go on. In trying to save the girl, he nearly killed her with that damn car –"

The teacup flew into the fireplace, the flames popping as the porcelain melted. Dumbledore set his own down, unphased, as always, and sighed. "Has there been —"

"Nothing," Severus said flatly. "I would know."

His hand absentmindedly went to his forearm, where the faded Mark lay. Miss Evans had asked him once, over the summer, why he always wore long sleeves even though it was hot. He'd ignored the question, but he hadn't wanted her to see… to know the truth. Not yet at least. She was still too young to understand such things, to know that it was only a matter of time before the past resurrected itself.

Dumbledore hm'd to himself, his eyes on the fire. "I do wonder what form Tom would take, were he to try to find something more permanent again."

"It's unlikely he'll attach himself to the back of someone's skull, since that worked swimmingly for him." Severus thought of Quirrell's brain melting onto the stone and suppressed a smile. "No one is worthy as a host, regardless."

"No," Dumbledore agreed. "he'll certainly want his own body, but he must have a means to an end in mind." he leaned forward, and for a second, Severus thought he was going to place a hand on his knee, but he didn't. "It is reassuring, though, that Lily's magic will protect Ariel for the time being."

Severus pondered this. The Dark Lord couldn't touch her, no, and sacrificial magic was strong – perhaps the strongest form of magic there was. It was not foolproof, though, and the Dark Lord was resourceful, patient… and desperate.

"For now," Severus closed his eyes, kneading his forehead tiredly. "It would be foolish to assume he wouldn't find a way around it."

It was silent for several minutes and for once, Severus was quite certain that he knew what Dumbledore was thinking. The pensive look on his face told him that he was thinking of how the Dark Lord had infiltrated the school last year – that he'd done the unthinkable. That had been the problem with the Order, they'd never been able to grasp that the Dark Lord and his followers would cross lines, commit acts that were depraved, things that tore lives apart and ripped their souls to shreds. It was impossible to think ahead of the Dark Lord when he was willing to do anything to get what he wanted, no matter the cost. No price was too high.

"There is a crack in everything evil," Dumbledore said after a moment. "that's how the light gets in, you see. That is what Tom did not understand… and still doesn't. He overlooks so much because he cannot comprehend that there is power outside of the darkness. He did not foresee that Lily's sacrifice would make your daughter untouchable."

No, he hadn't, Severus thought. The Dark Lord would not have given Lily the choice if it hadn't been for Severus. His own actions, damning the mother and saving the child. Lily would have called that the silver lining – Dumbledore too – but Severus only saw it as the bottomless pit of his sins throwing irony back in his face.

"The same could be said for the opposite," Severus said slowly. "the Dark Lord has found the cracks in our defenses… Lucius believes so, too. The question is why would he wait so long? He could have done something last year."

Dumbledore's eyes glowed in the light of the fire. "Ah, but there is a difference."

Severus raised an eyebrow at him. "And that is?"

He shook his head and smiled genially. "Knowing your own darkness is the greatest method in dealing with the darkness of others."

Severus left him shortly after that, unable to stomach riddles and matters of the heart. Tonight, he wanted to sleep and forget, push off the absurdities and strife tomorrow would bring.

He wondered if Miss Evans had felt the same.

A/N: Two weeks in a row! Wooooooo

And we're back at Hogwarts, YAY! I am pumped to get Year 2 underway with all the spooky scaries I have planned… sorry, characters.

Reviews would get greatly appreciated, until Saturday!