I've been having some writers block lately. Hopefully, it will pass. Reviews are encouraging.

Chapter 12

Following the frantic shouts in the distance, Senna bolted through each corridor. The halls were eerily deserted, no doubt everyone was locked in their common rooms. As Senna drew closer to the fight, the sounds of destruction grew louder.

Shouts. Explosions. Roaring flames.

She turned the corner to face the chaos. A variety of red, green, and blue lights zipped through the air, colliding with walls, windows, and people, sending glass, stone debris, and bodies through the air.

Senna was only frozen for a moment, dazed by the overwhelming flurry of action. She could make out the dark shapes behind the jets of light, and some voices—familiar voices.

"Your left—Filius!" A frantic McGonagall called.

As if on cue, the ground next to Professor Flitwick exploded, sending him flying across the corridor. There was no time to follow him however, as she spotted a flash of maroon

There she was, poised between two black-blacks hooded figures, her wand waving madly in the air, sending jets of light at her opponents. Graceful and deadly. She was doing well—surprisingly so. The two Death Eaters were fast, but Tonks was faster, her spells and shields so fast, they blurred together in a dazzling display of lights.

A jet of putrid green light shot inches from Tonks's ear. A surge of dread froze in the pit of her stomach. No matter how good she was, she would not be able to block the killing curse.

Despite her amazingly precise agility and wand work, Tonks was cornered. Snape had turned down a different hall, chasing after another Death Eater. Various Aurors were engaged in their own battles. Nobody was available to assist her.

With her presence still unnoticed, Senna sent a stunning spell into the fight, aiming for one of the Death Eaters Tonks was fighting. But it missed him, whizzing over his shoulder. He whirled around towards her.

Fuck!

He hurled a killing curse straight for her face and she instinctively dived behind and suit of armor, but not before she saw Tonks using his distraction to her advantage and stunning him. Senna pushed herself up from the dirty stone floor, her heart pounding madly in her chest.

The force of something exploding knocked her back onto the ground, along with the suit of armor. What the body hell was that? She registered pain, but was too confused to pinpoint where it was coming from. She scrambled on the ground, worried that Tonks was caught in the explosion. She tried to stand, but her vision swam and her ears rang. The sound of battle continued. Screeching, yelling, and banging. Something warm dribbled down her face. Blood.

She allowed herself to breath for a moment, trying to chase away the panic. She'd been in plenty of sticky situations. Surrounded by angry guard dogs when breaking into a house to feed her starving self, getting shot at by store owners, and chased by murderous townspeople. But she could never get used to the crippling fear.

When her vision no longer swam, she tried to see past the dust and debris, but she choked on it.

Something grabbed the back of her blazer and yanked her to her feet. Senna yelped in surprise, prepared to punch her attacker—only to realize it was Tonks. Her hazel eyes were alight with fury.

She wanted to ask if she was okay, but she was still choking on the dust in the air.

And then she was being dragged in the opposite direction, away from the fight.

"Where are we going?" She coughed, then threw a glance over her shoulder. Now that she was standing, she could see above the dust. Several black-robed figured laid motionless on the ground. The fighting had stopped. Aurors were restraining fallen enemies and comrades.

Tonks pulled her around the corner, and then another. Once they were well away from the scene of the fight, Tonks stopped. She rounded on her, fury evident in her face. She pulled out a handkerchief and started to dab at the blood on Senna's forehead. "What are you doing?" She hissed.

"I came to find you." Senna whispered.

Senna couldn't stop staring at her, relieved beyond belief to see her in one piece, to see light in her eyes, even if it was lit by rage. She was beautiful, even now, robes torn, and covered in ash and sweat. Her breathing was strained and raspy. Actually—it was rather sexy.

"And why the hell would you do that? In the middle of a siege?" Tonks's words cut through her like a knife.

"I wanted to help—" she stuttered, "I thought—"

Tonks groaned in frustration. "That just it. You didn't think. Students were prohibited from leaving their dormitories." She took a deep breath, scanning Senna for additional injuries. "Hold this to your head to stop the bleeding," she ordered. "There's a fine line between idiotic recklessness and bravery. Do you think about the consequences before you act?"

Another stab of pain. The sense of relief receded and irritation took its place. "I don't need your opinion." She snapped. She shoved passed Tonks, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest.

Tonks grabbed her arm. "And I don't need a sixteen-year-old girl checking on me."

Senna jerked her arm away, tears stinging her eyes. "Well then, sorry I bothered. Won't happen again." She had meant to sound sarcastic, but her voice cracked, making her sound pathetic. Senna cursed at herself.

She stalked down the hall. Damn her.

"Senna," Tonks called, her voice was soft now. Pained.

Senna ignored her, breaking into a run. Damn her, she repeated in her head. She felt so foolish. For thinking that those few moments of tenderness and affection meant anything at all. For thinking that Tonks would come around. For thinking that she would be grateful to see her.

She skidded to a stop. Upon seeing her, Professor Snape swooped in like an angry bat, "Snape!" he bellowed, then cringed, as if his own name tasted bitter in his mouth.

Senna looked up at his livid expression, not caring that he was angry. She felt like she was watching his rage from a distance, like it was happening to someone else, not her. She felt empty and cold.

"My office. Now." He spat.

Senna followed him, defeated.

He shut the office door behind him. She looked around, surprised to see that Viola was no longer there. Of course, she was locked in her dorms, like all the other students.

She expected him to start yelling like Tonks had, calling her reckless and foolish. But he didn't. Not yet. He pulled out his wand and held it to her forehead. He muttered something and the effect was instantaneous. She felt a stinging heat light up across her forehead as her wound began to stitch together.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked in a strained calm.

"No." Aside from the gaping hole in her heart, the ringing in her ears, and the growing headache, she was fine. She was tempted to ask about the details of the fight, how the Death Eaters got in, and who died, but she knew that would just get her yelled at.

"What. Were. You. Doing?" Snape asked in a low and dangerous voice.

Here it comes, Senna sighed.

What was she going to say? That she wouldn't stand by and let someone she loved get hurt? Pft. Love. She was pathetic.

"I was bored." Senna lied.

His face went from white to green, his eyes growing even blacker. Senna took a step back when he opened his mouth, his lips quivering with anger. "You have the audacity to intervene in dire matters, for…" his voice shook, "entertainment? You could've gotten yourself killed! Or gotten someone else killed! To think! Such foolishness—" He slammed his hand down on the table, and she flinched. "Well Ms. Snape I have to say I'm disappointed. I expected much more from you, given your talent, but you're no better than those pig-headed, brawny, Gryffindors!"

Senna took a chance. A very dangerous chance. But she was tired—very tired. Tired of games. Tired of strange looks from Professor Snape in class. Tired of it all. "Because you'd expect more from a daughter?" Her voice was a whisper, but she knew he heard her.

"No!" He bellowed. "That's it! Leave." His posture went completely rigid. His face was a mask of shock, a bead of sweat ran down from his temple to his sallow cheek.

She turned around to leave, only to look back at when she reached the door. His eyes were wary—unnaturally so. He looked away from her.

The Brownwell students always looked at her like this—but this was different. What did he know about her? She had been here for only a few weeks, and yet, the moment they met, there was a strange tension emanating from him. Like there was something he was not telling her.

Maybe it was tonight's events that make her more daring and suspicious. Maybe she received a concussion when she was thrown from the explosion. But that was it. She would not overlook another strange, wary look from him.

"Professor?"

He didn't respond, but focused his attention on the essays in front of him.

She spoke her mind anyways. "You know who I am. Don't you?"

She spoke very softly, but from his reaction, she might as well have yelled it. His hands curled into fists, the papers crumpling underneath them.

"No." He said gruffly. "I don't."

A flash of anger ran down her spine, pulling her from her cold, apathetic haze. Even if his occlumency was perfect, she knew he was lying, knew it in the core of her being. Her name was Senna Severus Snape for God's sake.

"You're lying." She said in a low voice. The absolute sureness it conveyed surprised—but satisfied her.

He took in a deep, defeated breath. She waited for him to speak. But for the longest moment, nothing came. It made her uneasy.

"You have no idea what you're asking." He threatened. He looked directly at her now, his eyes stern.

How dare he. She knew having an attitude would be counterproductive to getting the information she needed, but she couldn't help herself. Anger flooded through her, making her face hot. "Excuse me?"

"Have you ever considered that there might be a reason I haven't confided in you? That you would be better off not knowing?" He spat angrily.

Her brain worked hard around this information, trying to see a reason why she would not want to know. But she came up empty. What on earth did he mean? That she would regret knowing she may be related to a Death Eater? It wouldn't be too bad. There were plenty of Death Eater offspring at Hogwarts, and they were relatively happy and safe.

"I'd like to decide that for myself." She tried to sound sure, but fear was creeping in. What if she was better off?

"And if you don't like what you hear?" His voice was very low and omnibus.

Senna swallowed. "I'm a big girl, I can deal."

"Very well." He stood and walked over to the fireplace, looking into it with his back towards her.

The silence between them was nearly deafening. Her heart raced wildly in her chest, and she was afraid that he could hear it. When the fire crackled and hissed, it sounded like thunder, making her jump. She tried to mask her nervousness, make herself feel nothing. Not fear. Not hope. It doesn't matter, she tried to tell herself. But nonetheless, the mixture of feelings churned hotly in the pit of her stomach.

"But now is not the appropriate time. Good night, Ms. Snape."

Senna's stomach gave an anticlimactic lurch before her anger resurfaced.

"Now is as good of a time as any." Senna said through her teeth.

"Hogwarts has just been infiltrated. We have the grounds to search, investigations to staff, and Death Eaters to arrest. So no, it is not a good time. Go to bed before I change my mind. The halls should be safe now."

"But—"

"Now!" He howled.

Senna marched off, slamming the door behind her. He was right. There were far more important things that needed to be done. But that didn't settle the rage of being deprived of a breakthrough, right when she thought she was going to get it.

But her anger turned to dread. What was she going to say to Headmaster Roberts when he saw her like this? Sweaty, dirty, and a face full of dried blood. Senna was in for a long, miserable night.

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